With the advent of watch blogs there has come an increasing amount of articles featuring new and exciting brands. When I originally established Total Watch Reviews I want to distinguish myself from my contemporaries by writing from a design perspective. So far (and through an enormous amount of research) I have been able to find an abundance of original timepieces marketed at all price points. Choisi Suisse illustrates this point perfectly.
A few weeks ago Choisi Suisse contacted me with a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation showcasing all of their watches and the company’s history. Originally the business was founded in 1929 in the region of Bienne, Switzerland. As well as manufacturing their own timepieces they also assembled mechanical movements for many other Swiss watch companies. During WWII they produced in the region of 100,000 military timepieces for the Allied forces and German Wermarch. With the introduction of popular quartz watches in 1970’s exports massively declined. Presently Choisi Suisse is owned by a group of businessmen/watch enthusiasts based in Singapore. Fortunately they saw huge potential in the label and decided to give the company a much-needed facelift.
What originally attracted me about Choisi Suisse was their stylish designs and competitive prices. For example, the 1929 Bienne has a Swiss made vintage mechanical movement and retails for only $880. Out of all of their collections I opted to review the Heritage Docteurgraph with a champagne colour dial. With a diameter measuring 44mm (excluding the crown and pushers) the watch should entice a large variety of buyers including the unisex market. Generally I found the timepiece sat very comfortably on my wrist and I didn’t incur any friction from the lugs. Essentially this is down to the elegant cushion shape case and use of 316L stainless steel in production. On that basis I would be happy to wear this watch for most occasions and definitely for daily usage.
Visually the Heritage Docteurgraph has a very distinctive and high quality appearance. Certainly for a Swiss mechanical chronograph marketed at $1,880 I believe this watch offers good value for money. The Champagne colour dial is refined and acts a perfect background for the red physician’s pulsation scale indications. Other effective details include the raised gold numerals/markers, chronograph counter and the delicate hour/minute hands. It is also pertinent to mention there is also another equally impressive model with a black dial. Overall I love the simplicity of the composition and I feel the finishing is first rate.
Beneath the attractive exterior Choisi Suisse have equipped the watch with a Caliber ETA (Valjoux) 7750. This self-winding movement comprises 25-jewels and oscillates at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. Functionally the Heritage Docteurgraph features hours, minutes, seconds and a chronograph facility. The watch also has a power reserve of approximately 40 hours and is water resistant to a depth of 50 metres.
The Heritage Docteurgraph has a high quality brown calf leather strap with matching stainless steel buckle. Priced competitively at: $1,880.
For more information visit the company’s website: http://www.choisiwatch.com
