Watches

Maybe it’s just not for you if you don’t get it. Plenty of other brands for you.

My first Sinn was a 104 followed by a 103 a few years later. The minimalism and legibility is part of the appeal. 103 has quickly turned into my daily. I’ve become a convert when it comes to the bidirectional countdown bezels. They wear really well with my 103 doing a really good job hiding how fat it actually is (17mm). Idk you like what you like.

My personal observations:

I admire Sinn for using the legendary Lemania 5100 calibre in some of their 'special mission' watches. I'll quote from this required-reading article

The Lemania 5100 is not designed to be viewed reverently through a sapphire glass back. It’s not meant to be the recipient of anglage and côtes de Genève. Instead, it’s meant to work. And work under the sort of conditions that cause more effete movements to make their excuses and claim a prior engagement with their manicurist. Then, when those other movements are fanning their foreheads and fainting for a service, the 5100 is contemptuously ticking happily for at least twice as long. And when the back finally does come off, its construction means that doing the work doesn’t involve an electron microscope, parts made from distilled unicorn tears and the skills of a brain surgeon.

and

All in all, the 5100 is the movement equivalent of the million-mile-capable Mercedes OM602 2.5 diesel engine. It ain’t pretty, but it’ll run for ever and if you’ve got a 15mm spanner and a hammer you can fix it. For example, there’s no need to dismantle the whole movement to get to the barrel. Just pull out the central arbour and you’ve freed it.

If you want arm candy, Sinn is probably not for you.

Finally, I find it rather lame to bring WW2 into the equation. I've had family perish in the Nazi camps, but I don't hate the Germans. Let alone the products they manufacture.

minimalist to a fault

That's the appeal. They are made for functionality, legibility, and reliability...all things that I usually prioritize in my watches. I totally get they are not for everyone. But for me, I absolutely love my 556a RS and I'm looking forward to getting a U50 at some point. I don't feel like I'm overpaying with a Sinn -- unlike many other brands.

Different people like different things. Imagine that.

Tool watch. Not dress watch.

Biggest appeal is there are very few left handed chronometers out there … but some of their EZM faces are crazy for color.

The whole point of tool watches is to be easy to read, the appeal is lost if you want an ornament on your wrist. Dievas and Tutima are the same ethos.

Not everyone views colour and flash as desirable or attractive. I only own 1 Sinn (857 UTC) and love the utilitarian aesthetic. Wouldn’t have it any other way.

I feel like I'm buying a reliable piece of engineering with Sinn more than most other brands.

Understatement is classy, and suggests intelligence & dependability.

They're tool watches (most of them are, anyway). They're no frills and just designed to do a good job at their job of telling time. This means that they're usually contrasting colors (white hands/black face, etc.) without many other frills. They also use some interesting tech in some of their watches. Personally I love them. The U50 is on my wish list (NOT MY PHOTO! Found it on a review site when trying to find a cool pic of the U50).

To me you either like tool watches or you don't. It's just a personal thing and if you fall into the category of people that don't like them then that's fine.

However, if you're the kinda guy that can go into the hardware store and stare at a pair of well made calipers and think "i have no use for this thing, but damn is it well made and cool looking." then you will probably like tool watches.

I feel this post. I've never seen a sin watch that I liked. I think they are all just boring looking and uninteresting. Also, I know it was named after a guy, but I HATE the name. It just sounds like an edgelord wanted a cool name, but to distinguish themselves added an 'n' to the end of a word they thought was cool.

First most Sinn's are not supposed to be dress watches - if you look at the collections on their web site, really only the "Frankfurt" and Classical collection would be considered dressy at all - and these are not the watches getting all the love here and in other watch forums - the ones getting all the love are the Instrument Watches and Instrument Chronographs, and to a lesser degree their divers, probably most notably but not limited to the 356, 556 and 856 series. And all these are more along the lines of "tool" watches or even pilot watches.

And personally, I'm not that big a fan of the "instrument" watches. I've tried to like them but really they're sort of dull- not terrible but not very inspiring especially for the price. I don't think a watch needs a splash of color, necessarily, but I just don't find them to be that inspiring and the ones that I do sort of like are too large for me. Frankly I, like you, would probably rather buy a Nomos. However Sinn's dressier watches IMHO are darned nice, they have some really great stuff - those Frankfurt watches really call to me but haven't quite gotten to where I can justify such a purchase financially.

Aesthetically I like the 556 (and have had two over the years) but they don’t do much for me nowadays because they lack Sinn’s tech.

Right now, I have a Sinn T1 in my collection:
https://www.sinn.de/en/Modell/T1.htm

Titanium, nitrogen gas filled, copper sulfate capsule for moisture management, locking captive bezel. Aesthetically, I know it’s a weird watch. But I love it and I think it’s a classic tool watch. It’s so interesting and IMO is peak German watch engineering, very function over form with that massive minute hand and diminutive hour hand.

Is there a Swiss equivalent? No, there’s not. Japanese? No. And that’s why it’s great.

Sinn is a brand many people look at their 556 or 104 and think “what’s so special?” But they have a really deep catalog full of tool watches that are quite interesting.

Paying thousands to pretend your watch is a "tool" is incredibly stupid. A Garmin is a few hundred bucks and has actual useful features that could save your life.

Solid tool watches that are built for the job. No fancy bits

People like what they like...that's the bottom line. For me, Sinn is the master of tool watches and they have a very wide selection to choose from. They are designed to over perform in a variety of difficult conditions. If I could only have 10 watches, a sinn would definitely be in that box. You do you, but I say give their catalog a slow thorough look before dismissing them. Happy collecting

You’re basically describing their appeal but to people with tastes that are different than yours. That’s what’s great about watches, there are plenty of options for different tastes.

Because people who can afford them work in law firms or trading. And are obliged to follow a dress code. They have the money, but money will never buy you personality nor style.

I feel the same. The only interesting watch they have is the 556i with the black mother of pearl dial, which completely carries the whole package and even then there's much better looking watches you can get with the same dial.

Sometimes, there is more than meets the eye.

Sinn tends to have a lot of that - value, excellent (over)engineering, purposely understated looks. And they do have splashes of color and some interesting design elements from time to time, so maybe check again?

That said, they are German, so expect a culturally-consistent product.

You might need to explore their lineup a little more. Sinn is not just a utilitarian no frills design. They are constantly evolving and making new designs. It’s also really cool to go to the factory store in Frankfurt and just marvel.

Look through their archive to see some really cool concepts and beautiful faces.

They're for people who work NPC jobs and want to feel like they're doing something a little cooler. The marketing gets them

I love them for the tech clear easy read functionality design simplicity.

fun fact. Bell & Ross were made by Sinn, when they were getting started,

Ooh, I'd never heard of these. They're pretty; up there with Mondaine for elegant, modernist simplicity.

You pay for the restraint, darling.

The 104 dial (version without numbers) up close is incredible. Not even mentioning their mother of pearl dials

DEUTSCH

Enjoying my bland mother of pearl Sinn 😜

https://preview.redd.it/8al3lj98i5wb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0806bbbd0433fa5c8938389e156a8fef8cd4e1bb

To some, watches are an accessory that provides an element of unique style or an expressive element. To others, retreating to balanced minimalism provides perhaps a comforting sense of stability and austerity in an otherwise loud world.

More broadly speaking, I often think that the current trend of "blanding" across many brands and industrial designs is just as much in response to the chaos that many of us feel as it is drafting off the success of Apple's design language in the mid 2010's, which is what it often is hypothesized to be.

Part of the attraction to utility-inspired (military, etc) watches is also that this minimalism has been "tried and true" in a real-world sense, and so therefore one might feel like they can "outsource" evaluating whether something is good or not to the history of the design language itself. Again, an anchor which provides stability and comfort psychologically.

As a side note, I think it is interesting (and for me, unappealing) when Sinn and others (Omega, for example) add flourishes (i.e. red hands, MOP dials, the Snoopy Speedmaster, whatever) to their now-classic original designs because it feels like an attempt to leverage both psychological responses to austerity and expression without creating anything substantively new at all. But, people seem to love it in general, and it does create something to collect and broadens the market appeal of the design. I think this is why self-proclaimed "purists" don't go for that kind of thing but many, many others find it enjoyable.

Also, I think this may be why designs like the Rolex GMT Pepsi might be so popular—it ticks all three boxes: 1. time-tested design, 2. not "boring", 3. no novelty design gimmicks. Point #3 may relate to why the destro/green GMT got so much hate as well. Additionally, of course, the GMT is not minimal or austere by any means, but I think there are parallels to consider as well in terms of psychological and limbic response to design cues.

I have one Sinn watch (104 b) that I wear almost everyday and it has a blue sunburst dial. So I guess we can close the case on the "always black and white and minimalist to a fault".

As for the appeal- I don't really go too much for the whole "built like a tank, no-nonsense tool watch" type descriptors (though the U1 and other models sell that pretty well), but I am a sucker for German engineering whether it's Porsche, Helles lager, or a gorgeous Bavarian woman.

I was looking a few years ago for my first "nice watch" to celebrate a milestone birthday. I had gotten the watch bug and had been researching for a couple years while wearing inexpensive pieces. I had given myself roughly a $1,500 budget, and in the end, after months of pouring over watches, nothing stuck with me within that price range like the Sinn 104. I really loved how it took the signature Sinn tool watch case shape with the blocky turned down lugs, and dressed it up into more elegant daily driver piece. I also liked how it blends a pilot and diver aesthetic/functionality, but all in an understated and attractive manner. While I'm not always a fan of a day date complication, it made sense for a daily watch, and the black date dial blends in nicely against the blue dial. The blue changes color in different lighting, and the dial is very legible because of the minimal white text, indices and hands, and the excellent AR coating that makes the glass disappear.

As for the brand appeal, I think Sinn has a good reputation for quality/value and I also respect that at least in the US, their distribution model is very tight, though resale value on this watch isn't important to me because I'm keeping it. It is nice to not see your watch on sale for 25% off at the local mall. Instead I see the only US AD selling it for $330 more than I paid.

It is kind of funny how the Sinn 104 is an obscure product in the public's perception (at least here in the US), but it is kind of "on-the-nose" as a "watch guy" watch. I guess it checks a lot of good boxes.

Lmao what is the appeal of nomos. An over over priced DW