Watch Review the interests ,held by the Bauhaus style consistent. These tend to be minimalist, which makes the dial clean and tidy, and inform time is a simple matter. I also found myself drawn to a relatively low joinder crystal dome. Although Brewer PANZERA need something in a slightly different direction here, they managed to keep to the basic outline of the design.
For instance, consider the 44mm case. Looking at it from straight on, you have a very thin bezel, which is to be expected. Looking at it in profile, you also (seemingly) have a thin case as well. This is actually a trick of the design, as the case tapers in at the point where the lugs come in, with a further tapering of a sort for the exhibition caseback. What this means is you actually have a taller case (to accommodate the Miyota 821A) than it visually appears to be.
Next, let’s talk about the crystal. While most entries in this style utilize a sort of domed crystal that actually has almost right angles at the edges, here, on the Panzera Breuer, the mineral crystal is more of the standard sort you see on many watches, albeit with a decent bit of curve to it. It does contain an AR coating, and in daily wear, it works well. As you can tell in some of the photos, however, if you get it into a bright glare, you can run in to some issues. In most regular situations, though (read: daily wear), it is not that much of an issue, and if you run into it, a slight twist of the wrist will take care of it.
Picking up some shine on the crystal, funnily enough, works with the overall aesthetic of the Panzera Breuer. The case itself has a high polish to it, and the included leather strap also is on the glossier side. Holding the strap closed, you have a deployant clasp, which is something I am still of two minds about. That is, the concept of a deployant on a leather strap, not the specific implementation here. For bracelets, the clasps make sense, and things are generally more compact. For leather straps, though, they tend to be a bit bulkier, which can cause issues (at least, it can for me) in terms of resting your hand down at the desk while you work. Yes, you do get the ease of on/off and always hitting the correct fitment, but for my money, I tend to prefer the good old thumbnail buckle on leather straps.
That really is the only issue I had, in terms of comfort, with the Panzera Breuer. Coming in at a very lightweight 83g (you can thank the minimalist design keeping the case weight down), this is a comfortable watch. The strap itself is of leather, and formed on to my wrist pretty quickly, though the floating keeper was a bit too large, which meant the tail of the strap would often work free. The great thing about a Bauhaus design like we have here is the flexibility of the watch. When I wore it to the office, it did not seem out of place whatsoever. Similarly, when I had it on with a suit, it again looked right. Perhaps it is not the best choice if you’re biking down some trails, sure, but most any other situation, the watch will work quite well.
Another great thing from the dial perspective is the ink on the dial, in that there is not very much of it. You have a fairly small Panzera logo showing up at 9 o’clock, under which, in grey, the model name appears. That’s it. I might even suggest eliminating the model name, and having just the logo, but as it is, it is rather unobtrusive. Something that is a bit more of a issue with the design is (you guessed it) the date wheel.
Alright, time to disengage rant mode now. I suppose I had a few of them on this review, but they are more a commentary on the bigger issues I have run across on a variety of watches, not something specifically new to the Panzera Breuer. Is the date wheel a deal-breaker? No, it’s not, just something I wish was different. What about the deployant clasp? Again, not a big deal – this could always be swapped out easily enough for a thumbnail buckle. Frankly, I really did like the Panzera Breuer.
I like this style for the whole watch, but PANZERA Brewer yes, I like to spend some time with the watch. We hope that in future versions, the brand can make some minor adjustments, and brought back a better version. Prior to this, I think, if you like the Bauhaus design watches, which PANZERA Brewer is one you will be happy with.
