NAOS XS Automatic silver / Classic 16 dark brown

Cool steel over warm leather is a deliberate mismatch, and on a 33 mm case it stops the watch from looking severe.

The Naos is the Sternglas flagship, drawn to Bauhaus-inspired rules: reduce, clarify, and let the geometry of the dial do the communicating. Sternglas has worked from Hamburg since 2016. The Naos XS Automatik is the small-case mechanical member of the family, made for wrists that a 38 or 42 mm watch overhangs.

Here the silver-toned case is 33 mm wide on 16 mm lugs, with the Miyota 6T15 automatic beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour, hand-winding available, and a date on the dial. The six-screw glass caseback leaves the movement on display. Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both surfaces, 5 bar water resistance. The Klassik 16 strap is dark brown leather.

Understated but not cold, it suits someone who wants a mechanical watch that behaves itself in an office and still looks right on a Saturday.

Perfect for: dark brown leather automatic watches, small steel watches with exhibition caseback, everyday mechanical watches.