Vilhelm Prism Smoked Blue

Specifications

• Diameter 40mm

• Thickness 12mm

• Lug to Lug 45mm

• Lug Width 22mm

• Grade 2 Titanium Case

• 100m Water Resistance

• Screw Down Crown

• Sapphire Crystal

Brand

Vilhelm is a relatively young Singaporean microbrand created by Nop Srinara with the help of his friend, and owner of the well respected microbrand Zelos, Elshan Tang. The stated goal of the brand is to create luxurios timepieces at a reasonable price.

The brand much like Zelos make watches of unusual shapes using non-traditional materials such as titanium, ceramic and forged carbon. While Zelos, a mostly affordable brand, uses mostly Japanese movements such as Miyota and Seiko movements, Vilhelm attempts to distinguish itself as more luxurious by using Swiss movements from sources such as ETA and in the case of this Vilhelm Sellita. The logo of Vilhelm is a cracked warrior helmet and a lot of their catalogue carries a rugged tough look that matches this logo.

Review

If you’re a traditionalist who solely likes traditional looking watches than this one is not for you. From the brushed titanium to the original case design there is nothing traditional about the design of this watch. I heard about this watch before seeing it and was expecting a Gerald Genta inspired design like the Tissot prx, or Casioak, and while I like the look of the AP Royal Oak, I am not a big fan of integrated bracelets as I like being able to change out my straps, and I also feel like the Royal Oak homage is getting a little played out and I already have a G-Shock that has that look.

This watch is something else and does not look like any other watch I’ve come across. Pretty much any way you look at this watch it has odd angles and strange shapes. While still fitting closely enough to the wearer’s wrist that it will fit under the cuff of most casual shirts. And while this could never be mistaken for a dress watch, it is nice that it is a reasonable size.

The crown is nicely engraved with the Vilhelm logo and I find the look of this case very pleasing. As well as looking good the crown is nice and grippy making it easy to manipulate, which in turn makes winding, setting the time and date easy.

The smoked blue dial has a sunburst look, and that with the applied indices and stepped dial all add up to make a very pleasing 3d effect on the dial. The date wheel is colour matched making it quite discrete, and there is a minimal amount of text on the dial. While I do not normally go for a minimalist look this dial is not that. With all the other previously mentioned features there is plenty to inspect and admire on this dial and any more text would be too much and look very crowded on this dial.

Movement

The Vilhelm Prism uses the well respected Sellita SW200-1 Swiss made movement that has a frequency of 28800 vph, a date complication, hacking and hand winding. The movement has a power reserve of 38hrs, which is 2hrs less than the minimum that some people might expect.

When I checked the accuracy of this movement I got a measurement of +2.9s/d, which is in COSC territory. The movement is not independently certified and that is more accurate than Vilhelm claim, but this does show that this is possible.

The movement is well decorated and can be viewed through a unique display caseback, that in my opinion looks fantastic.

Conclusion

The running theme with this watch is unique. This could be seen as a high risk strategy for a new brand that hasn’t yet built up a substantial fan base, and there is a reason that watches are generally made similarly and that is because that’s what has proven to sale. I actually find it refreshing to find a microbrand that is doing this. There are a few other independent brands that are trying to make watches that differ substantially from the rest REC based in Norway and Rajamäen Kellotehdas over in Finland are two that come to mind, but they are priced much higher than this Vilhelm.

This watch is by no means perfect, I’ve found for example nothing about any hardening coating on the titanium. While titanium is both lighter and stronger than steel it does scratch easily, which is why a lot of brands that sell a lot of titanium watches for example Citizen and RZE make it clear that they use a coating and what it is. To be clear I’m not saying that there is no coating on this it’s just that I can’t find anything saying there is, meaning this might scratch easily.

Also the bracelet. It looks very cool and the articulation means that it conforms well to my wrist but possibly because of the lug shape, placement of the spring bar holes or simply the unusual case shape, both the bracelet and rubber strap are difficult to put on. I personally think that when you’re spending somewhere in the region of €1000 a quick release function should be expected and that would solve this issue.

And then there is the look of this watch. If you’re looking to have simply a one watch or small collection, I would not recommend this. It is simply to rough and aggresive looking for me to consider wearing it too often. However, if you’re like me and have a large collection and are looking for something different to add to the collection, I’d recommend this. For me it’s definitely a keeper and one I’d happily recommend to the right enthusiast.