Today we are gonna talk about a pretty cool watch from a small company called Humism. It is a small microbrand that is making interesting watches that have moving dials. They draw inspiration from the Kinetic Art movement, vibrant in the early 20th century. Kinetic artists broke from traditional static art pieces, and created art that produced beauty through movement. I particularly like this brand because it is interesting and something new. I really like vintage, traditional style watches, but I also like quirky watches with strange cases or maybe dials or interesting shapes, and Humism watches I think fit this niche perfectly. I also like that company not only thinks about themselves, but also for others so they are donating 5% of their sales to charity. One watch provides a month of food for a child impacted by natural disaster.

Humism is founded by David, who describes himself as a “globe-trotting Singaporean who has been designing things big and small for more than ten years”. Humism did go the usual microbrand way through Kickstarter where he got 365 backers who pledged 98,678$ in total!

Humism sent me the Dasein model, but he has 2 other designs and 4 designs available for pre-order. The Dasein actually came in a very cool box, it has an optical illusion on it when you slide off the box carboard, it is another cool feature that goes with that moving art theme where you get involved. A pretty cool design if I must say! Inside the box you will find the watch face and strap separately, you will need to put on the strap by yourself. Also, you will get a warranty card and instructions manual. I have had a lot of different watches in for a review with discs showing the time ar small ball bearings on magnets, but never I have had such a cool watch where discs not only show me the time but also gives a beautiful dial to look at. The idea of the watch is very simple, but it looks much more complicated than it actually is and I like it, less is more!

The case of Dasein is made of 316L stainless steel. The machine work is done pretty well and all the lines and angles are sharp! The finishing all over the case is satin-brushed. The finishing is done pretty good, although I think on the top of the lugs it is much rougher and it stands out a bit, but that is me nitpicking the smallest things. The case shape is round with nice small lugs. The diameter of the case is 40mm, the thickness is 12mm and from lug to lug it measures at 45mm. I think Humism nailed the size, it isn’t too small or too big, and it also wears really well on my middle-sized wrist. At 3 o’clock you will find a push-pull crown signed with Humism logo. The crown, in my opinion, is a bit too small as it is very hard to grip it wind up the movement by crown or change time. Also, I don’t like that the 2nd crown position is empty as the movement what’s inside the watch had a date function and you can actually hear the date wheel spinning. The exhibition case back is held on with six small screws. The glass on the back is sapphire crystal which is pretty cool to see here as usually watches at this price point have a mineral crystal on the back. On the front of the watch, we have a flat AR-coated sapphire crystal. The AR coating isn’t exactly the best, but at least it is better than if it wasn’t there. The water resistance is only 5ATM (50M) so swimming with it wouldn’t be good!

The dial on the Dasein is the main point of this watch as it is constantly moving! So the main dial is white with deeply embossed hour markers. Also, there are three discs that are moving. The first bottom disk with a black circle is hour disk, the middle one with a black circle which has empty centre is for minutes and the top one that moves the most is for the seconds. It is really interesting to watch this watch move an make new “art” each hour. Yes, reading time is a bit hard to read, but this is a fashion/conversation piece and isn’t meant to be used as a tool watch or to time something. This is made purely for the looks and I love it.

The movement that is inside the watch is Japan made Seiko NH35A, which is running at +7 to +8 seconds a day, at least for me. This movement is pretty popular in the microbrand world as 50% of watches that are coming out have this movement inside them. It has proven it’s reliability and easiness to service within many years. You just can’t go wrong with Japan made movements from Seiko. It is an automatic 24 jewel movement with 41-hour power reserve and beating away with 21,600 BPH. Humism also went a step further by putting a customized rotor.

The strap of the Dasein is nothing special. It is a simple black strap with a straight cut and with black stitching. The leather is from Italy and it is very soft to touch. The underside is lined with beige material which is signed with Humism logo. The strap isn’t that supple, but it should wear-in a couple of days. The straps have built-in quick release spring bars which make installing straps super easy and fast. The tang style buckle is finished in brushed finishing and signed with Humism logo.

Overall I really like the watch! It is fun and it shows that you don’t need a 5 or 6 figure watch to start a conversation. When I wore it for a couple of days I got a ton of compliments and people asked what’s on my wrist! The price of 298$ is also pretty good and the watch packs a lot of good specs for that price like sapphire crystal on both sides, Seiko automatic movement, nice Italian leather strap and of course a very interesting dial design! If you want a conversation piece in your collection, this is the watch!

Price: 298$ @ humism.com

Case  :    316L Surgical Steel
Glass  :    Sapphire Crystal with Anti-Reflective Coating
Case-back Glass  :    Sapphire Crystal
Water Resistance  :    5 ATM
Diameter  :    39mm
Thickness  :    11.4mm
Movement  :    Seiko (SII) NH35A Automatic
Straps  :    Italian, Full-Grain, Vegetable-Tanned, Quick-Release.
Fits  :    Unisex. 5.5 to 8 inch wrists.