Bauhaus 2160 Power Reserve Watch, The Perfect Balance of Minimalistic Design & Robustness on a Budget

Introduction:

The design and architecture school Bauhaus was founded in 1919, their design language characterized by clear lines, functionality, and simplicity, has had far-reaching influences in architecture, fashion, photography and design to this day. True to their motto where form follows function, the Bauhaus design language is immediately recognizable.

One hundred years later, in August 2019, PointTec assumed control of the Bauhaus building, watch production, and the associated watch museum located in Ruhla, Germany. To commemorate this acquisition, the new Bauhaus watch label was introduced, a brand committed to offering high-quality watches inspired in the timeless Bauhaus design at reasonable prices.

Case:

In addition to reduced aesthetics typical of Bauhaus watches, the choice of material is just as important. Bauhaus has chosen the use 316L stainless steel to manufacture the curved stainless-steel case of this watch, a perfect display of harmony within durability and robustness.

The chosen finish for this impressive case is polished like mirror stainless steel.

One of highlight of this Bauhaus watch is the screwed down case back with its display window so we can admire the movement and enjoy the sight of the many individual screws, gears and the rotor.  Neatly engraved on the edge of the case back we find important technical information, including the water resistance rating of 50 mts.

The case diameter is 41mm, height including the glass is 14mm, logs are spaced at 20mm and the distance from log to log is 49mm, the complete watch weight only 69 grams. 

Crown:

Located at 3 o’clock we have the crown, measuring 5.5 mm which I consider to be of an excellent size for a dress watch, it offers enough grip to set the watch while avoiding unnecessary intrusion and discomfort on the wrist.

Dial:

The dial has an adequate size of 39 millimeters, a size that is common on dress watches. This design use Arabic numbers on all 12 hours markers which are perfectly aligned with the batons markers used to display the 5 minutes increments in the dials, the date window with black fonds and white numbers is positioned at 3 o’clock and the power reserve indicators sits on the 9:30 mark.

The made in Germany label is displayed underneath the word automatic at 6 o’clock and the Bauhaus logo and brand name convene at 12 o’clock

The automatic power reserve watches with the reference number 2160 are available in three variants of the dial colors: white with black painted numbers and markers, dark green and dark blue dials with white painted numbers and markers.

As is typical on dress watches, no part of the dial or hands of this watch are painted with Lume.

Hands:

Another interesting choice in the design of the watch is the use of different colors on their needle styled hands:

  • The white dial watch comes with black hands, the minute hand is red.
  • The blue and green dial watches come with gold hands, the minute hand and the power reserve indicator are finished in white.

Glass:

Topping the case, we have a rounded mineral K1 glass with little to no distortion, the glass is mounted directly into the case without the need of a bezel contributing to the impression of having a larger dial.

Movement:

Well protected inside the case is the heart of this watch, a Japanese automatic movement, Citizen-Miyota 9133 with 26 jewels, beating at 28800 beats per hour offering a very smooth sweeping second movement around the dial.

The movement has a hacking second hand which is very useful when setting the time against an atomic clock for example, the expected accuracy is within -10 to plus +30 seconds a day. Power reserve on this movement is about 40 hours when fully wound, to wind the watch 100% the crown must be turned approximately 40 times.

Straps:

The Bauhaus 2160 Power Reserve watch is mounted on a hand crafted leather strap without stiches and stamped with the word Bauhaus, securing the watch on your wrist is done with a polished stainless steel buckle.

The hand crafted leather straps are offered in three different shades of brown depending on the color of the dials of the watch:

  • The white face comes with a sienna shade of brown.
  • The blue dial comes with a light chocolate shade of brown.
  • And the green dial comes with a chocolate shade of brown with corked like texture leather strap.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the Bauhaus Power Reserve 2160 is the perfect merger of watch features, top notch materials with the design language unique to the Bauhaus design philosophy. A classic, minimalist design that will fits every outfit and every occasion.