Review: Ophion OPH-786

The longer the micro-brand phenomenon persists, the more I realize how specialized, inventive, and value-driven these nimble little design houses can be. Spain’s Ophion proves the point with their sophomore effort dubbed OPH-786, a 39-millimeter dress watch with a CNC’d guilloche or granular dial, a highly customized hand-wound movement, and a host of other impressive details normally costing thousands more than the €1,890 (~$2,200) you’ll pay for the 786.Other than being designed for the wrist, every aspect of the OPH-786 in some way pays tribute to the highly decorated pocket watches of the 1700s. There was no mass-manufacturing of watches in the 1700s, so watchmakers built it all by hand from scratch, serving a clientele who expected immaculately executed decoration inside and out. For Ophion and its customers, such hand-building would have been prohibitive, so Ophion innovated ways to offer exceptionally detailed metal work via computer-driven CNC machines.