29er — White Dial / Black Pigskin

Black leather beneath a white dial is the oldest sensible pairing in watchmaking, and the 29er wears it without commentary. Mühle-Glashütte has never been a brand for flourishes; its own motto is that luxury follows function.

Mühle developed the 29er in 2006 as a way into Glashütte watchmaking, and named it after a boat. The 29er dinghy is the youth class that prepares sailors for the Olympic 49er, which makes it a first step rather than a lesser thing. The watch was conceived the same way, carrying the nautical character the Saxon firm has had since it began building marine chronometers in 1994.

This reference sets the white dial and its applied indices, coated with Super-LumiNova, on a black pigskin strap with a pin buckle, 18 mm between the lugs. The steel case measures 36.6 mm across and just 10.4 mm deep. Behind the sapphire caseback the SW 200-1, Version Mühle turns on Mühle's own rotor, weighted at the rim with a heavy-metal segment and secured by gold-colored rivets. Automatic, 41 hours, date at 3, 10 bar.

A watch for daily wear that reads as dress when you need it to.

Perfect for: black leather strap watches, understated everyday automatics, gifts for a first fine watch.