Latest Review
Despite my besten Bemühungen, when it comes to learning the German language, I’ve never found it to be very einfach, dear reader. But I haven’t let that cloud my judgment with German and Swiss brands. Especially those with Teutonic-sounding names like ochs und junior. Now hitting the two-decade mark since it was founded in 2006, the Swiss brand’s latest release shows it has no interest in stepping outside of its distinct design language of highly stylized, stripped-down watches with a clear “Weniger ist mehr” philosophy.
We see this throughline in the new anno sandblasted. Available in 39mm and 42mm case sizes, this release upgrades the brand’s existing annual calendar with a sandblasted dial. But as you can see, the calendar display is undeniably the most eye-catching part of this watch, creating something that is just as much about the form of the watch itself as it is about the function. Even so, at first glance, it may be a bit hard to understand (not unlike the genitive case, but I’m not bitter…).
To do this, the Ludwig Oechslin designed annual calendar replaces conventional windows and text displays with a series of holes read directly (and I’m told “intuitively”) from the dial. The 31 holes around the perimeter show the date, with the ten-minute markers acting as five-day reference points. For example, the 30-minute marker also marks the 15th day of the month. A smaller group of seven holes shows the weekday, while 12 holes show the month, both rotating counterclockwise. The weekday display also doubles as a day/night indicator, with one visible dot for daytime and two visible dots for night. See? Simple!
The watch – and this interesting little calendar – is powered by an ETA 2824-2 base movement with a 38-hour power reserve.
With all the decoration of the calendar, the sandblasted, rhodium-plated dial balances it all out with a muted, soft tone, only accented by a second hand coated with yellow gold leaf and grey hour markers. In turn, the dial is complemented by a Grade 5 titanium case and a black Ecopell leather strap handmade by Sabina Brägger.
The ochs und junior anno sandblasted is available to order now through their website. Unlike other ochs und junior models, this one is not customizable and has a price tag of CHF 5,177 (without VAT) . Delivery is planned for three months from purchase.
