Inspiration for watch designs comes from all manner of art, culture, and transportation, but as far as I know the new Plan Watches Genoa is the first watch to take its inspiration from vintage Italian scooters. Whether you buy into that marketing slant or not, the Genoa is most certainly an interesting take on Miyota’s GP00 24-Hour retrograde quartz movement. Let’s take a closer look.
I certainly can’t claim to be an expert on vintage Italian scooter design, but looking at the pictures of the Piaggio speedometer on the Genoa Kickstarter page, I suppose you could say that the retrograde 24-hour dial does have a passing resemblance to the old dash. Aside from that feature, the Genoa is a fairly simple round-case watch with a somewhat unique dial.
Starting with a white base dial, we find a baton style minute hand and obelisque hour hand. The hour hand terminates at an applied case-color-matching ring with integrated big date window surround at the 12 o’clock position. It’s a creative way to dress up the date window. Moving out from there are applied and polished index markers. The markers themselves are stepped, and support an outer chapter ring in either white or black, with the black being semi-transparent allowing you to actually see the markers underneath.
From the photos, I don’t believe the same can be said of the white chapter ring, but I’d need to see one in the flesh to confirm. The ring itself includes Arabic markers with railroad tracks between each 5-minute marker. The tracks themselves are divided into 15 hash marks, so not really useful for indicating what the actual minute it is. I’m a bit confused by this choice to be honest. I think more standard tracks divided into 5-minute increments would have been a better choice here.
Moving down to 6 o’clock is where we find the retrograde 24-hour sub-dial. I like the lines that emanate from the base of the red hand and terminate at each hour marker on the half moon circle. It’s a nice touch to what otherwise would be a rather bland sub-dial. The red hand is of course meant to remind the wearer of the speedometer needle on the old Piaggio. This hand is actually silver on the polished stainless version of the watch.
As previously stated, the case is a simple 42mm round affair with wire lugs, and can be had in the buyer’s choice of polished stainless, coated matte black, or coated matte gold. The 9mm thickness should allow the watch to slip effortlessly under a shirt cuff. A domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating protects the dial, and a slightly recessed and knurled crown sits at 3 0’clock. The watch will ship with a perforated leather strap, as well as a nylon NATO offered in several different color combinations.
All-in-all, the Genoa is a nice entry level offering from Plan Watches with unique styling and a movement not seen all that often. Whether the “Inspired By Vintage Italian Scooters” schtick means anything to you or not, if you like the styling then it’ll be tough to go wrong at the Kickstarter Super Early Bird price of $155 USD. The campaign, which you can access here, runs through June 15th. There are still a few pledge spots available at the Super Early Bird Pricing. One remaining as of day of publishing. Early Bird pricing jumps to $175. As I write this review funding sits at $17,300 of the $22,500 goal. plan-time.co
Watch Overview
- Brand & Model: Plan Watches Genoa
- Price: $155
- Who we think it might be for: I think anyone who enjoys pieces that take their inspiration from transportation will enjoy this one. Great entry level piece for someone just getting into the hobby as well.
- Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen? No. It’s just not my style.
- What spoke to me the most about this watch: I like the three dimensional aspect provided by the raised chapter ring.
Technical Specifications From Plan Watches
- CASE
- Material: 316L Stainless Steel in Polished, Black, or Gold Coatings
- Size: 42mm
- Crystal: Domed Sapphire With AR Coating
- Water Resistance: 5 ATM/50M/165FT
- Inter-lug Width: 20mm
- Weight: 55g With Strap
- STRAP
- Material: Leather & Nylon NATO
- Clasp: Pin Buckle
- MOVEMENT
- Caliber: Miyota GP00
- Functions: Hour, Minute, Big Date, Retrograde 24-Hour Indicator
