Microbrands, or small startup or boutique brands are not usually my thing- for whatever reason, my particular preference and headspace is for the older brands. This has caused me to miss out on some interesting and worthwhile stuff, unfortunately- the boom of Halios, Ming, Lorier and others have mostly swept by me. Like the watches produced by those brands, the subject of this review challenges that way of thinking- and presents a convincing argument to stop being a legacy-brand snob and pay attention to what the upstarts are doing.
The Hesili Original Series One is the inaugural release of the recently formed brand. Started by a watch enthusiast in New York City, its “About” says it was born out of a love for watches and a passion for style. Personally, I like when classic menswear and style overlap with watches- and that certainly seems to be the case with this watch. Does it fulfill its goal of “serving stylish men (ed. note- and of course, women) through high quality and affordable Swiss watches”? Let’s go through the watch itself, and my impressions of it below.
Hesili Original Series One Specs | |
Case Diameter 40mm | Crystal Sapphire (14 layers of AR) |
Case Thickness 10.5mm | Lume N/A |
Lug-to-Lug 48.5mm | Strap/Bracelet Pebble grain leather |
Lug Width 20mm | Movement STP 1-11 |
Water Resistance 50m | Price $595 |
The Case
The case of the Hesili Original Series One is a pleasant, run-of-the-mill affair, from a design standpoint- a discrete band of midcase with a slight bulge on the underside and the bezel raised up on the top. The lug profile is simple- a gentle downward sweep, and a slight concavity to the sides when viewed from above. It’s modestly refined without being fussy. I like the slight cutouts at the inside corners of the lugs- just the faintest whiff of Bombé styling.
Many of the case edges have small, polished bevels. They do a good job of taking the watch out of “all-brushed straight sided dive-watch-esque case” territory and reflecting just the right amount of light back at you.
It’s time to talk proportions, because that’s where I run into some aesthetic problems. The most glaring one (literally) is the polished bezel. It’s very wide. I think I can understand the design choice- its outer rim lines up perfectly with the curvature of the case sides and ends with only the smallest step down to the midcase- but I don’t personally think it complements the otherwise very sleek, dressy appearance. A significantly narrower bezel (and perhaps as a result, a slightly smaller case?) would really tie the whole watch together, case and dial, much better.
And the case size itself. At 40mm it’s objectively fine, but in spite of this I find that the watch seems somehow to wear larger, a little too broad-shouldered and wide-bellied for one of its refined aspirations. I imagine much of this comes from the bezel, as previously addressed.
I definitely must give credit where it is due, however- the Original Series One is very pleasingly slim at 10.5mm, including crystal. It hugs the wrist like a dress watch should, with no extra large bulge on the underside or tall midcase sides giving it undue height or mass.
I’m also a fan of the modest onion-style crown. These crowns were common the earliest wristwatches- a lingering taste of pocket watch design watches from the ’20s and ’30s, it goes well with the classic, vintage appearance of the dial.
Overall I feel there are definitely more positives than negatives about this case design and there are many things I very much like about it.
The Dial
The wins keep piling up for the Original Series One with the dial. Two things immediately jump out at you: the highly polished applied Arabic numerals, and the deep blue of the handset. I didn’t expect myself to be the biggest fan of polished numerals, but I really like the ones on this watch. The font makes or breaks these types of things, and in my opinion the font for these numerals is well-chosen- simple enough to be clear and legible, but with period-appropriate serifs and styling. While we’re talking about fonts, I also like the logo text as well- it’s a little different and definitely has an old world elegance to it.
The handset is a nice, traditional shape, and very blue. I actually found the extremely saturated, deep purple-blue of the hands somewhat aesthetically displeasing. They’re almost a little too blue- they definitely don’t resemble heat blued steel at all. I’m decidedly not an apologist for heat bluing over chemical treatment- tomāto, tomäto- but the particular hue and saturation of blued hands is what I’m used to as a watch enthusiast, and what I prefer.
There’s always something to be said about the date window. This one’s at 6:00, takes the place of the 6 numeral and looks like a small, polished porthole. I think it’s quite nicely done and don’t feel it interrupts the dial significantly- it’s better than the traditional 3:00 or the spicy 4:00 position. I’m sure some would protest it, but as the entirety of the dial and printing is very center-justified, I think it flows very well.The creamy dial is just off-white enough to contrast with the numerals even in bright light. The dial owes a good deal of its clarity to the 14 layers of anti-reflective coating on the crystal. Anti-reflection in a watch crystal is crucial to the aesthetic experience of the dial and handset, not to mention legibility, and I love this attention to detail with the Original Series One.
The Rest
No views are to be had of the STP 1-11 automatic movement inside the watch with a solid caseback held on by six small screws. Truthfully it’s no great loss as STP are not known for their movement finishing. They’re a Swiss manufacturer owned by the Fossil group and featured in most Zodiac watches. Starting a few years ago, when Zodiac/STP began manufacturing again in earnest, there were many troubling reports of so-so reliability and genuinely appalling QC of their movements. Though I have no concrete report, from listening in on collector’s circles it seems these problems have subsided somewhat. You can rest easier with the movement in the Original Series One, though- every single watch is tested by a third party watchmaker for accuracy and consistency, and is regulated to five positions. For myself, this along with a one year warranty sets to rest any qualms I may have had about the movement.
The strap bears mentioning as much as any other part of the watch. The Original Series One comes with a pebble grain, house-branded strap with a custom polished buckle. The strap is really excellent- it’s appropriately thick for the watch, extremely flexible and soft, and very well stitched and finished. The buckle is polished with the brand name engraved on it, and feels well-made and finished.
Has the Original Series One converted me to microbrands? Almost. Maybe it has. Overall I like the Original Series One more than almost any other microbrand watch I’ve handled to date, but there are just a few nagging aesthetic aspects of it that I wish would be different. Make the bezel thinner (and I wouldn’t be upset if the watch shrank a millimeter or two in the process), change the hue of the blue hands, and I think you have a real winner of a watch. The design is practical for most daily activities and aesthetically pleasing in nearly any situation.
$600 buys you a lot of watch here- I don’t know of many other brands that combine that price point with Swiss movements and manufacturing. Couple that with a thoughtful, attractive design and you have a watch that is well worth stopping for a second look. And maybe, just maybe, a first small-brand watch addition to your collection.
You can learn more and buy directly from the Hesili website.
