Hands-On Review of the Brew Metric
You might be able to tell we at Wrist Enthusiast are big fans of Brew Watches. And its not because founder Jonathan Ferrar might be one of the nicest guys in the industry. No, the Brew collection stands on its own. And in my opinion, the Metric rises above the rest. We like the Metric so much that we have featured it on our 61 Best Microbrand Watches guide, Best Watches for Small Wrists guide, and even our comprehensive 110 Best Men’s Watches guide. I had the chance to purchase a Metric with blue dial a little over a year ago and have kept it in my collection ever since.
Brew as a brand takes a lot of its inspiration, uniquely, from coffee and espresso machines. This can be seen not only in the coffee bean logo, but also in the curved lines of many of their watches’ cases, especially the Method and Retrograph collection. The Metric has evolved the curved tonneau/rectangle shape of its predecessors to a more angular design that is clearly meant to pay homage to some of the classic watches of the 1970s.
The circular dial is surrounded by a squared (but curved) case. This furthers the retro-vibes and reminds me of watches from the 70s, including the Breitling Sprint (Ref. 2211 in particular). The watch is a chronograph and the assyemtrical subdials at 6 and 10 o’clock provide a funkiness that I really enjoy. The blue sunburst dial adds a bit of modernity (and fits the current blue-dial craze) for someone who doesn’t want something too retro.
One of my favorite parts of the Metric is the bracelet. The Metric has an integrated single link bracelet that has an extreme taper, similar to other 70s watches like the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Zenith Defy. I always appreciate a good taper on a watch as it makes it less bulky and much more wearable. And for a watch on our Best Watches for Small Wrists buying guide (it has a 36 mm case size), you want something slim.
In addition to the case diameter being 36mm, it is just 10.75mm thick. The Metric can be so thin because it runs on a Seiko hybrid VK68 Mecha-Quartz chronograph movement. The Mecha-Quartz movement provides the low cost and accuracy of a quartz movement with the the smooth chronograph functionality of a mechanical movement. In addition, it is thinner than any off the shelf automatic movements available. For a smaller, vintage-inspired timepiece, it is important that the watch doesn’t feel too large or bulky.
Brew Watches has had a lot of fanfare in collectors circles in recent years and I can see why. The Metric starts at just $450 USD for the two current steel models (the Retro Dial and the Steel Dial) and the newly released gold model is just $475 USD. Overall, you are getting a lot of bang for your buck at an under $500 USD price-point from an up-and-coming microbrand. The Metric surely looks like a watch that cost far more than $450 USD.
While most of Brew’s watches have been powered by quartz movement, the brand has had a few past releases run on automatic movements. We would love to see more of that in the future. You can pick up a Brew Metric from the brand’s website.
