Brellum Updates Their Duobox Chrono with a Touch of (Real) Gold

New for 2020, Brellum has announced an update to their collection of gold-bezeled chronographs.  The Duobox Gold Edition takes their recognizable vintage inspired aesthetic and adds just a touch of  real, 18-carat gold. Two-tone, if you haven’t heard, is back, and Brellum is endeavoring to give you a hint of the real thing in a tasteful, affordable package. While we’re not talking about gold in quantities that will have you thinking about melting these down in the face of total economic collapse, a little goes a long way. Let’s dig in.

Brellum Duobox Gold

• Case Material: Stainless steel
• Dial: White/black, Blue/black, Black
• Dimensions: 41.8 x 15.9mm
• Crystal: Sapphire     
• Water Resistance: 50 meters
• Crown: Push/pull              
• Movement: BRELLUM BR-750-1 Chronometer automatic (base Valjoux 7750)
• Strap/bracelet: Leather, stainless steel bracelet, mesh bracelet
• Price: $2,997 – $3,115
• Reference Number: DB.CH.551, DB.CH.562, DB.CH.527
• Expected Release: Available now 

The whole idea behind Brellum as a brand is to promote a return to traditional Swiss watchmaking at an enthusiast level with an affordable price point. Watches in Brellum’s expanding catalog don’t follow trends, but are linked to classic styles and proportions, with a certain amount of formalism baked in to the house design language. There’s also a focus on chronometry – movements are off the shelf ETA, typically, but are COSC certified. They also tend to be quite well finished and a pleasure to look at.

The Duobox Gold is essentially a new spin on the popular Duobox Classic. Here we have three watches with your choice of dial arrangements in a black on white panda configuration, a sleek black on black, or more opulent blue dial with black sub-registers. This blue version, with the gold bezel and pops of gold on the dial (hands, hour markers, and Brellum’s logo at 3:00) is really striking, and could be the sleeper hit of the group. The panda dial is also really nice, and probably the sportiest of the three. Each watch can be ordered on your choice of a leather strap, mesh bracelet, or a five-link bracelet design. 

These watches are a sliver under 42mm in diameter, but are quite thick at 15.9mm. Those of us who have experienced chronographs powered by a Valjoux 7750 are familiar with the sometimes too-tall case height of chronographs using this movement. It’s really the cost of doing business in the world of automatic chronographs at this price point – they’re just going to be thick. Some brands do a better job than other of minimizing the ill effects of that extra height, so it’s important (as always) to really inspect the photos and try the watch on if possible before pulling the trigger. Sometimes a watch that seems thick on paper is actually quite comfortable once you have it strapped to your wrist. The Duobox Gold, like the Duobox Classic, uses a box style sapphire crystal, which should make the watch feel slimmer than if it had used a crystal of the domed variety. 

The Duobox Gold is available now on Brellum’s website, and ranges in price between $2,997 and $3,115 (after currency conversion) depending on your strap or bracelet choice. Brellum