Hands-on Review of the CIGA Design U Series Blue Planet
A Conversation Piece of Novel Design and A Statement for Earth Conservation
In the morning of Nov 4, 2021, I got up early in California to watch the live streaming of the GPHG Award Ceremony taking place in the evening of Geneva. It is safe to say that GPHG is the most closely watched annual event for watch industry professionals and watch enthusiasts all over the world. The first award to be announced that day at the ceremony was the “Challenge” category designated for watches with retail price of CHF 3,500 or less. Tudor watches dominated this category in recent years - but not for 2021, as the winner went to the Blue Planet by CIGA Design!
This historical win by a Chinese brand at GPHG must have caught many people by surprise. It was certainly newsworthy enough that the New York Times published an article with a sensational title “The Chinese watch brand that beat the Swiss”. Shortly after reading this article, I met up with my watch hobby friend Oliver for lunch. Oliver wore a skeletonized square watch in trendy orange color that he bought from a kickstarter project. It turned out to be the X Series by CIGA Design, to my amazement. He commented that the watch was extremely well made and very comfortable to wear. It was a high mark from someone who owns a Richard Mille RM016 Titanium.
Yet the Blue Planet and X Series are totally different styles of watches. By now, I was so intrigued by this unknown brand that I sent them an email to ask for availability. I was told that the U Series Blue Planet will be formally launched soon. They also kindly offered to loan me a watch for review without any conditions. So here we are with a Blue Planet delivered to my doorstep.
A Brief History of CIGA Design and Its Founder
CIGA Design ( 玺佳 in Chinese) was founded in 2016 by Mr. Jianmin Zhang in Shenzhen, a mega city near Hong Kong known for its manufacturing prowess. Mr. Zhang was born in 1967 and is a designer by training. He has been ranked in the Top 10 Industrial Designers in China, after 20+ years working in architectural, subway, graphic and product designs. Motivated by a strong love for wristwatches, Mr. Zhang founded a new company to create novel yet affordable watches for consumers in China and the world. With Mr. Zhang’s industry connections and status, CIGA was able to assemble a team of renowned international designers from Germany, the UK, Japan, Australia, and the Netherlands. The emphasis on ingenious designs and international collaborations led to 17 international design awards.
There are a few Chinese watch brands such as Seagull, Shanghai and Beijing that are known to watch enthusiasts and collectors. These brands have been producing quality watches with very affordable prices mainly for the domestic market. CIGA is certainly a newcomer with greater ambition, aspiring to follow the footsteps of Huawei and DJI (top drone maker) who are both headquartered in Shenzhen as well. The strong base of manufacturing know-how and supply chain, combined with cutting edge designs, have set up the brand for its future success.
The CIGA Design U Series Blue Planet
The U Series Blue Planet comes in a very sleek package in the form of a book. The idea of protecting the Earth, the only home we Earthlings all share, is vividly presented in the first few pages of the illustrations. The watch and a strap soon reveal themselves neatly embedded in the book. The main attraction is the dial depicting the Earth with blue ocean and detailed relief map. It is simply stunning! There is a compass rose prominently displayed at the edge of the globe, between South Africa and Antarctica. The beautiful titanium case reminds me of the image of a stealthy UFO or Apple's futuristic new headquarter. The blue rubber strap with a titanium buckle firmly attaches this piece of artwork to the wrist.
How to read the time?
The first question from folks seeing a picture of the Blue Planet is most likely how the time is read. It is actually not so hard. We may first refer to the single-hand watches by watch makers such as Meister Singer from Germany (see a photo below). There is only one pointer on the 12-hour dial design with each hour further divided into 12 sections. Each section represents 5 minutes, so the reading of time is only accurate to 5 minutes.
The Blue Planet is a single-hand watch in a sense, as the compass rose serves as the only hand. The fixed outer ring is for the reading of hours and minutes in 5-minute intervals (just like a common single-hand watch). The innovation of the Blue Planet is the introduction of an additional rotating minute ring. This inner minute ring allows the reading of time accurate to one minute. Basically, the hour may be quickly read from the general position of the compass rose pointer against the hour ring; and the minute, when needed, may be read accurately from the rotating minute ring. One reminder is that the minute needs to be read along the counter-clockwise direction, which becomes obvious by comparing the minute numbers.
To accommodate the new function, CIGA has designed its own customized movement. In this design, the minute ring is attached to the gears normally powering the minute hand. While the minute hand of a watch rotates 360 degrees in one hour, the minute ring of Blue Planet needs to rotate 390 degrees in one hour. This is because the hour hand moves 30 degrees in one hour, so the minute ring needs to rotate a bit faster to stay in sync. The customized movement beats at 28,800 vph, offers 40 hours of power reserve and is rated at -15 to 30 secs per day for accuracy. The movement is manufactured by the Seagull Watch, a brand well-known even outside China for its reliable chronograph watches.
The build quality of this watch is top-notch, which may be demonstrated by the meticulously constructed UFO-shaped titanium case. The watch is quite sturdy yet light-weight due to the case material. The imprints on the caseback are beautifully done, including the signature of Mr. Jianmin Zhang. The transparent caseback allows us to take a peek at the movement with a central roter. The diameter of the case is 46mm and the thickness is 15mm. The water resistance is rated as 3-ATM or 30 meters.
After having the Blue Planet on my wrist for a few days, I found it really comfortable to wear. This is mostly due to the light weight titanium case and the soft and flexible rubber strap. The piece doesn’t look huge on the wrist despite the 46mm case size, as there are no lugs. My only complaint about the watch so far is that the crown is a bit too tight to wind. Although this is not a big issue for an automatic watch, I hope that CIGA may improve the crown winding operation for the future shipments.
Pricing, Availability and Competitors
While there was a small batch of 50 pieces made in 2021 ahead the GPHG competition, CIGA Design is gearing up for a proper worldwide release of the U Series Blue Planet soon. The planned release time was March 15, 2022, starting at 1pm GMT, 8am EST, 5am PST, or 9pm Beijing time. Unfortunately, a payment integration issue has caused a delay right before the launch. The new release date will be announced shortly on their website. There will be a stainless case model and a titanium case model, priced at $999 and $1,199, respectively. A launch day only special price will be offered to delight the fans of this award-winning watch. Signup at their website and join a Facebook Group for the latest launch information and special deal.
Which brands and models will the Blue Planet compete with? The first one came to mind is the M.A.D. 1 Friends Edition from MB&F with an even more outlandish design. With this special piece out of reach for most folks, watch lovers may find the Blue Planet an intriguing alternative at half the price. The nominated watches of the GPHG Challenge category in the past may provide some hints on the competition CIGA faces. If so, the competitors may include Ming, Kurono Tokyo, Gorilla, Massena Lab and Furlan Marri. Many of these brands have already garnered devoted following all over the world. The CIGA Design team may learn a lot from them, especially the social media marketing tricks from the Kurono Tokyo team on how to build a strong fan base.
Is This a Watch For You?
First of all, the Blue Planet with the novel time display probably is not for everyone. It is just like saying that a retro-grade dial display is not for everyone. Nor does a skeletonized watch. Nor does a Spring Drive. The reading of the time cannot be as quick as glancing at a three-handed watch, we have to admit. To get an accurate hour and minute, we do need to look at the dial with two rings attentively. But this may be the charm of this timepiece. It is almost like going to a bar that requires a secret password. Once you are in, you feel good of belonging to a small group. The Blue Planet is for watch lovers who appreciate something unique and for folks who prefer to travel off the beaten path. It is for the backers of startups who are trying something new and unprecedented.
The “Earth inside a UFO” design is certainly a conversation piece that would catch people’s attention. The rotating globe on the wrist is a statement and reminder of the urgent needs to do our best to protect the Earth, our only home, for the future generations. The build quality of this watch is superior and satifactory for this price level. The blue dial with detailed relief map is an easy match with many outfits. it is a watch that will bring smiles to their owners.
Finally, I’d like to end the review with a link to one of my favorite watch channels on Youtube. In the latest “PRIMETIME - Watchmaking in the news - March 2022”, host Marc André Deschoux has on his wrist an eye-catching Blue Planet. He even gave a insightful introduction to this marvelous watch and showed how it works. Enjoy!
Technical specifications: CIGA Design U Series Blue Planet
Case: diameter 46mm, thickness 15mm, titanium or stainless steel, watch resistant 30m, transparent case-back.
Dial: 3-D map of Earth with blue ocean, compass rose as single pointer for hour and minute, fixed hour ring, rotating minute ring.
Movement: designed and customized by CIGA, manufactured by the Seagull Watch, automatic, power reserve 40 hours, 28,800 vph, 35 jewels, accuracy -15 to +30 spd.
Strap: rubber with matching titanium or stainless steel buckle.
Prices: $1,199 for the titanium case and $999 for the stainless steel case. Note the launch day only special.
Availability: to be launched soon and available for purchase at CIGA Design website.