First Impression: Sinn Basel Releases

The mechanical watch market is littered with brands that essentially throw barely-finished movements into standard, catalog-ordered cases. Sure, they can look nice, but are you really getting anything special? Objectively (as possible), we don’t think so. To get in-house and/or highly finished movements, you can bet on anything from a ‘high’ to an ‘insanely high’ price tag. Without spending a fortune, the other way to get your money’s worth, is to take a look at brands like Damasko, Sinn, UTS, and Bremont. These brands will mostly afford you standard Swiss movements with buttloads of case finishing and technology.

Sinn happens to be one of our favorite brands. Not only do they push the boundaries of watch durability, but they also have a great heritage. Whenever they release new pieces, we get all giddy like spoiled kids on Christmas. Lucky for us, Christmas came early at Basel this year, most notably with the Frankfurt Financial District Watch ref 6052, the U1000 B EZM6, and the EZM13.

Sinn 6052

Frankfurt Financial District Watch ref 6052 ($4,870)

There’s no doubt Sinn is well known for their tank-like tool watches. Often overlooked are some of their more refined offerings. Believe it or not, Sinn has a couple dozen dressier references, with eight in the Frankfurt Financial District series alone. Their latest in this series is the reference 6052.

Instead of only relying solely on their case technology, Sinn flexed their movement development muscles with the caliber SZ03. Based on the Valjoux 7750, this caliber adds a full annual calendar with a calendar week sub-dial, and a 60-minute chronograph. “A calendar week sub-dial?”, you ask. Why, yes; in Germany, weeks are often used in the business world, and this function would be quite useful – thus, keeping with the theme of the Financial District series.

The packaging of the 6052 is indisputably slick; it has almost Swiss-like looks. At 41.5 millimeters in diameter and 14 millimeters thick, it’s a modern size you can expect for a watch featuring multiple complications. If you were worried Sinn forgot about their tool watch sweet spot, fear not, the 6052 is shock and magnetic field resistant, and is water-tight down to 100m. If the 6052 is how Sinn envisions deviating from their wrist-tanks, you’ll hear no complaints from us.

Sinn U1000-B

U1000 B EZM6 ($4,970)

The brief respite from the tool watches is over – it’s back to business. If I were to describe the U1000 B with one word, “beast”, comes to mind. The U1000 B, also known as the EZM6, has an impressive list of specifications: German submarine steel case with TEGIMENT technology, 60-minute and 12-hour chronograph, 1000m of water resistance, low pressure/magnetic field/temperature/shock resistance, and anti-fogging capabilities. That was a mouthful.

Holding together all of this technology is a case not to be messed with. This thing is big – 44 millimeters wide and 18 millimeters (!) thick. However, Sinn paired the substantial case with decidedly rugged, good looks. An overall blue theme, the dial is galvanized, which should give it a high-quality appearance in the flesh. The blue theme is continued with a Sinn-branded rubber strap or admiralty grey NATO, either choice would be a great look for summertime wear. If you’re going to get your hands on this one, you better hurry; the EZM6 is a limited edition, only available through 2014.

Sinn EZM13

EZM13 ($2,960)

The EZM13 is our other Basel favorite from Sinn. After seeing the EZM6, the 13 might seem underwhelming, but that label would be a bit unwarranted. Boasting many of the same impressive technologies, the EZM13 comes in a more conservative 41.5 millimeter case – the perfect size for a modern diver.

We love that Sinn made the effort to modify the chronograph minute counter to 60 minutes, making it that much more useful. What’s more, like the EZM6, the crown and chronograph pushers are on the left side, which should help alleviate them digging into your wrist. The EZM13 can be had on leather, rubber, or a stainless steel bracelet, and looks great on any one of them.

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