We have a new brand to review today! The brand is Lagom watches, made in Hong Kong but designed and inspired in Stockholm, Sweden. The watch model we will be reviewing is the Sjö, LW035 Gold- Black -Brown. A bit about the brand before we start the review, Lagom watches was founded by Daniel, who grew up in Stockholm and moved to Hong Kong 8 years ago. The move from Sweden to Hong Kong made him appreciate the importance of living a balanced, fuss-free life and this inspired him pass this philosophy to his watch designs. There are currently 4 watch models available for purchase, each unique and representing Daniel’s philosophy.
First Impression
The watch came in a very simple box. There was Stockholm branding and writing on it. Inside the box, the watch did not stand out straight away. The strap and the casing were separated and after a quick assembly, your eyes are straight away attracted to the dial’s design. The colour scheme is not the brightest, with the black background and brown strap and it will take time to win you over. Overall impression, the LW035 is a minimalistic watch but the design of the dial is unique.
Dial
This is the best place to start! Being a minimalistic watch, you would expect dial without numerals, and this is exactly the case with the watch.
There are 3 indexes on the dial. The outer index is simply with batons used instead of numerals. Even though it is basic and does not add to the functionality of the watch, the index does add to the aesthetic of the watch. It adds more character and helps to fill the void on the dial.
The inner dial has more of a functionality. It has used the design of the railroad track and helps to tell the minute. The circumference of the railroad track however isn’t complete and there is a gap near the 6 o’clock position. That gap has been filled with Lagom watches logo.
The final index is at the centre of the dial. It has a unique design and frankly hard to explain. There are batons marking to enable to read the hour and small circles are each 5 minutes interval to represent a 12 hour index. It is definitely an interesting feature to have and without it, the LW035 would just be another simple looking watch in an already saturated watch market.
There is a date window located at the 3 o’clock position however it is quite small. Given that there are enough space left on the dial, a larger date window would have been brilliant.
In terms of reading the time, it is not an issue. Even without having a single numeral, reading the time is easy. There are large enough gaps between the minute and hour index in order know which number is which.
The hands design are simple batons and the hour and minute hands have been given a lumed in the middle.
The overall colour scheme is okay. The black and white colour accent is a good match with the gold casing, however, it looks a bit lost when you look at the overall watch. The brown strap does not help much to brighten up the dial. There are different coloured straps available for the watch and it is easily changeable.
Casing
Let’s start with the size of the case. It is 40mm by 7.4mm. The casing is not the largest and does not take a lot of spaces on the wrist. The size fits and sits well on the wrist. The lugs are curved and this helps to press the casing down on the wrist. One little remark on lugs is you can see where they join the casing, and they do stick out a bit.
The lens are clear and reflection are at a minimal. There are no domed or curvature on the lens. It is flat and we definitely like it this way.
The backcasing is simple and as with many quartz watches, it is closed. The Lagom watches writing has been engraved on the back and this as far as interesting it gets.
The crown has been given a teeth cut design and the size is quiet small compare to other watches. It does suit the casing size. Unfortunately, there are no design on the crown and it is plain and simple.
Movement
The inside the watch, you have a Swiss Ronda Quartz 515. Given it is a quartz watch, there are no problems with time accuracy. It is a great movement and reliability is great. The Swiss Ronda Quartz 515 can be found in many entry level watches and you can expect a life expectancy of 60 months from the battery.
What about an automatic movement? We would definitely love to see an automatic version of this watch. Let’s hope they will add an automatic version to their model in the future.
Strap
The straps are made from premium Italian leather and it is smooth. The strap does not need breaking into and they are very comfortable. There are enough holes for smaller wrist and it is very comfortable around the wrist. There are quick release pins to change the strap, if you feel the brown colour does not go with the watch.
Buy, Shortlist or Avoid?
The RRP of the watch is $195/ £150/ €165. It is not the most expensive minimalistic watch we have ever reviewed or is it the cheapest. The watch and its features are great for sure and the design of the dial is unique. However there are a couple of features which needs to be worked on and therefore we would shortlist this watch. Do definitely recommend you to visit Lagom watches to see their entire collection as they have different designs.
If you have missed our previous review of the Jack Turner Sports Chronograph watch, do read it here.
Features
CASE
Material : 316L Stainless Steel
Diameter (mm) : 40
Thickness (mm) : 7.4
Case back : Closed
Outer Case Material: Italian Mazzucchelli Acetate
Outer Case Colour: Tortoise
MOVEMENT
Type : Swiss Ronda Quartz 515
Origin : Swiss
STRAP
Material : Double-sided Premium Italian Leather
Buckle : Tang
Width (mm) : 20
Other Details
Water Resistance : 5ATM
Crown: Push Pull
View Comments(0)
Related Posts
Baltany Watches Pilot Quartz Chronograph Review
Pininfarina Sintesi Hybrid Watch Review
Wishdoit Glacier Hubbard Rose Gold Review
Spinnaker Bradner GMT Review
Wishdoit Pirate X Series Rose Gold Watch Review
Wishdoit Watches GT Chrono Review