There Are Only 33 Of These: Introducing The Black-Dial Brellum Pandial 43 Power Reserve LE Chronometer
The first Brellum Pandial Power Reserve Chronometer LE I ever saw indeed had a panda dial. The white dial with black sub-registers created the famous look so many desire. The latest Pandial is like a panda suffering from melanism; it’s fully black. It does give this latest Brellum chronograph, a limited edition of just 33 pieces outfitted with a robust Valjoux 7750 base movement, a very serious face. I suppose that does match the serious chronometer certification and functionality.
Last November, my colleague Mike went hands-on with the panda-dial Brellum Pandial Power Reserve Chronometer LE. He liked it for a few reasons. One is that Brellum is a small brand run by Sébastien Müller, a passionate fourth-generation Swiss watchmaker. There is no corporate maze between the customer and the person running the company, as Brellum sells directly to customers worldwide, without intermediaries, and offers free shipping. But there’s more. For instance, every Brellum watch is officially certified as a chronometer by the COSC, Switzerland’s official chronometer-testing institute, and each watch comes with an individual certificate. Also, Brellum deliberately limits production to a maximum of 299 watches per year, including limited editions. In other words, the limitation is not just a number attached to a particular model. It is the annual production ceiling for the brand.
Introducing the black-dial Brellum Pandial 43 Power Reserve LE Chronometer
Brellum exclusively builds mechanical watches with decorated movements visible through exhibition case backs. The no-nonsense formula of Swiss ownership, direct sales, COSC certification, mechanical movements, and genuinely small-scale production is also refreshing in a marketing-heavy watch world. Brellum doesn’t loudly herald its exclusivity because its production numbers already do that job. The watches are interesting as well.
The latest Pandial Power Reserve Chronometer LE is limited to 33 pieces and features a full-black dial. The watch combines a chronograph, date display, tachymeter bezel, telemeter scale, and power reserve indicator. The all-black dial keeps things suitably serious. Its black sub-counters provide plenty of visual depth, and polished applied indexes catch the light without turning the dial into a piece of jewelry. The tachymeter on the bezel and telemeter scale on the dial’s perimeter add to the instrument-watch character, though with a power reserve indicator at 3 o’clock, there’s quite a lot happening on the dial.
Sturdy and precise
On the off chance your Brellum stops working during a hike, for instance, a stop at the closest watchmaker will help you out. Inside the Pandial Power Reserve Chronometer beats the caliber BR-750RM, Brellum’s COSC-certified version of the Valjoux 7750. And every trained watchmaker knows how to work on a 7750. In-house is too cool for school, but a Valjoux caliber can be fixed by anyone who went to watchmaking school.
Anyway, the precise movement inside displays the hours, minutes, and running seconds and provides a 12-hour chronograph. At 3 o’clock on the dial, you can check the status of the movement’s 46-hour power reserve. And through the case back’s sapphire crystal, the movement is visible in all its decorated glory, with perlage, Geneva stripes, blued screws, and a black rotor. Yep, it’s a 7750 all right, but it has clearly received more attention than the average example.
Old-school mentality
Yes, with a 43mm diameter, a 51.5mm lug-to-lug length, and a 15.9mm overall thickness, including box-type sapphire crystals on the top and bottom, this Brellum is a large watch. But the brand makes the size work by making the lugs curve down toward the wrist. Brellum also makes the watch look slightly smaller than it is, with sharp chamfers that visually slim its profile and take some of the bulk out of the case.
The case is water resistant to 100 meters and comes on a five-row stainless steel bracelet with polished and satin-finished surfaces. The alternating finishes give the bracelet some definition and echo the case’s treatment.
There is something charmingly old-school about the black-dial Brellum Pandial 43 Power Reserve LE Chronometer. The watch’s looks, no-nonsense philosophy, and 7750 movement seem like things of the past. So does the price tag. The price in Switzerland is CHF 3,390, and the export price is CHF 3,135. You don’t pay for ambassadors or billboards, but you do get one of 33 watches, which makes this latest Brellum model a paradox: it’s affordable and exclusive at the same time. How does that sound to you? You can tell me in the comments section below.
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