The young Swiss-based brand has recently added the new A.B.Art Serie MA (refs. MA 101 & MA 102) collection to its growing family of simple, Bauhaus-styled timekeepers.
It is always nice to know that there are brands like A.B.Art. Even well-established watchmaking houses with hundreds of millions in R&D and advertising budgets behind them are ready to go over the top churning out dozens of head-turners with an unimaginable combination of styles and materials.
Smaller brands like A.B.Art make it easier to find the right timekeeper for a person who just needs a watch but doesn’t want to waste money on just another three-hander.
As usual, the Serie MA features the brand’s signature minimalistic design with a non-decorated, matte-black dial, three stick-shaped hands, low-key numerals and even more reserved hour markers.
Available with either black (pictured) or snow-white dials, the watch offers the traditionally high level of legibility that we came to expect from a Bauhaus-styled device.
The whole setup is visible through a scratch-proof sapphire crystal that protects the dial from dust.
The screw-down case back is, too, transparent, but here the Swiss watchmaker employed a less expensive mineral glass.
Although positioned as an affordable dress watch, the new Serie MA is a little bit too big for a watch that is supposed to be worn with formal attire.
While the Swiss-made ETA 2824-2 automatic caliber is small and allows for a case of a smaller diameter, the body has been deliberately “inflated” in order to take as much wrist real estate as possible without looking ridiculous.
On the other hand, the increased diameter makes the watch look thinner than it actually is. Perhaps, that was the very idea behind this timekeeper.
The movement, by the way, is fully visible via a transparent case back cover that is fitted with -predictably- potentially scratchable mineral glass. However, the mechanism comes in nothing more exciting than a factory finish featuring a sort of generic oscillating weight, standard screw heads, and some -not particularly exciting- circular graining on the base plate.
I perfectly understand that at a price below €600 it’s probably stupid to ask hand-made Geneva stripes and the whole nine yards of high horology, but it still may sound like a deal-breaker for a great number of potential customers searching for their first Swiss-made watch with a mechanical movement inside.
From the point of view of dependability, though, the mechanism is almost perfect with its bullet-proof reputation of a reliable and satisfactory accurate mechanism that will give you years (probably even decades) of hassle-free operation if you don’t forget to take good care of it.
See also: NOMOS Glashütte Tangente Alma Mater Special Edition Wempe 100
WWR Verdict
Originality 4/5
Build Quality: 5/5
Usability: 4.5/5
Overall Legibility: 4/5
Nighttime Legibility: 1/5
Value for Money: 4/5
Overall Rating: 4/5
Photos: A.B.Art
A.B.Art Serie MA (refs. MA 101 & MA 102) specification
Price: €598 (Online)
Movement: Automatic, ETA 2824-2, Swiss Made
Number of jewels: 25
Movement frequency: 28,800 vph
Movement decoration: Stock finish
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date
Power reserve: 38 hours
Case: Stainless steel, brushed
Shape: Round
Size: 44.00 mm
Dial: Black (pictured) or White
Numerals: Arabic
Hour markers: Baton-shaped
Hands: Steel
Water resistance: 30 meters
Strap: Black natural leather strap
Crystal: Sapphire
Back: Screw-down, transparent, mineral glass