Their dials are just so… bland. It’s always black and white and minimalist to a fault. Like there’s nothing interesting. Even Nomos has splashes of color here and there and play on typography. For example Nomo’s simplest watch - Tangente, has a slight splash of color with blue hands. Other minimal dress watches usually differentiate with dial finishing - like with sunburst or a textured dial. But nope, Sinn design language is just: stainless steel, pure black, sans-serif numbers, and white indices. That’s it. Yet they are super loved in here. Help me understand?
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The 104 dial (version without numbers) up close is incredible. Not even mentioning their mother of pearl dials
Ooh, I’d never heard of these. They’re pretty; up there with Mondaine for elegant, modernist simplicity.
Just look at something like the Sinn 556. A minimalist, super solid watch with 200m WR that can be used on any occasion.
Nomos has a lot of appeal in the brand itself as well. A young, independent watchmaker with amazingly finished in-house movements that keep to older, traditional Bauhaus designs. They also have some creative, new designs in the same style as the Metro Date Power Reserve, Zurich World Time, and Lambda.
I am a Texan in Germany. Not many Sinn’s catch my eye but I live very close to their showroom and factory. I purchased a watch during Covid and they were the most helpful sales people ever. They let me try on everything I could imagine. Top notch customer service.
fully tegimented U2 I bought in 2011. wouldn’t call this minimalist or boring by any stretch. I think OP has little familiarity with their catalog.
I’m drawn to ultra legible, simple, military-style watches for whatever reason. The 556a is sort of an attainable grail watch for me. Maybe there are “better” watches that achieve the above but the first time I saw one my thought was “I gotta have one of these someday”.
I don’t know much about the rest of the Sinn lineup but that’s my take on the 556a anyway.
It’s my second most worn watch and very versatile with lots of straps. I highly recommend it.
I’m not a big fan of most other Sinns though.
" always black and white and minimalist to a fault. "
That’s why. Right there
form follows function. they are reduced to their minimal functional elements, reaching closer to the Platonic ideal of a tool watch. This is desirable to some people.
I love mine. Orange accent adds just enough
Sinn watches are built for purpose and are real tool watches with function being more important than design. They’re not meant to be a fashion luxury watch but instead are targeted at professionals for specific uses. The super durable nature, great movement, and attractive price from this well known German brand is what makes it appealing to a lot of people. I totally get what you mean when people say that it looks too simple (honestly I’m no different) but it makes a lot of sense for a piece of this nature.
The minimalist aesthetic is the appeal.
I was saying Boo-Sinn!!!
You are describing what is appealing to me.
Right as I first got into the hobby I was lusting after Speedmasters. I had started with a Timex Intelligent Chronograph, picked up a Casio or two, got an Orient Ray II to get in the mechanical game. The allure of the Speedy haunted me, and as a compromise I looked at the Sinn 356 as a more reasonably priced alternative.
I know they’re very different watches, but there was something about it that really spoke to me. I eventually got myself a Speedy and it was great, but the appeal of the Sinn never left. There’s something about the no-bullshit, old school vibe in that boringness you describe that I really like. I get the appeal of design flourishes and color sometimes, but other times I just want a cartoon version of a watch. They really remind me of the cockpit of a piston engine fighter plane. I love it.
Just a taste thing, really. The 556 has always struck me as being just about the least visually interesting watch imaginable, and I really don’t see the appeal—and I’m kind of a meat and potatoes field watch guy, but come on, give me something—so I just chalk it up to different strokes/different folks. It’s cool, just very much not for me.
(I do kind of laugh at the standard Sinn fan argument I see a lot: “this isn’t a fashion accessory, it’s a tool.” Come on bro. No one’s spending more than a grand on an automatic wristwatch purely because of its practical properties. It’s a pricy fashion accessory that you think communicates “I am not the kind of guy who acknowledges buying pricy fashion accessories.”)
"this isn’t a fashion accessory, it’s a tool.”
Lol, only time this comment should be made is if your a looking to get made fun of by r/watchcirclejerk.
I love watches, but I let’s be real. The main reason why anyone of us wears one is because it looks pretty on our wrist.
Unless there is a zombie apocalypse and total collapse of civilization, a watch (especially a mechanical one) is probably the worst tool you can have given other alternatives in that area.
It’s a fashion accessory meant to signal that the wearer doesn’t care about fashion!
Joking aside, I do appreciate that aesthetic personally. The “function dictating form” design language is attractive to me. And there’s that added benefit that those “tool watch” kinds of designs generally allow for less delicate handling, and less averse reactions to signs of wear. But of course it’s not an ACTUAL or in any way important tool for me.
I feel the same way. I like simple field watches with a little bit of refinement. I like the polished chamfer on the tudor watches, specifically the ranger. I don’t own one, but I have san Martin’s version of it and I love it. Very simplistic design but had just a little pop to it.
I used to think the same about the 556 but now I think it’s a brilliant design. It’s a watch for any situation.
If yon needs to ask yon is probably not doing it right, as to the watches one persons simple elegance is another persons bland, I have been called worse and I do not even have one.
