Read this Linjer watch review to find out if Linjer’s minimalist men’s watches are a good choice for you (and your wallet).
These days, there’s no shortage of options for affordable, minimal quartz watches with Swiss movement and understated design.
Most of them are born on Kickstarter and huge on Instagram, bruh.
The Linjer watch is one of the newest kids on the block, and I recently got my hands on one (or should I say, got one on my wrist…).
In this review, I’ll try to answer the following questions:
Do I like Linjer watches?
Are they better than Daniel Wellington watches?
What is sapphire crystal? Swiss movement? Vegetable tanned leather?
Are these watches worth the price tag?
The short answer is: yes, I like this watch and think it’s better than a Daniel Wellington or MVMT watch in every way.
Read on to find out why…
What makes Linjer watches different?
At first glance, Linjer’s watches may look similar to other minimalist watches on the market, but if you look closely you’ll notice several things that set it apart.
I’m talking about the design choices and materials used. Specifically, this watch features:
- No branding (unlike MVMT, Daniel Wellington, etc.)
- Domed sapphire crystal
- Ronda 5 Series movement (includes date window)
- Full grain vegetable-tanned leather
- Smaller sizes
That last feature – smaller sizes – is crucial for men with smaller wrists. Mine are 6.5″ around, and anything over 40mm looks too big on me.
Let’s look at each feature in more detail.
No Branding
There isn’t exactly a shortage of minimal quartz watches on the market, but have you noticed that most of them have very obvious branding on them? This Linjer watch face is totally unbranded.
It’s funny how many men would never wear a shirt with a big logo on it, but we’ll tolerate a logo on the face of our favorite watch. In fact, noticeable branding is a selling point for many guys.
Personally, I prefer to wear clothes and accessories with no branding whenever possible, so I really appreciate the simple, unbranded face of this watch.
Sapphire Crystal
When I hear something like “domed sapphire crystal” I’m immediately impressed, and then I realize that I have no idea what it means.
What is sapphire crystal? Why is it better than other types of glass used for watch faces? What’s up with the domed shape? Is it better than a flat face?
There is one major benefit of owning a sapphire crystal watch versus a mineral glass watch:
Sapphire crystal doesn’t scratch easily.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to baby my watches. And even if you’re careful, you’re going to accidentally knock your watch against a doorframe or even drop it on the ground every now and then.
It’s nice to know that the face won’t get scratched up every time something like this happens.
The domed shape is purely aesthetic, but you should know that it’s harder to manufacture and, therefore, more expensive. That’s why you don’t see it on many affordable watches.
Ronda 5 Series Movements
A watch’s “movement” is the mechanism that makes it run, and it’s often the main selling point or justification for the price of a watch.
You’ve probably seen a new watchmaker advertising the fact that their watches have “Swiss movement” which, like sapphire crystal, sounds really nice.
But what does it actually mean?
Here’s my honest opinion: when it comes to quartz (i.e., battery powered) watches, it doesn’t really matter if the insides were made in Switzerland or Japan or wherever.
A watch with Swiss movement won’t necessarily function any better than a watch with Japanese movement or Chinese movement.
That said, I do love the Ronda 5 Series movements in these Linjer watches for one reason: it includes a date complication.
This means that, in addition to telling the time, these watches also keep track of the date via the little date window on the watch face.
The date window is the most basic extra function (or “complication”) that a watch can have, but most watches in this price range don’t have it.
It’s surprisingly useful and, given the choice, I’d put a date window on every watch.
Full Grain, Vegetable Tanned Leather
Here’s another thing that sets Linjer apart – the leather they use for their watch straps. Linjer started out as a leather good company.
I actually reviewed their first product – a black briefcase – a few years ago, and their navy portfolio is my go-to laptop carrying case.
So I’m speaking from personal experience when I say that Linjer knows their leathers. The leather used for these watch straps is from a tannery in Santa Croce sull’Arno, Italy – about 40 minutes from Liner’s design studio.
This is the kind of leather that will develop a nice patina over time.
It’s full grain, which means it uses the best part of the hide. This layer of hide is tanned (or soaked) in a solution made from natural materials (tannins) extracted from trees, roots, plants, fruits, etc. Hence the term “vegetable tanned”.
Basically, full grain vegetable tanned leather is as good as it gets.
Smaller Sizes
No matter how nice a watch is, I won’t wear it if it’s too big. It’s always painful when I have to pass up an otherwise great watch because of its 42mm case diameter.
But I can’t change the size of my wrists, and you know as well as I do that short men need to pay attention to proportion, lest we end up looking shorter or younger than we really are (in a bad way).
That’s why it’s so cool to see a brand offering the same watch in different sizes (41mm, 38mm and 34m). With 6.5″ wrists, I prefer the 38mm. The 34mm is just a hair too small for my tastes.
But if you have wrists that are 6″ or smaller, you might want to consider the 34mm size. Just keep in mind, this smaller watch was made with more “feminine” proportions, including the strap size, etc.
My Recommendation
If you can’t tell, I’m a fan of the Linjer watches. This one has quickly become my go-to quartz, and I’ve been alternating between the dark brown and navy leather straps (which can be swapped in about 10 seconds).
If you’re in the market for a minimalist watch, and you want something that’s higher quality and more unique than the ubiquitous Daniel Wellington watch, check out Linjer (15% discount with that link).
Do you like this watch? Let me know in the comments below!
I have a number of watches are different price points. My go to watches differ depending on the occasion. In a professional and formal context I have been delighted by Linjer purchases. I have a minimalist, classic and I think an Oslo. I bought my wife a classic in 38 inches and she swears by alongside the doctors handbags. My classic literally disintegrated on me during a work trip. When I wrote to Linjer to share this issue I received a personal, apologetic and helpful note from the co founder. I really appreciated that personal touch. With respect to cost, one persons bargain is another persons burden. I really liked the unbranded nature of my models. Ironically, I note that Linjer have started branding their watches would make me less likely to make additional watch purchases. Even though I bought everytime during a discount environment, I would have paid an additional 50 to 100 USD for each item. Beyond that, I would happily save for a couple of months. This is a brand and company that I want to do well. This was a nice read and thinks for your comments.
greetings,
glad to see a “real” watch(non quartz). we need newer and affordable swiss made mechanical / automatic watches in the market. love to buy 33-36mm as it would look more dressier.
congratulations and lots of luck on your venture.
Brock, Im assuming you have a Linjer watch. Whats your view on them? Quality any good?
Can the watch hand and dials glow in dark? I mean can I read the time under dark?
No, there’s no luminescence on the dial.
Thanks for a good review. May I ask what is the color of the case?
It’s grey, brushed steel.
By Linjer naming is it gunmetal not silver? Thanks!
Gunmetal
What makes Linjer Watches different? Absolutely nothing. There are countless watches with no branding on the face. Uniform Wares have been doing this for 6+ years.
The design is like almost every other brand that is claiming to be “disrupting the watch industry”.
The manufacturing cost between mineral and sapphire is about $5. This watch is massively overpriced. You can buy watches that are made in Switzerland with similar specs for cheaper than this.
Just another brand where more effort has been put in to the marketing than the watch.
If it’s “massively overpriced” why do similar watches from Uniform Wares cost twice as much?
Uniform Wares watches are made in Switzerland and not China.
Uniform Wares watches are overpriced as well as you can pick up Swiss Made quartz watches with sapphire glass etc for cheaper than a China made Linjer watch.
You can pick up a China made quartz watch with sapphire glass and Swiss movement for less than half the price of a Linjer.
I work in the watch industry and I can tell you the production cost for a Linjer watch in China will be around $25 if they are doing small production runs. It will be less than $20 if they are producing lots (based on their Kickstarter campaign this is probably the case). If they are paying any more than this they have massive issues in their production chain and ultimately customers will be paying the price for this.
A large markup is normal in the industry as it allows room for distributors and retailers to make profit as well however Linjer have a applied a markup that is away above the average. They will no doubt be using this money for paid for reviews etc claiming the watch is something more than it actually is.
Production cost isn’t the only cost a company has to cover. But either way, I’d love to hear some suggestions for better watches in this price range and aesthetic. Gimme some links!
Of course there are additional costs. This is why markups are generally high but a x12 markup considerably higher than 99% of watch brands and this includes the huge luxury brands. For a brand like Linjer to state that they don’t have luxury markups and then mark up their products more than 99% of brands is slightly deceptive.
Just pick any minimalist quartz watch you like and you will find it will be cheaper, better quality or both. You really don’t have to look far.
I think the real challenge is to find a China made quartz watch that costs more than Linjer. There may be a few but they will be in the minority.
I’m pretty sure anyone in the fashion/watch industry would recognise this watch as being overpriced for a quartz made in China. If not it would either show a lack of knowledge or a bias as they are getting paid by the brand.
So no links?
I’ve just bought one of these because I really like the style, but it would seem James is correct regarding the mark up. The price of the watch is not a bargain.
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Minimalist-design-brushed-stainless-steel-case_60565304553.html?spm=a2700.7724838.2017115.1.3b79d7d6j0mhvt
These watches legitimately only cost $20 to make.
No comparison!! I wouldn’t even consider buying that watch. You get a beautiful design with the Linjer.
After three months I can see that my Linjer watch is going to gain 42 seconds PER YEAR!! I’ve never ever before had a watch with this degree of accuracy!
I’m looking at them and they’re very stylish watches. I love the no logo element. Thanks for the photos of it on your wrist. I’m a guy with a very slender build and my wrists (just measured them) are 6 1/4″. Oi. I’m actually seriously considering the 34mm ladies watch b/c the 38mm will look even bigger on my wrist. The 41mm would be monstrous 🙂 Cheers.
I backed this watch on Kickstarter crowd funding, its great, not only the quality is superb but the feel of the watch is much better than other cheaper ones, its very comfortable.
After looking at the MVMT site and the Linjer site, it seems a bit like apples/oranges to me. The most expensive MVMT watch I found is nearly $100 less than this Linjer model. The closest comparison for MVMT, the Classic Series, is $95-$120. That’s over $100 difference in the watches, which at these prices is, in my opinion, too large a gap to compare them and ask “Do you like this one more?”
I certainly enjoy this review and the Linjer line (though I wish Linjer offered a “leather look” band, which could also potentially drop that price point closer to MVMT range), I just wish there wasn’t a comparison (albeit not overly pronounced) to watches that are half the price or less of Linjer.
I believe this comparison is very fair. The styling and movements used are similar but the difference between sapphire and mineral crystal is huge. I have two watches which I rotate out daily. A Seiko 5 which I picked up super cheap (broken) and I stripped, cleaned, oiled and replaced the crystal, this watch runs amazingly well and got it’s first scratch on the crystal within the first year. This watch movement can really take a beating but the crystal cannot. My other daily wearer is a Hamilton Khaki King which has see more time on my wrist but with it’s sapphire crystal it has been 3+ years of a perfect crystal.
I terms of cost, a hundred dollar difference is not the end of the world or huge. If you’re looking for a classic style watch that isn’t the size of a dinner plate I have always suggested used Bulova, Tissot, Hamilton, Elgin, Jules Jurgensen, etc. as these can be found in excellent condition with recent servicing and some models have the sexy look of a Sub-Second Dial.
I believe a $100 difference is fairly large at these price points. If you’re at $500 or $600 that may be different. $2000 or $21000? Sure. But when the closest model is $100 less than a $200+ watch, those aren’t fair comparisons in my opinion.
I didn’t imply that a $100 difference is the end of the world, but I did state that it’s too much of a difference at this point to say “I like X over Y” because they’re in completely different classes, and that comparison doesn’t account for that. Like I said, the watches are nice, but I wish I’d read that without such a comparison.
Nice!