Have you ever seen a beautiful watch, a watch you would buy right away, only to check the spec sheet and realize it was too big or too small? After years of objectively large watches, we now seem to be seeing brands start producing more modestly sized watches. However, this usually means releasing a single model in a single size. But is this the best way? Just this month, Ariel is advocating that watch brands produce models in a variety of sizes (you can read the article here), which will allow brands to stop trying to please everyone with a single size and start trying to please most people who have Multiple Sizes – More Choices, More Buyers. Well, he seems to be doing something because for Geneva Watch Day, Carl. F. Bucherer introduces the Manero Flyback Chronograph in a slim 40mm case. Even better, it has five different watch faces to choose from.
Carl F. Bucherer fake knows when it has something good, and I have to assume that’s why the brand hasn’t moved the case aside from the new 40mm size. In fact, even if the thickness remains the same, it’s still 14.45mm. For the most part, the case is polished with long, curved lugs that are brushed at the top and have polished chamfers that run along their length. A neat pump pushrod and pull-out grooved crown complete the look. The case achieves a very immobile 30m water resistance and has a sapphire caseback for viewing the movement. All models feature a color-matched quick-release fabric strap made from recycled vegan material with a pin-buckle folding clasp. There is no word yet on whether the bracelet will be launched soon.
There are five dials to choose from in the first 40mm Manero version. You have a choice of black and white, each with rose gold-plated markers and hands, followed by a range of colourful panda dials including blue, red and green. While the case has only been reduced in size, the dial has undergone more changes. To simplify the look for a more contemporary look, Bucherer removed a number of lines from the dial: the frame around the beveled date window; a circle that traces the internal points of the applied rhodium-plated wedge-shaped hour markers; The demarcated circular fluted sub-dial (running seconds and chronograph minutes) has a dividing line. The final look is definitely cleaner than the original, but I wouldn’t say it’s modern – whatever Bucherer’s marketing department wants me to think, the watch is still pretty traditional in its aesthetics. What remains unchanged is the dauphine phone with hour and minute hands, each with a lumen strip, a tachymeter scale and of course the flyback chronograph of the same name that can be reset without first stopping the chronograph .
The CFB 1970 movement that powered the original 43mm model was developed in collaboration with La Joux-Perret and is based on the ETA 7750 with modifications to the column wheel and flyback mechanism. The new Manero Flyback 40mm rides on the CFB 1973, which, judging by its specs, appears to be an improved version of the CFB 1970. It has a longer 56-hour power reserve (28,800 vph) and 29 jewels instead of 25. If the brand has been collaborating with La Joux-Perret, it is yet another bright spot for the growing movement maker, as it positions itself as a serious competitor to ETA and Sellita. Given the basic movement used here, there’s no reason to think it’s unreliable, and the column wheel and flyback modifications only sweeten the deal.
There are plenty of watches (including some from this year’s Geneva Watch Days) that may confuse consumers why watches need to exist. Serious watchmaking often seems to be a game of superiority, with brands vying for the thinnest watch or the most tourbillons, or some other pointless haute horlogerie. This isn’t always a bad thing, but it serves the brand’s marketing efforts, not the market itself. On the other hand, the Manero Flyback 40mm makes sense objectively: you don’t need to look for a reason other than a market that needs a smaller watch and more size options. With its wearable size and stripped-down watch face, the new model is likely to be a hit. Hopefully Bucherer continues to expand the range of 40mm products with some exciting colorways and bracelet options. Automatic replica watches