I came across Triwa on accident. I was walking through my local stores and went into one watch store where I found a couple of fashion brands which looked actually quite good and one of them was Triwa. What I saw was a strange mix of classic watch elements, fashion watch looks, strange materials, and a price point geared towards mass-market consumption. I went home and looked them up on the internet and was surprised to see that they are rather popular. A Swedish brand that makes watches, watch straps, bracelets and sunglasses and presents them in a direction of a fashion brand. Needless to say, I was intrigued enough to write and get a sample for review, which they kindly provided. And I got to say thanks to Alice from their customer service for sending me the watch in for a review. The watch I received is a vintage-inspired quartz chronograph called the Smoky Nevil. The Nevil line actually comes in many different variations, a different strap, dial colours, case finishings etc.

Triwa was founded in 2007 by four friends with the goal to change the attitudes in the watch industry that they thought was too focused on status and tradition. They started the company TRIWA (Transforming the Industry of Watches) with the purpose to transform the watch into a modern style symbol through a combination of classic silhouettes and contemporary Scandinavian simplicity.

All design and product development is created in their creative studio in Stockholm where they still follow the same motto they had from day one; to only produce the products they want to wear themselves.

The watch arrived in a typical Scandinavian fashion. With that I mean the presentation is always on the top level. I don’t have the pictures from that, but the watch was gift wrapped in tissue paper with a Triwa sticker and attached was a postcard with greetings from the customer service. I like when brands pay attention to customer satisfaction. The box itself is also pretty well made you open the box and inside you get a watch, instruction manual and a basic looking strap changing tool. Not that typical buyer of this watch will know what it is or even use it, but it is nice that they include one. I picked up the watch and actually it was again heavier than I expected. I was expecting a quite light timepiece as these type of watches tend to be light. Also, I know that this is only something I will notice, and no one else, but I really liked the sticker for the case back which says “Icons last, batteries don’t.”. It really made me laugh a bit.

So the case of the watch is made from 316L stainless steel. The watch diameter is 42mm, the thickness is 11,7 although again this is the case where on the company site they show that thickness is 10,7 mm although I measured it and it shows 1mm thicker. The lug tip to lug tip is 51mm which is pretty long and the watch wears more like 44mm watch. The lug width is 20mm so strap change won’t be a problem for this one. The finishing of the case is done in two. Brushed and polished.The mid-case with lugs is brushed, and it is done pretty good. And the bezel and case back are finished in polished finishing. On the right side of the watch, we have a nice signed crown, and I like how behind the crown you have a small ridge to get your nail in for more easier way to pull out the crown. The crown is screw down, which was a surprise. On the right side, you also get basic pushers for the chronograph. The flat crystal I assume is mineral, but I might be wrong.

The dial is cool looking, but probably too much branding., The Triwa logo should be a lot smaller and the writings on the dial should be smaller too. I just think they are too big and kind of take your eyes from the dial itself. The dial is in dark grey colour. Around the dial goes a chapter ring that gives the dial a deeper look. The hour markers/batons are in gold colour, just as the hands. The minute and hour hand have lume applied on them, which is quite strong for a fashion watch. The two subdials are in black colour also with gold accents. The subdial on the left is a 60-minute dial, and the subdial on the right is the 24h dial.

The movement is quartz chronograph Miyota OS21. A pretty basic and widely used quartz movement that you will find in almost all fashion watches at this price range. I actually would better use the Seiko meca-quartz or any of the Swiss made quartz movements as in this price range there should be a bit better-made quartz. Not that the Miyota is bad, but you can get that Swiss made movement too at this price point. The strap is actually a stainless steel mesh, I wanted to get the version with a leather strap as I heard they are pretty good. But instead, I got this. The mesh is actually pretty good. It tapers down from 20mm to 17,5mm. The quality of the mesh is good, it isn’t bent or cut bad.

Overall the watch is interesting, not my cup of tea. But it was interesting to wear this for a couple of weeks. The things I hate are probably the 42mm size because at 40mm it would be perfect and the logo and writings on the dial would be smaller. But it is what it is.

Price: 269eur @ triwa.com

Case Size: 42 mm
Style: Chronograph
Dial Color: Smoke sunray
Case Color: Brushed stainless steel
Family: Nevil
Strap: Stainless steel mesh
Strap Color: Stainless steel
Water Resistance: 10 ATM
Movement: Miyota OS21
Buckle Color: Stainless steel
Case Treatment: Brushed and polished
Strap Style: Mesh
Movement Type: Quartz