Hands-On With The Remarkable Selten Grand Feu Enamel Moonstone
If you have never heard of the brand Selten, you aren’t the only one. However, the brand founded by Leonardo Tsai has been around since 2017. The Hong Kong-based Selten founder comes from a family of dial makers, so he grew up around watches. After an initial stint in the world of finance, Tsai gave up his job at JP Morgan to continue his family’s legacy. Under his Selten brand, he released the inaugural M1 Moonphase, a classic series of watches featuring beautiful stone dials. The follow-up was the Bronze Salvage series of divers with hand-painted dials. For the brand-new Selten Grand Feu Enamel series, Tsai combines the classic silhouette of the M1 Moonphase with a series of colorful Grand Feu enamel dials. Let’s find out more.
As a German speaker, the first thing that stood out about Selten to me was its brand name because it translates to “rare” or “uncommon.” Selecting that name for a Hong Kong-based brand is not the most obvious choice. It stems from Selten founder Leonardo Tsai’s fascination with German watchmaking. It serves as an inspiration for the young founder who comes from a family of dial makers. That family tradition plays a big part in Selten’s offerings. With the M1 Moonphase and especially the Salvage Bronze, Tsai showed the visual attraction of special dials. The new Grand Feu Enamel series does the same, and I had a chance to go hands-on with the bluish-gray variant, named Moonstone.
The story of the Selten Grand Feu Enamel series
Ever since Tsai started Selten in 2017, he has always wanted to release watches with Grand Feu enamel dials. These special dials represent the great tradition of dial making in all its glory. For this new series of watches, Tsai collaborated with Qin, a self-taught enamelist, jeweler, and engraver with a decade of experience working at jewelry houses in China. The two men first got in touch in 2021 and started working on creating some outstanding dials for a new series of watches.
In 2023, the men showcased the first Grand Feu enamel prototype dials during Singapore’s Spring Sprang Sprung fair. The dials were met with a lot of praise. The combination of the bright colors and incredible craftsmanship proved to be a hit with watch fans. Two years later, Selten is finally bringing them to market. The new Selten Grand Feu Enamel series presents five different dial colors executed with two different patterns. The first are five dials with a flare pattern, whereas the second quintet has a spiral pattern.
The details of the Selten Grand Feu Enamel Moonstone
The watch we had in the office for review was the Selten Grand Feu Enamel Moonstone, with a bluish-gray dial bearing a spiral pattern. Let’s get into the details to find out more. The canvas for the dials is a watch that takes after the brand’s M1 Moonphase series.
Each watch has a 39mm stainless steel case with a 10.9mm thickness, a 45.5mm length, and a 20mm lug spacing. The traditionally shaped case is water resistant up to 50 meters and features a mix of brushed and polished surfaces that give the watch a nice visual presence. Topping off the case is a domed sapphire crystal with a seven-layer inner AR coating.
Inside the case, Selten uses the Soprod M100 caliber. This 25-jewel Swiss automatic movement operates at 28,800vph and offers 42 hours of power reserve. The movement is adjusted to five positions with an accuracy of ±6 seconds per day.
The watch we received featured a hand-engraved rotor, which is an option you can order separately for an additional US$100. As most of you will know, Soprod is part of Festina and delivers movement to quite a few smaller brands, such as Serica, Oak & Oscar, and Lorier.
Lastly, the watches come on leather straps that match the dials quite nicely. We received our press sample on an optional stainless steel bracelet that transforms the presence of the watch quite drastically. I strongly prefer the look of the leather straps because they maintain the charm of the watches better.
All about the Grand Feu enamel dials
But these watches are about the dials, of course. The spiral-pattern version of the dial is the most labor-intensive one. Style-wise, I would opt for the version with a flared pattern because it is a bit more straightforward.
But upon seeing the spiral version, you can immediately see that a ton of work went into creating these dials. First, the silver base gets its characteristic pattern. Every dial has roughly 700 hand-engraved lines, and it takes about five hours to create the pattern alone. And if you see the swirls and their consistency, it’s easy to understand how difficult this is and why only a true artisan can pull it off.
After receiving the engraved pattern, the dials are enameled with one of five colors. The first is purple (Prism Violet), the second is red (Rustique), the third is yellow (Golden Fall), the fourth is blue (Sunbird Blue), and lastly, there is the bluish-gray (Moonstone) dial we had in for review. All the dials feature a silver railroad minute track and hour markers.
At 3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock, you will find elongated Roman numerals for an extra injection of style. Furthermore, the handset consists of a short hour hand with an open ring and triangular tip, a long, straightforward minute hand, and a blue seconds hand in the same style as the minute hand.
Wearing the Selten Grand Feu Enamel Moonstone
The Moonstone dial is the least bright and sparkling of the five dials. I would opt for the darker blue, yellow, or purple option to add more color to that wonderful pattern. Yes, the bluish-gray Moonstone variant is the least outspoken, so it could be a great daily wearer. But if I had a special handcrafted dial like this one, I would want it to stand out. Your preferences may vary.
On the wrist, the Selten Grand Feu Enamel Moonstone wears nicely. While its shape and style might seem somewhat traditional, the stainless steel bracelet keeps it fairly modern. The H-link bracelet changes the presence of the watch quite drastically. This bracelet features a spring-loaded butterfly clasp with a toolless micro-adjustment system. You can pull out the last link on both ends of the clasp. Selten offers this option for an additional US$150. Another option is the same bracelet without that micro-adjustment, which costs US$80.
I would opt for the standard strap because it’s a wonderful match. On top of that, it would be nice to switch things up with other colorful straps for different situations. The dial variations will pair well with leather straps in different colors. It is a funny conclusion for me since I usually prefer bracelets. But with this series, the leather straps are part of the colorful overall presence. Having said that, the bracelet tapers nicely from 20mm at the case to 16mm at the clasp. It makes for an elegant H-link bracelet that also wears rather nicely.
On the wrist
Once on the wrist, quite a few details stand out. The first is the detailed dial, of course. Besides the pattern, the enameling gives the dial a nice shimmery feel. Then, hovering above it are the long minute and seconds hands that curve down toward their tips. The hour hand features a large circle towards the tip that hovers over the Selten wordmark. Unlike on the Tusenö Shellback V2 I reviewed not too long ago, the wordmark is not curved to display flawlessly through this circle. But the hollowed-out circle towards the tip is a nice detail.
Final thoughts on the Selten Grand Feu Enamel series
Thanks to the onion-style push/pull crown, it’s super easy to set and adjust the time. Whenever you do that, you will be reminded of that wonderfully crafted dial. It is, of course, the main story of this new series of five watches. It is great to see that after the initial M1 Moonphase and Salvage Bronze, Selten has taken another step to impress watch fans. These dials are something special that you won’t often see from microbrands. That also puts these new models in perspective.
Because these handmade dials are works of art, the watches’ prices are higher than those of the previously released models. The pre-order price of the first 100 pieces of the Selten Grand Feu Enamel is US$1,899 with a flare dial or US$2,199 with a spiral dial. Deliveries will start in June 2025. As mentioned, a customized rotor or a stainless steel bracelet will add a premium to that price. Once the initial 100 pieces are sold out, the regular prices will be US$2,599 for the flare-dial variant and US$2,899 for the spiral-pattern version. I greatly appreciate these new Selten Grand Feu Enamel models. The results will undoubtedly grace the wrists of watch fans soon.
For more information, visit the official Selten website.
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