Latest Review
When the Amida Digitrend arrived last summer, it was part of a crop of new releases from independent brands making interesting designs and complications accessible to a wider audience, and it really won me over. In my review last year I cited watches from Toledano & Chan, SpaceOne, and Holthinrichs as comps, either in spirit, technical features, or both. Those brands of course are still very much in the mix, and a year later there are even more examples of watches that offer unique value at competitive price points by introducing enthusiasts to new ways of thinking about what a watch can be. This is a long-winded way of saying that the market for these types of watches is more competitive than ever, so a follow up release becomes that much more important. Amida, for their part, is seeking to keep the momentum going by introducing a new version of the Digitrend that sheds some literal light on how they achieve their unique complication.
The Amida Digitrend Open Sapphire is essentially exactly what it says it is – a Digitrend with a large sapphire window affixed to the case that allows the wearer to see the jump hour mechanism inside. Previously, this area was covered by a solid sheet of metal, an aesthetic drawn from the brand’s interest in automotive design. They are applying similar principles to the new version that leaves the “engine” (their terminology) exposed, referencing removable Targa tops as a point of inspiration.
The Digitrend, for those who need a refresher, is a diver’s watch with roots in the 1970s. Amida is a historic brand that has been revived only recently with the Digitrend existing as the base for rebuilding their story. Designed to be easily viewed with a hand on the steering wheel, time is read through a display on the side of the case, with a digital readout reflected through a prism inside the case. The movement is a Soprod Newton automatic caliber that has been customized by Amida with a jump hour mechanism.
The integration of a large sapphire window to the case body completely transforms the aesthetic of the watch, effectively turning the “normal” view of the watch from a clean sheet of steel to one that effectively reveals, at least partially, the ingenuity behind the design. It’s more than a little bewildering, however, because the numerals that you see on the large discs that display the hours and minutes are reversed, so that when they’re shown through the internal prism they appear readable from the outside. Exposing these components underscores just how clever the design is, and makes this new version of the Digitrend perhaps even more of a conversation piece than the debut we saw a year ago.
Amida notes in their press materials the difficulty in using so much sapphire in the Digitrend. It’s a notoriously difficult material to manufacture in unusual shapes and sizes. Remember that not only has Amida added a large, custom piece of sapphire to the design of the case with the Digitrend Open Sapphire, they are also using a sapphire prism internally, so the manufacturing challenges are surely multiplied with this new effort. Amida also notes that the new sapphire window has been engineered to eliminate distortion despite the presence of curved surfaces.
Given the complexity of the design, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the new Open Sapphire has a higher retail price than last year’s watch, and by a significant margin. The Digitrend Open Sapphire retails for CHF 4,500 on an Alcantara strap, and CHF 4,850 on a matching steel bracelet (last year’s version was priced at $2,900). The Digitrend Open Sapphire is a limited edition of 150 pieces, and will go on sale on June 19. Amida
