It has been a while since we last reviewed a Lilienthal Berlin watch. The last review we did was the L1 All Blue. The L1 was simple, minimalistic with a focus on a streamline design. Now we are going to review a new addition to their collection, the Lilienthal Berlin Chrono Miles. The model we will be reviewing is the #07T. With a change in design, will the #07T be as good as the L1?
Lilienthal Berlin Chrono Miles
CASE
Material : Brushed 316L surgical steel with engraved tachymeter scale
Lens: Sapphire hardened mineral glass
Diameter (mm) : 44
Thickness (mm) : 11.8
Case back : Closed
Indexes: Brushed surface, Superluminova elements
STRAP
Material : Mesh, with quick release pins
MOVEMENT
Type : Miyota, 0S21-1AQ with stopwatch function and date display
Origin : Japan
Other Details
OTHER INFO
Water Resistance : 5ATM
Crown: Push and Pull
First Impression
The style is different as the Lilienthal Berlin Chrono Miles focus is more towards the chronograph section of the market. That being said, the it is a good looking watch. The different colour scheme of red, navy, yellow and steel silver go well together. The watch is on the larger side and you can feel the weight of it. Overall, we are impressed so far.
Unboxing Video
Dial
Best place to start the review of the Lilienthal Berlin Chrono Miles. You have two indexes. The outer index has has numerals in multiple of fives and the in between has been filled with batons. The red colour applied to the numerals contrasts very well against the steel silver background. A feature of the outer index is that is convex and flows down to the inner index. Keeping with the red colour theme, at the upper layer, above the outer index, a red circle has been used. It is not dominant and it will appear from certain angle. A very carefully thought of design.
Moving to the main index, numerals are in multiple of three with larger batons in between to make up the rest of the index. Both the batons and numerals are white with SuperLuminova applied. In terms of legibility, no issues at all and both batons and numerals are large enough to see.
There are two sub-dials used in the Lilienthal Berlin Chrono Miles. One is for minute and the other for the hour, typical in chronometer watches. With a steel silver background and small blue hands, the sub-dials are not too overpowering and do not take a lot of space on the dial. Legibility no issues with sub-dials.
A small date window is located near the 4 o’clock position, however it gets lost amongst the hands, sub-dials and numerals. Not sure if the date window was needed on this watch. Making the window larger would be ideal, but that will mean finding space in an already feature heavy dial.
A navy blue, brushed surface, background has been applied to the watch. In terms of colour choice, this is perfect. It helps to bring the rest of the feature at the forefront of the eyes and matches the steel silver around the watch.
The hands design used is batons, with an open body and Superluminova tip. Great design thinking when choosing the open body as it allows the navy blue dial to move with it rather than getting ignored. The second hand has a yellow colour scheme, giving the watch a racing style vibe.
Casing
We are looking at 44mm by 11.8mm. This is a large dial and will take a bit of space on the wrist. However despite it large size, the large numerals and batons on the dial helps to counteract this.
The bezel is fixed with a smooth finish on the circumference. White and a couple of red numerals have been engraved on the bezel and they are large enough to see. The navy blue colour has been continued on the bezel and it goes well.
Coming to the lugs, we believe is it not curved enough. Given the 11.8mm width of the watch, a more curved lugs would ensure the case and strap wraps well around the wrist. The Lilienthal Berlin Chrono Miles sits well on the wrist, but there is a small gap visible, from both side, between the lug and the wrist, which is not ideal.
We love the crown and pushers on the watch. The are sleet and supple. Easy to manage the push and pull crown and they look the part on the watch. There is also a small gap between the casing and crown to allow you to pull it very easily, again clever thinking in design.
No complaints about the lens. Strong and durable Sapphire hardened mineral glass, what else can you ask for!
Movement
Inside the Lilienthal Berlin Chrono Miles, a Miyota 0S21-1AQ is powering the watch. Expect a time accuracy of ±20 sec per month and a battery life of 5 years. A good choice for the movement.
In terms of the tachymeter, the function works to perfection. The start and stop pusher works well with the movement, no lags, and the reset is on point.
Strap
In terms of the strap, you can either choose leather or mesh. We chose mesh strap. While it goes well with the colour theme, the mesh strap does not suit this watch. You need a think strap for this large casing and deep width. The mesh strap lacks body to fill in the gaps near the lugs of the watch and it feels bare in some places. In addition, seeing the upper part of the mesh strap is not a great look. A simple blue leather strap would do the job.
Buy, Shortlist or Avoid?
As always, let us discuss the price. The Lilienthal Berlin Chrono Miles price retails at £245, without any discount, which is reasonable. It is mid market price range and Lilienthal Berlin are not exaggerating the price by too much.
We feel that the #07T is a shortlist. The gaps between the lugs and the wrist is not ideal and the mesh strap is a no go for us on this watch. Adding the option to have a stainless steel strap is also a great shout.
There are 26 variant of this watch and we definitely encourage you to have a browse.
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