As you all know I have a long collaboration with Dartmouth brands (AVI-8, Spinnaker, Fjord, Earnshaw, James McCabe etc.), but for some time I wanted to review a watch from Dufa which is one of they’re German made brands. And finally I got my hands on one of these watches, and wow, I’m impressed with it a lot. The model they sent me is the Dufa Albers DF-9010-02 which features a power reserve, date and 24h complications. Most of they’re watches has that Bauhaus styling that is pretty similar to Junghans or Zeppelin watches.

After some time reading about the company and trying to research if they are really made in Germany I came up with some strange info, as there is no info on where are the watches made. On a couple of forums it said that they are being made by the same company that makes the Junghans and Zeppelin watches, but any case it would be nice if they could provide some info and backstory on the company and pictures.

So the watch came in almost the same bo as the last Spinnaker Croft watch, just in white with Dufa logo and other writing on the box. Inside your box, you will get the watch, warranty and instructions. I actually would like a bit better packaging for this brand, because the watch is pretty good and a clamshell box would be just fitting for the style of the company. The first impressions were good. On the website, it said that it is 42mm, but when you see it in real life, it more looks like a 40mm case. Anycase I was really excited to finally review this so let’s dive into the review.

The case is made of 316L stainless steel. The machine work seems pretty good, I can’t see any rough machine work or scratches on the watch. The case shape is round with very thing lugs. The finishing on the case is 99% high polish, the only place where it has brushed finishing is on the top of the lugs. The finishing is done quite good so you get what you paid for. The case diameter is 42mm, the thickness is 12,5mm, from lug to lug it measures at 48,8mm and the lug width is 22mm. The size as I said on the paper seems bigger, but it actually works, the big dial, thin bezel line and thin lugs make it wear like 40mm. Of course, it is quite thick at 12,5mm, but it isn’t too thick that it would interfere with the wearing comfort. On the right side at 3 o’clock we have a signed push/pull crown. The crown is small, but easy to grab due to how the case slopes down on the backside. The see-through case back is held on with 4 small screws. The design of the case back is pretty cool too, you get these two sides to see the movement and in the middle, we have the Dufa logo engraved and some specifications around the edge. On top of the dial sits a domed crystal, I couldn’t find info what crystal it is, but from the sound it makes when you hit it with it sounds like mineral. The water resistance is 3ATM (30m) so it isn’t suitable for swimming, it only can withstand some rain or handwash, but nothing more.

The dial is in a matte grey colour. At 12 we have the power reserve, at 6 we have a 24h subdial and at 3 we have the date window. Finally, I get a date window that has the date wheel in the same colour as the dial. Most of the watches that I review the date wheel almost never matches the dial colour and that really annoys me as a designer. Under the date wheel, you see a writing in German that is pretty similar to Nomos, Junghans watches as they put almost the same writing on their watches in the same place “Gangreserve 40 Stunden” which basically means Power reserve 40 hours. I also like how they accented the low power reserve lines in red colour and the rest ones in white. Also, the placement of the Dufa logo is pretty good as it makes the dial look symmetric with the date on 3. Overall I really like the dial, the colour, the placement of everything, the font that is used, it just works so well, this is perfect for those people who don’t want to spend much money on Nomos.

The movement that makes the Albers show time is the commonly used Japan-made automatic Miyota 9132 with power reserve subdial and 24h subdial. The power reserve is 40h, it has 26 jewels, it beats at 28800 vibrations per hour and it also has hacking seconds that many watch people like as they can set all their watches time perfectly. The precision is quite good too, it loses only 4-6 seconds a day which is pretty good for a Miyota 9000 series movement. The strap that came with the watch is a decent grey leather strap with croc pattern on it. It is the same that comes with the Earnshaw watches. The tang style buckle I like very much as the Dufa Shield logo is raised and makes it pop.

Overall I really like the watch, I’m a big fan of Bauhaus watches and been lusting for a Nomos for a long time, and taking a look at this one shows me that there are cheaper options to enjoy until I save up for a Nomos. Dufa really nailed the design with this one and when I needed to choose what I want to review it was quite difficult to choose as I wanted to review them all. There also were some quartz watches that looked really cool. The price for this one is 649 euros which is a pretty big price for a company that is quite new, but be sure that you will get a quality watch. So I definitely suggest you look at their page and get one for yourself!

Price: €649 @ deutsche-uhrenfabrik.de

MOVEMENT: Japan Automatic Multi-function with Power Reserve and Date
CASE: Stainless Steel
CASE DIAMETER (mm): 42
CASE THICKNESS (mm): 12
CASE SHAPE: Round
CASE COLOUR: Round
DIAL COLOUR: Stainless Steel
BAND: Genuine Leather Strap
BAND COLOUR: Grey
BUCKLE: Strap Buckle