The year 2021 represented a bit of a wild time in the watch space. The whole pandemic thing was still sorting itself out, and home stricken enthusiasts dug into their hobbies even further. Brands were eating good, and so were publications that covered the industry. New releases felt a little more exciting during this time, from the Swiss stalwarts, to small independent outfits. Among the most exciting was a sub $400 Mecha-Quartz powered retro looking sport watch from Brew called the Metric. Four years and many more iterations later, and the Metric has proven to be a shockingly versatile design that has propelled Brew to a position among the top US based watch brands.
The Metric launched in two colorways, one a clean monotone steel look with blue accents, and the other a delightful mix of yellow, orange, and teal over a black base. Right off the bat, each of these configurations featured two distinct personalities of the design, which itself was rather unusual. A small running seconds sub-dial situated at six o’clock was offset by a large 60 minute totalizer at 10 o’clock (or thereabouts). A sloped rehaut provided another opportunity for color, and the whole thing was set within a TV shaped frame of a case with an integrated flat link bracelet. It was a perfect formula to capture a popular sentiment at the time, and like all good designs, it has remained just as good years later.
In the intervening years, we’ve seen all gold designs, titanium cases, new shapes and patterns emerge, and even a time-only automatic variation; each bringing something new and relatively exciting to the table. Seen here is the PVD Black Metric with red accents, a decidedly toned down take on the design that recalls a specific vibe from the mid ‘70s. That said, the design of this and indeed of all the Metric variations never feels derivative of anything. It captures a vibe more than anything, and that’s exactly what makes it so compelling in all its forms.
I generally don’t condone segmenting watches by what season they work best in, as a watch that works well in one part of the year should work perfectly fine in every other part of the year, but there’s no denying that summer brings out a slightly more colorful, less serious tone of the industry. The Brew Metric falls perfectly into this category, and reveals itself to be a wonderful option to embrace through the summer. Though again, it works just as well in December or February in a pinch.
What is perhaps most impressive to me about this watch is that it hasn’t managed to pigeonhole Brew into a one dimensional brand. The variety of iterations all feel interesting in their own right, and never push me into wondering “yeah but what’s next from Brew?” or “Where do they go from here?”. While I have no doubt that the brand will expand in new and interesting ways, the Metric seems to be set up for the long haul as a foundational part of the brand’s DNA. It works in ways some of their other designs don’t, and will undoubtedly inform a new generation of watches. And not just from Brew.
All this to say, the Metric is a banger of a summer watch, and the vast range of designs it has seen have only proven it to be one of the most versatile watches out there. Oh, and it’s still under $500. Brew