Introducing the Stowa Antea Klassik KS Roman Rosé

When a watch design is just right, it allows for seemingly endless iteration. Stowa’s Antea Klassik is one such design, coming in a variety of sizes, colors, materials, and with different movements and complications. Originally brought to market in 1937 and reissued in 2004, the Antea Klassik is the epitome of minimalist Bauhaus aesthetics.

The Antea Klassik KS Roman Rosé measures 35.5 millimeters across with a slim 6.9-millimeter thickness. Sounds small, but the lug-to-lug span is a full 44.6 millimeters with a modest slope to the spring bars. This watch wears much larger than one might expect—for example, it’s one of very few sub-36-millimeter watches that looks proper on my round, 7.5-inch wrist.

Click here for our review of the Stowa Antea Klassik KS. 

For the Roman Rosé, Stowa has plated the dial in rose gold and given it a sunburst brush pattern. Large, minimalist roman numerals are painted on in black, and rather than cropping the “VI” they’ve allowed it to bleed over onto the running-seconds sub-dial. That detail is a deft bit of design dating back to copper-dialed versions from the 1930s. The big difference here is that the modern version’s sub-dial is recessed and carries its own pattern, whereas the original’s sub-dial was merely painted on. This new design makes the sub-dial pop, creating dynamics missing from the original.

All three hands are blued-steel batons, which is faithful to vintage Stowa designs, and the hands seem to refer to the blued screws prominently featured in the lovely hand-wound movement.

The Swiss-made Peseux/ETA 7001’s decorated bridges look like something you’d see in a very high-end timepiece, and the engraved Stowa logo is all that’s required to make the movement appear proprietary (though it isn’t). You’ll get around 48 hours of power reserve, and there’s no date complication lurking beneath. If you’ve not handled an Antea Klassik, it truly feels like a very expensive watch when you turn it around. In my hands,  this movement always inspires long stretches of entranced marveling. To read more about the Peseux 7001, check out Mark McArthur-Christie’s excellent write-up. The Antea Klassik KS Roman Rosé comes stock with either a black or brown leather strap, but for a modest up-charge you can opt for a Milanese mesh bracelet or either a brown or black croc strap. All options are dressy and classic, suited to the decidedly elegant vibe of this watch.

For anyone seeking a classic-looking dress watch with a unique two-toned color scheme, the Antea Klassik KS Roman Rosé brings a ton to the table for right around $1,000 as of this writing. Spot on with a suit or a dress, I’d imagine this watch could easily hang with a black tee-shirt and nice denim, as well, operating as the detail that swings such an outfit into the cocktail hour with aplomb. Stowa