DeWitt Academia Blackstream Chronograph Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed)
Mar 27th 2010 at 12:01PM

The last few years have not been easy for DeWitt, and that has likely challenged their designers to come up with new things while staying true to the brand DNA. This year at Baselworld the brand symbolically re-released some older complex models, and new models were merely design experiments. You really started to expect that DeWitt was all about high complications for the prices they were asking. Now I think you have watches that are too little for too much. If I had to choose a decent one it would be this Academia Blackstream Chronograph watch. It has a base ETA 7753 automatic chronograph movement, which has been simplified down to a 30 minute chronograph for aesthetic purposes.

In a 44mm titanium and black rubber case, the style is DeWitt, but the specs hardly excite like DeWitt was once able to do. Dial styling is acceptable and decent to look at, but still on the side of underwhelming a bit. The watch does have a better presence in person though. DeWitt has made these funky rubber straps that you can see at play here. These next few years might be a time when getting a good deal on a DeWitt is possible and even wise. Or they might be the last gasps of breath from a brand that once had so much promise.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: academia, Baselworld 2010, blackstream, chronograph, dewitt, watch