A First Look At The Batavi Atelier — The New Sporty Dresser In The Dutch Brand’s Collection
Have you always been interested in the Dutch brand Batavi, but none of its watches have ever convinced you? Well, in that case, the all-new Batavi Atelier might make you pull the trigger this time. Just like the rest of the watches in the brand’s portfolio, the Atelier packs a lot of value for the money. And, of course, the designs feature some original colorways. The watch is a little more on the dressy side this time, but, especially on the bracelet, it still looks plenty sporty. Let’s take a quick look at the all-new Batavi Atelier.
By now, we know that the Dutch brand Batavi is all about delivering a lot of watch for the price. Not only that, but it’s also famous for its original colorways. If you’re not yet familiar with the brand, make sure to take a look at our articles on the Kosmopoliet, Architect, and Geograaf. As you can see, they’re all very colorful watches, but all of them also have a very friendly price tag. I was especially impressed with the Geograaf as it packs a Swiss GMT movement inside a very original-looking watch for less than €900. Let’s see what the brand’s founder Ugur brought into the Fratello office this time.
The Batavi Atelier
Both the Kosmopoliet and the Geograaf are quite sporty-looking travel watches. The Architect is a watch with an integrated bracelet, and it doesn’t really get any more sportier than that. So it was time for a more toned-down or dressy watch this time. Well, “toned-down” might not be the right choice of words here because, as you can see, there’s still a lot happening on the dial. But the more classical shape of the case, together with the single and calmer tones on the dial, give the Atelier a less sporty character.
Let’s start with the details of the stainless steel case. It measures 39mm in diameter, 11mm thick, and 46mm from lug to lug. The top surface of the lugs is brushed, and the concave bezel is polished. There are not many surprises here until you turn the watch on its side. Then you see the hollowed-out and textured flanks, which most definitely look bold on a watch like the Atelier. The polished crown is decorated with the Batavi logo, and the steel case back is fully brushed. It’s also good to know that the watch should be capable of handling water pressure up to 10 ATM.
A guilloché-inspired fish-scale dial
Then we get to that eye-catching dial underneath the flat sapphire crystal. But in addition to simply protecting the dial, that crystal is actually part of the dial’s design. Printed on its underside are a complete set of Arabic-numeral hour markers, the brand name, and the Atelier designation. The hour and minute hands have been skeletonized, and their tips are filled with Super-LumiNova. If you look closely, you can see that the central pinion cover is still moving. This is because it used to be the seconds hand. This time, however, the hand has been cut off, and its shape looks a bit like the decorative pattern on the dial.
Ugur says the three-dimensional decoration on the dial is inspired by guilloché dials. He calls it a fish-scale pattern — to me, it looks more like a flower. Anyway, you can choose between three colors — Aquamarine (blue), Rock (purple), and Dune (gray-brown). The Atelier comes on a fully brushed five-row bracelet, which comes with quick-release spring bars. Those make it easy to swap the bracelet out for any other commonly sized 20mm strap. The folding clasp is mainly brushed, but it also features polished bevels. It has six micro-adjustment holes and a push-button release too.
My thoughts on the Batavi Atelier
That bracelet reminds me a bit of the five-row bracelet that IWC uses on its pilot’s watches. The rest of the Atelier’s design, though, doesn’t remind me of anything else in particular. The case has nice dimensions that’ll work well on many different wrist sizes. For my taste, the hollowed-out flanks look a bit too rough, but you don’t often see details like this at this price point (more on that in a moment!). And the printed numerals on the underside of the sapphire crystal are a clever design solution. That way, the beautiful three-dimensional pattern on the dial remains uninterrupted.
I do find the crown a bit narrow for a watch of this size, and the brushed finish is a bit coarse. Other than that, though, I think that the Atelier is another original offer from Batavi. And now we finally get to one of the most important parts — the price. Right now, the Batavi Atelier is up for pre-order for €479. After the pre-order period, which will end in October, the price will increase to €578. This will get you a watch with a very original design and a reliable Miyota 9039 movement. This automatic caliber runs at a 28,800vph frequency and offers a power reserve of 42–44 hours.
What do you think?
In conclusion, I think it’s safe to say that Batavi once again offers a lot of watch — and an original one — for a very competitive price. What do you think of the new Batavi Atelier? Let me know in the comments below.
For more information on the new Atelier, check out the official Batavi website.
