Celebrating 25 Years of the Sinn 356

Sinn is a cult brand with a unique quality (ok, several) – each of their watches also has a cult following. Are you a 556-head? A U1 kind-of-guy? No? How about a 103-fiend? Or, do you like the 70s vibe of the 144 the most? No matter what, there’s a Sinn line you can geek out over, as over the years each line has had several to dozens of variations and special editions created under it. But, there’s been one model that has felt somewhat ignored over the last several years. A line that is actually a bit of a favorite around at Worn & Wound and on my perennial “someday I’ll pick one up” list – the 356, Sinn’s most compact automatic chronograph.

At 38.5 x 46mm for a long, long time, the 356 was one of the smallest automatic, or even mechanical, chronographs you could find for a reasonable price. Powered by the venerable Valjoux 7750, it blended a classic military pilot chronograph layout, one that pulled from Type 20s and the like, with a case that felt more like a field watch in its size and stripped-down appearance. The result was rugged, understated, and altogether charming. Check out our review from 2014.

While variations of the 356 exist or have existed, including different crystal options, a stunning model with a salmon stamped-guilloche dial, and an elusive 12-hour UTC model, it’s not a line that has gotten much attention recently. This is why today’s announcement, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the 356 with three new models, is so exciting. To make matters perhaps even more exciting for some, the new 356s have a far more vintage feel thanks to a dual-register (3,9) layout and no date.

Before getting into the individual models, it’s worth noting what they have in common. All three are now powered by the Sellita SW 510 automatic chronograph. The SW 500 line has become the new standard for automatic chronographs as 775Xs have become scarce, and has proven to be a reliable engine. All three are listed as measuring 38.5mm with a 15.6mm height and have 20mm lug widths. As per our review, it is likely they are still about 46mm long, but that is not listed. New for the 25th anniversary, they all now feature “Flieger Klassik” printed on the dial at six.

The two non-limited editions feature your choice of acrylic or sapphire front crystals with solid case backs and bead-blast finishing. It is unclear if the sapphire version also has a display back. The LE has sapphire crystals on front and back, and a brushed case (Sinn calls it “satinized”).

Let’s get into the watches starting with what will likely be the most popular version, the 356 PILOT Classic W. While the W in the name indicates that the dial of this model is white, it lacks that the subdials are black. Yep, it’s a dual-register, date free, 356 panda. Wow. Accenting the pure white backdrop are solid black numerals, markings, and hands. I’m very happy to see they avoided the seemingly inevitable red-tipped chrono-seconds hand as the clean black and white is quite striking. Since the numerals are all black, lume has been applied just in small blocks per hour along the outer edge of the dial. 

The next model is decidedly more stylized. The 356 PILOT Classic AS E goes full into the vintage styling with a gradient “matt-silk” dial with a warm, anthracite grey center darkening to black at the edge. The numerals have been printed in “ivory” lume, and the hands are filled with the same color, which has a darkened, orange tone. The subdials are rendered in stark black, contrasting the softer dial color. Let’s not mince words here, this one is for fauxtina fans. The dial fade looks like a watch that has sat in the sun for a few decades, and lume looks like aged radium or tritium. With that said, it comes together very well as the dial is nicely balanced and the colors work together perfectly.

Both the 356 PILOT Classic W and the 356 PILOT Classic AS E are available on either a leather strap or steel bracelet with acrylic crystals for $2,640 and $2,850 respectively. With sapphire crystals, those prices go to $3,140 and $3,350.

The third model is a limited edition called the 356 PILOT Classic Anniversary. The “celebratory” version, it takes on a clean style that is reminiscent of other Sinn anniversary LEs. The dial is a slightly warm, dark anthracite nicely accented by silver subdials. The anthracite portion of the dial features white markings and lumed numerals, while the silver subdials have black markings. This is the only model of the three with an applied “Sinn” logo at 12, indicating its special status. This version comes together nicely with a slightly more vintage feel than a black dial would have had, but not an overt coloration like the AS E.

The 356 PILOT Classic Anniversary comes in a special box with two leather straps, one dark brown, the other a tan nubuck, as well as a strap changing tool. It is limited to 500 pieces globally and is priced at $3,340. It would have been nice for this version to have had a strap and a bracelet given the price, but for Sinn and 356 collectors, it’s still a very nice set.

With these three new models, the 356 has been given the refresh and spotlight it deserves. Still a great, compact, automatic chronograph, the new dual-register layout fits the trends of the day, as well as opens up the dial, which was a touch cramped with the 7750 inside. The panda is a clear winner and the fauxtina model will have its fans for sure. The LE version adds some slightly more refined trim to celebrate the anniversary, coming together with an understated class. Let us know which is your favorite and why in the comments below. Sinn