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It’s hard not to focus on price these days. The world has gotten more expensive over the last few years, and watches have not been immune to price hikes. Anyone following watch media in 2025 would be able to tell you that, and this site has not been immune. It’s the topic of the day in a big way, and ignoring it altogether would be a mistake on all fronts. Still, if you look back at the 13 years since Worn & Wound has been around, the narrative arc in that time isn’t about rising prices, it’s about value.
In the more than a decade since Worn & Wound first came online, watchmaking has been dramatically democratized. Value has, in large part, been the name of the game, and increased access to complications, techniques, and materials has largely been a big part of what has kept me so interested in watches on a deep level — I mean, the idea that anyone complaining that a sub-$1000 GMT watch only had a caller movement would have been anathema to any collector just 10 years ago.
Most of the value conversation in recent years has been focused on affordable watches, but a remarkable reality is that there is also value to be had if you take a step up. Brands at all scales have noticeably stepped up the quality of their movements, and while I’d never consider calling a 17,200 CHF watch anything but expensive, it’s hard to ignore that Zeitwinkel is offering (or at least trying to offer) something really special at a price that would have been hard to imagine not that long ago.
Still, until recently, Zeitwinkel’s line has been limited — and by limited, in this case, I mean dressy, and certainly not for everyone. Broadly speaking, Zeitwinkel’s offerings since their launch in 2006 have been interpretations of the same basic premise, in similar cases (measuring either 42.5mm or 39mm — no more, no less), and with limited variation in aesthetic sensibility — though it’s hard to discount an aesthetic sensibility that offers up deep blue sapphire dials.
What’s been missing, though, has been a sports watch of any sort. That changed last year with the introduction of the 240°, a thoroughly Zeitwinkel take on the concept of a sports watch, priced right around $20,000.
The first thing you’ll notice about the 240°, assuming you’ve been fortunate enough to spend time with other watches from the brand, is that the 240° is neither 42.5mm nor 39mm. Instead, the 240°, for the first time, comes in an entirely new case, one which measures in at a wholly new 40.5mm. The 40.5mm case, which for many would be considered a goldilocks size when it comes to spec-peeping sports watches, is also just 12.5mm thick.
The new case doesn’t eschew the Zeitwinkel look entirely. Top down, and ignoring the numerals engraved on the fixed bezel and the matte finish (courtesy of either a grey PVD or black DLC treatment), the silhouette is familiar, with the same simple bezel and angular lugs as previous models, but a quick turn of the wrist reveals reliefs on the case flank and in the lugs, which give the whole thing a much more aggressive profile than the polished options we’ve seen previously. The inclusion of crown guards, whose angular look matches the lugs, also sends a clear message that something here is different.
This new look is paired with a busier dial than we’re used to from the brand. Grained finishes, faceted rays, and polished minute tracks all have homes here and provide a fittingly elegant backdrop for the thin, long, fully lumed sword hands. Again, the look of the dial feels connected to previous Zeitwinkel releases, without feeling too directly tied to what’s come before.
In person, the new watches are impressive. Like every other Zeitwinkel I’ve gotten to see, the 240° feels remarkably well made, with nothing out of place, and every detail well considered. On the wrist, the 240° watch is just about perfect, if a little nondescript. It’s certainly sportier than, say, Zach’s 273° Saphir Fumé, but it doesn’t scream GADA sports watch (for one thing, despite a screw-down crown, the 240° is only water resistant to 10 ATM, which will fall short for the spec-obsessed), something emphasized by Zeitwinkel’s choice to opt out of including a rotating bezel, a complication like a GMT or chronograph, or some other indicator we’d typically associate with a “sports watch.”
I don’t think this would be as much of a problem if this watch came in under $10,000, but at twice that price, the 240° has serious competition coming at it from just about every direction, and many of the strengths that help separate other Zeitwinkels from the pack have been forfeited here in the name of creating a sports watch. Big date displays and sapphire dials have helped sell the idea of a Zeitwinkel as a value proposition ready to square off against the heavy hitters of the independent scene, while the 240° feels a bit like it’s missing a killer feature.
All this is to say that the Zeitwinkel 240° is a watch that simultaneously makes a lot of sense and no sense at all. It expands the brand’s lineup in a way that was absolutely necessary, and opens up possibilities for the brand that are genuinely exciting. But the 240° also feels a little lost in no man’s land — a not quite ready for primetime player competing in a saturated market. That’s not to say it’s not absolutely worthy of consideration, but I do think this isn’t quite the Zeitwinkel for the masses. Zeitwinkel
