For its second watch release, German brand Rosenbusch revisits the hexagon, but there’s not a straight line in sight on the Horizon, just a stunning curvaceous piece of watch architecture!
Rosenbusch Horizon Overview
German microbrand Rosenbusch was established by three friends who share a passion for mechanical wristwatches, so it’s fitting that one of their USPs is to only ever make mechanical watches. Also, whilst the Horizon is only Rosenbusch’s second watch to date it’s nice to see that a recognisable design language is already emerging from the brand.
The Horizon shares the hexagonal case shape, ellipse-shaped indices and clean style of the brand’s first watch, The Quest, which I reviewed last year. However, in many ways it’s an entirely different beast; dressier, smaller, softer, more refined and with some truly unique touches. If I was to describe the watch, I’d say it’s an oversized avant-garde dress watch that stands out from the crowd.
So where does the name Horizon come from? A valid question as depending on the angle photos are taken from, it might not be immediately obvious. However, as soon as you get this watch in hand it becomes clear. Both the case and sapphire crystal have a gentle arc that spans the length of the case mimicking the contour of planet earth’s horizon where the sea meets the sky.
Four distinct variants are offered, each bringing its own flavour; it’s not simply a case of changing up the dial colour. The Black Pearl features a rich Musou Black dial that absorbs 99.5% of light and an ultra-sterile no-text dial. Canvas White has a linen textured dial, applied Arabic numerals, a date window and a grey leather strap. Copper Sun has a brushed dial, applied batons and fabric strap. And finally, the Urban Blue is the only version to have a dual-layered dial, along with a railroad minute track, applied Arabic numerals and a denim strap. The pre-order Kickstarter price is €875 (approx. £725) across the board and watches come with a two-year warranty and useful single watch travel pouch made from Saffiano-style simulated leather. Once the pre-order ends, the retail price will rise to €1250 (approx. £1035). Kickstarter is open for orders now!
Case and Wearing Experience
The Horizon has a 316L stainless steel case with a 39.5mm diameter and a lug-to-lug of 46mm. Due to the bespoke and utterly mesmerising curved and tapering case and sapphire crystal, the overall thickness of the watch varies depending on which point of the case you measure, but it ranges from 8.1mm to 9.8mm. On paper then at least, most people would say that these stats would make for some pretty crowd-pleasing dimensions, and to a large extent they are.
However, the on-paper figures don’t tell the full story. The thickness and lug-to-lug wear true, but the case diameter is deceptive. In the flesh, the Horizon looks bigger than 39.5mm due to its shape and the fact it’s all dial. Consequently, it seems a little oversized for this style of watch to be honest. I think something more akin to 37mm would have worked better from a design and visual point of view. However, that said, the wearing experience is still an absolute joy, thanks to the thinness, compact span across the wrist and gently contoured case.
In recent months there seems to have been a slight industry shift towards more organic shapes, sensuous curves, soft edges, and non-round cases. And after spending a week or two with the Horizon, I have to say, I can completely see the appeal. I don’t think there is a straight line anywhere on the Horizon’s case, despite the hexagon bezel. The result is a watch that feels elegant and comfortable on the wrist and is incredibly tactile!
The entirely polished pebble-like case shape comprises a hexagonal bezel with softened corners, that arcs gently upwards from the lug ends until it reaches the apex line that runs horizontally from 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock. The sapphire crystal with inner anti-reflective coating sits flush with the bezel and follows this contour. The effect is most impressive when doing a wrist-roll sweeping from six to 12 o’clock. The undercut mid-case thins towards the lugs and unlike the other watch elements is a broadly conventional shape, not hexagonal. A thoughtful touch is the hexagonalcaseback, complete with hexagonal sapphire crystal exhibition window, both of which mimic the dial-side of the watch. If you weren’t a watch nerd, you wouldn’t even know that the movement itself is round, as it looks right at home nestled beneath its hexagonal window. Model details can be found engraved around the permitter of the caseback, along with key specifications such as the more-than-adequate 100-meter water resistance. The 6mm polished push-pull crown with uniform knurling is engraved with the stylish Rosenbusch logo, gives a nice smooth wind and doesn’t have any back play.
The 20mm quick-release black leather strap is buttery smooth and soft against the skin and terminates to 16mm at the polished single-foldover deployant clasp. The choice of simple unstitched leather complements the aesthetics of the watch, and the smooth contours of the clasp continue the tactile feel. My only issue with this type of clasp is that the tail end of the strap feeds underneath both the clasp and the 12 o’clock section of the strap. If you have larger wrists like me there is no issue. However, if you have smaller wrists, the tail end can extend too far beyond the clasp and cause it to look untidy, be uncomfortable and throw the watch off-centre.
The Movement
The Horizon is powered by the Swiss-made Sellita SW210, a hand-wound movement, known for its precision and reliability. Despite being a widely used calibre, it’s a great looking movement and it’s nice to see Rosenbusch use the Elaboré grade version, which is decorated with Geneva stripes to the bridges and regulated to three positions to provide an improved accuracy of +/- 7 sec per day. The power reserve is 45-hours and the beat rate is 28,800 bph (4 Hz).
The Dial and Handset
The Black Pearl variant of the Horizon takes a very minimalist approach to dial design, so much so that when I unboxed the Horizon, I initially thought it looked too sparse and a bit ‘white label’. However, it took all of about 10 minutes for me to change my mind on that and I now think this reductive approach suits the watch beautifully. There is no dial text to be found anywhere and not even a minute track, so if you’re after precise time telling this might not be the watch for you. But that’s not really what this watch is about. Additional and unnecessary dial clutter would distract your attention away from the stars of the show, the ultra-dark Musou Black dial and the dramatic arc of the sapphire crystal. What dial furniture there is though is very ‘Rosenbusch’. The simple ellipse-shaped, polished applied hour markers are modestly sized and filled with a reasonably powerful application of blue Super-Luminova® BGW9. There is a polished, applied logo at 12 o’clock, polished baton-shaped hands with rounded ends (also filled with a generous strip of Super-Luminova® BGW9) and a simple polished central seconds hand. My only complaint here is that I feel like Rosenbusch has missed a trick by not capping the pinion, which would have put the icing on the cake in terms of completing the clean look. Legibility is truly exceptional in the day and pretty decent at night, although the seconds hand can sometimes get lost against the dial depending on the lighting.
Final Thoughts on the Rosenbusch Horizon
The Horizon is a breath of fresh air. I love the way that it successfully combines geometric shapes with fluid sensuous curves that have the feel of molten metal. Even more impressive is the ultra-black dial and beautiful arc to the case and sapphire crystal. It makes for a unique look which is sure to get admiring glances or at least spark curiosity from anyone remotely into watches. You can also see where your money went, as a crystal as unique as this is complex to manufacture and adds considerably to production costs. Rosenbusch has also made smart choices elsewhere. Opting for a hand-wound Sellita movement not only keeps the overall case thickness down, but it somehow seems more apt for this style of watch and allows the wearer more daily interaction with the mechanics. It’s also more attractive than its automatic sibling in my opinion, especially with the Cote de Geneve machining to the bridges. Better regulation for improved accuracy over the base model of this movement is also a selling point. The surprisingly high water-resistance rating means you could even take this watch swimming provided you change the leather strap for something more suitable.
I only really have two negatives. I wish an additional strap with standard buckle was included, and I’d like to see a reduced case diameter. It’s not that the watch feels too big at all on the wrist, but I just think from a visual point of view it would suit the Horizon’s minimalist dial better and look more refined.
Overall though, this is cracking watch at the Kickstarter price of €875 and I love the direction Rosenbusch has taken, keeping key elements of their brand identity, but moving it forward. It’s such a unique watch, that enthusiasts will have a ready-made excuse for adding one to their collection. As such, I’m sure this will be a successful launch for the brand, and pre-orders will be plentiful. However, once the full retail price of €1250 kicks in, orders may slow. One reason for this is that this is watch that looks way better in the hand than in pictures (not that it looks bad in pictures by any means!). I think giving the watch less wrist presence by reducing the case diameter to around 37mm would help find a wider audience for the watch at full retail and result in more sales longer-term! I’m keeping everything crossed for a second release down the line…
Let us know your thoughts on this new release in the comment section below!
