29er — Black Dial / Beige Canvas

Beige canvas against a black dial is a deliberately outdoor combination, and the 29er is a deliberately outdoor watch. Mühle-Glashütte designed the line around legibility first: applied indices, luminous hands, a clean face and no bezel to read around.

The number is a boat, not a measurement. The 29er dinghy is the youth class that leads to the Olympic 49er, and Mühle borrowed the logic in 2006 for a watch meant to introduce people to Glashütte watchmaking. The company's legal name still includes the words nautische Instrumente, or nautical instruments, which tells you where its sympathies lie.

The black dial gives maximum contrast to the luminous hands and the date at 3 o'clock. The steel case is 36.6 mm wide and 10.4 mm high, on a beige canvas strap with a pin buckle and quick-release spring bars for fast changes. The automatic SW 200-1, Version Mühle inside runs 41 hours, hacks for precise setting, and is regulated in Glashütte to a stated zero to plus eight seconds a day, a tolerance Mühle publishes rather than hides.

Light on the wrist at 51 grams before the strap, and rugged enough not to think about.

Perfect for: black dial automatic watches, canvas strap casual wear, weekend and travel watches.