And no, I don’t mean that Nautica is coming up with their own-brand watches. I recently learned that Miansai is producing watches, and thought they looked pretty interesting.
First up, what is Miansai? It’s a design-oriented brand started up five years ago by Michael Saiger (you can read more about the roots here). This means, of course, that the watches fall more to the fashion side of the spectrum than, say, tool watch – but that doesn’t mean that can’t be worth a look.
All told, there are three main product lines coming from this company. They all feature 39mm cases with sapphire crystals, and come on one of sixty (yeah, that’s right: 6-0) different straps (leather and/or corded nylon). Where they differentiate themselves are with the movements/functionality and dial treatment:
- M1: automatic movement with day/date functions
- M2: chronograph with a white or black dial
- M3: automatic; dial is navy with red, or black with blue
While all the movements are not exactly touted as to their specificity, all of them are labeled as Japanese movements, so they’re likely coming from the Miyota lineup, if I had to guess.
All in all, it’s an interesting mix of watches in the collection – you should be able to find something you like within the the full lineup (here). The M1 starts at $395, which isn’t a bad price for an automatic with these design chops. The M2 starts at $355, and the M3 opens the floor at $385.
On their own, the watches themselves are ok – nothing that makes me want to run out and purchase them; by the same token, they’re not anything I’d banish to the back of the drawer. When paired with those very sharp-looking straps, though, that makes the proposition a lot more interesting. One hopes that they’d see fit to offer those for sale by themselves.
