By Jovan Krstevski
Limited watches are nice to have because of their rarity but this, of course, comes at a price. Now, if you remember the awesome Brellum Duobox I covered many times before, this watch simply puts “limited” in a new perspective. Anyways, in the horology world, beautiful and amazing stuff are all relative so what gives. The Brellum Duobox is a wonderful timepiece, hands down. This brands prides itself with quality, not quantity, hence the relative “limited” production. On the plus side, this simply becomes the brand’s selling point not even mentioning the remarkable details of the watch.
As of the brand’s new release in the Duobox Classic Chronometer collection that was officially revealed in December 2016, we get a nice Brellum Duobox Classic Havana. Speaking of classic Havana, this is pictured out in a nice brown dial color accenting the watch. The color is unique and very natural and provides very good contrast between the metallic elements of the watch. It looks chocolatey with some metal so this combo may not be suitable for everyone’s taste, albeit this is pretty much an exciting unique design we have never seen before.
The 41.80 mm stainless steel case looks dressy but this is quickly negated by the chrono pushers at 2 and 4 o’clock which gives the watch a sportier stance. The crown is nice in its original design, comfy for quick adjustments. The thickness of the watch in 16.20 mm is not your typical super slim case but comfort-wise, it is simply fantastic. Quality-wise, the brand still adheres to their philosophy hence we see a tough 316L type stainless steel and a box type sapphire with anti-reflective treatment. This same material is also used for the exhibition caseback. The case is rated with a meager 50m water resistance but for its intended use, it is more than enough.
The domed curved crystal reveals a brown dial, pretty much chocolatey in appearance (one of the reasons we don’t see this in high-end watches) but it achieves one purpose – a nice naturalist classic. And thanks to the brown leather strap, the “Havana” picture truly stands out. Getting comfortable with the chocolatey look is quite rough on us but it does offer a new perspective on a classic design. The appliques and luminescent material on the hands (in the hours and minutes) are high quality so once you get past the “color” everything is fine. The original set-up for the chronometer is present and legibility-wise, the Brellum Duobox Classic Havana is superb.
Behind the beautiful exhibition caseback is the BRELLUM BR–750–1 Chronometer automatic based on the Valjoux 7750. This is a very nice movement and in our opinion provides a very attractive reason for the buyers to get one. The movement features striking designs like the Côtes de Genève and the oscillating weight / BRELLUM Technology that can all be seen through the caseback. The BRELLUM BR–750–1 is fully featured with Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Date, Chronograph and a pulsometer scale. It also cranks out 46 hours of power reserve.
Brellum only makes 299 pieces of the Brellum Duobox Classic Havana annually which is a solid testament to the intricacies of the timepiece. For us, this is a relative “limited edition” watch.
For more info, please visit brellum.swiss
