German watchmaker Braun and British fashion house Paul Smith have extended their partnership to create two limited editions of Braun’s BN0279 as Swiss-made automatics.
There are just 100 of each reference being produced.
One is a 40mm matte silver stainless steel two-hander with small seconds and date, powered by an ETA 2895-2 movement.
The other, in a 40mm gunmetal-coloured 40mm case, has central hours, minutes and seconds hands plus date driven by ETA’s 2892A2 movement.
Both models have exhibition case backs exposing the movements.
Design deviates little from previous Braun and Paul Smith collaborations.
They adopt the signature Braun look of clean, uncluttered dials and minimal branding.
Paul Smith’s contributions are limited to a small logo on the dials and a central or small seconds hand with the fashion brand’s iconic colour stripes.
You cannot mess around with something so classical as a Braun dial, Paul Smith himself suggests. “Braun’s products are so beautiful that I’ve always been very sensitive of not wanting to hardly change anything. Just adding a bit of our twist,” he describes.
Braun only started making mechanical watches in Switzerland earlier this year; a surprisingly late pivot from quartz to automatics from a brand that prides itself on heritage and sustainability.
While continuing to produce quartz watches, Braun believes this year’s Paul Smith limited editions deserved to be made in Switzerland using automatic movements.
“We felt it was the right time to celebrate our watchmaking heritage with something completely new. Taking our values of ‘built to last’ and ‘designed to keep’ literally, we wanted to ensure that the watch was fully automatic and of the highest quality, ensuring many years of reliable service. These values are synonymous with Swiss automatic movements and Swiss manufacturing processes, which guarantee products of the highest quality,” Braun says.
The Paul Smith + Braun Swiss-made BN0279 watches are limited to 100 pieces and go on sale on November 28 at paulsmith.com, selected Paul Smith retail shops, and braun-clocks.com.
Both models are priced at £750 / $950.
Leave a comment