If you recall, last week I posted up about the Maranez Layan, which featured semi-precious stones being used for the dials of the watches. While I have not had the pleasure of seeing those in person, I did just recently spend some time with another watch that features stone, in this case, marble. The watch in question is the Vincero Verde, named as it is for the green Italian marble utilized on the watch.
First, a little note on nomenclature – we are calling this article a hands-on piece, rather than a review. First and foremost, this is just simply due to the amount of time that we had the piece on hand. As Vincero currently has the Verde in pre-order, we had a more compressed timeframe for checking out the watch. Second, and perhaps just as important, it was a non-functional sample that we had in. Yes, the movement was in place, but it was not in running order, so I was unable to put the watch through the normal wear experiences. Vincero assures us that if this did happen to a customer, it would of course be covered under warranty and be taken care of. (UPDATE: After being sent back, the watch started running. I guess it was either lonely for home, or simply wanted to get bounced around in the postal system to get back to work).
Now, on to the watch. As you might imagine, the green marble is really the star of this particular show. On one hand, we are probably not that surprised to see marble showing up on the dial. Yes, it is not uncommon, but getting dial slivers of various materials is coming to be more of a common thing, it seems. What really sets it off here, with the Vincero Verde, is the fact that you also have the same marble inset into the center link of the bracelet. Overall, the marble has the effect of giving us a non-flat appearance (though the stone is) due to the variations in the pattern.
Paired as it is to the white dial and the stainless steel case, it makes for a compelling contrast. Green marble by itself can be rather dark, so the lighter treatments here work quite well. The outer white portion of the dial also gives a reasonable place for the Roman numerals to be place, which gives the piece a somewhat dressier feel – though, at 43mm, this would be a rather large dress watch. Marking out the time under the sapphire crystal you have some fairly slender (and skeletonized) hands, with some smaller lumed tips on them.
On one hand, I appreciate the open hands are to keep from obscuring the dial, but it can make picking out the time a bit trickier. As to the lume, well, it is there, but it will be tricky reading this watch in the dark. Frankly, I would have rather seen either a fully-skeletonized handset (no lume), or a filled hand, with a full lume strip. Yes, that would obscure part of the dial, but that could be compensated by removing the opening showing up between 5 and 6 o’clock.
Sure, it gives you a peek at the Miyota 90S5 automatic movement, but I have really come to see that as more of a gimmick than anything else. It’s a half-step to a fully-skeletonized dial (which can be hard to do), and since the focus here is on the marble used, I think the watch would be better served by having a whole dial (this would likely simply production as well). Speaking of marble, lets take a closer look at the bracelet, shall we?
As mentioned at the outset, we have the green marble also inset into the links of the 22mm bracelet, which is a nice touch. It gives some variety to the solid links, without having to reset to finger-print attracting polishing. It would imagine it would be somewhat more scuff resistant as well. The links are held together with simple friction pins, which makes for easy sizing. I will say that the links had a bit more of a gap between them than I am used to seeing, even at this pricepoint. This also carried through to the butterfly clasp.
While I did not feel like the watch was going to fall apart by any means, it did detract some from the premium look one would figure the marble would be striving for. This is wear a longer wear test would have proven useful, to see how those gaps did (or did not) impact it in daily wear. Oh, and speaking of links, they do include a half-link (which does not have the marble inset), which should allow you to get the fit that works for your wrist.
On the wrist, the Vincero Verde has a nice presence. The overall matte/brushed finish helps the watch stay subdued (don’t need it to be flashy with the stone there), with some hints of polish (the bezel, handset, and numerals) giving things a bit of a sparkle. Flip the watch over, and you have a sapphire exhibition caseback through which you can see the aforementioned Miyota movement. While I do not recall having seeing this specific one before, it is worth noting the interesting finishing on the rotor. It has a textured finish that looks like sparkling sand, which is an interesting look.
And that is about where I settled on the Vincero Verde – it has an interesting look. It may not be the look for everyone, but for those who are drawn to the use of marble, this could be a rather compelling watch. If you find yourself in that camp, you will want to head over to where they are currently running a crowd-funding campaign to get the pre-orders set on the watch. The campaign ends on December 21, so you’ll need to move quickly; shipping is anticipated in mid- to late-February 2015.
If you go for the Vincero Verde as we showed you in our pictures here, you’ll either need to pledge $349 (which gives you the steel version we’ve shown, or a black finish). Alternatively, if you want to save a bit, you could opt for a leather strap (rather than the marble and steel bracelet) for $299. Frankly, I think if you do that, the watch would lose a good bit of its design appeal. Regardless, it is nice that Vincero has some options available within the self-managed funding platform. Of note, this will set the levels of inventory available (making these numbered, limited-edition), and once they are gone, they are, well, gone.
While there are some interesting aspects to the Vincero Verde, in the end, this really was not a watch that I would see myself wearing. Yes, the marble is unique, but it is more of a novelty (at least to my tastes). When you add in that there were some design choices that did not quite click for me, and the loose fit of the bracelet elements, this really is not the watch for me. The basic groundwork is there to (potentially) make a rather compelling watch. For my money, though, the Vincero Verde isn’t having me wanting to open my wallet. That’s the opinion of one watch reviewer though. Let us know in the comments what you think of the watch, and if you will be ordering one, as I am curious to see how others receive the watch. vincerocollective.com
Hands-On Overview
- Brand & Model: Vincero Verde
- Price: $349 (as reviewed)
- Is This A Watch I’d Wear: In the end, no. It would be a novelty at first, then head to the back of the watch box.
- What I would recommend changing: First and foremost, the fit on the bracelet needs to be addressed. Getting more precision on it would make a world of difference.
What I would leave unchanged: Here, it’s the use of marble – extending it’s use on to the bracelet is a great move.
Tech Specs from Vincero
- Green Italian Marble Dial
- Sapphire Crystal Glass on Front & Back (scratch resistant)
- Miyota 90S5 Mechanical Movement (never needs a battery)
- 316L Stainless Steel Band with Marble Inlay and Butterfly Clasp
- 10 ATM Water Resistant
- Anti-Reflective Coating (reduces reflection)
- Swiss-Superluminova Hands (visible at night)
- Case
- Casing: 43mm in Diameter
- 51mm from end-to-end
- Thickness: 11.5 mm (0.45″) (top of bezel to top of caseback)
- Band:
- Length: 240mm (9″) – Adjustable to Fit Your Wrist
- Width: 22mm (1″)
