Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Retter Mistral, An Accessible Thin Dress Watch with Style
An ultra-thin piece with unique case and dial designs from a young Swiss/American microbrand.
Retter isn’t a brand that many are familiar with as its first watch launched only a couple of years ago, the 22 Automatic. It was a solid first effort with the always popular integrated sports watch aesthetic, but the follow-up Mistral is a more mature and elegant dress watch, with a truly ultra-thin case (a term a bit too loosely thrown around). Both the case and dials have interesting, well thought designs that are above the microbrand norm, while the hand-wound Swiss movement really completes the package. It’s quite a leap from the 22 Automatic, which was already an impressive inaugural watch, and it comes with a palatable price to boot.
There’s an interesting approach to this stainless steel case design, which initially was going to have an interpretation of the classic 1950s Corne de Vache lugs. The look of soldered lugs on such a thin case just wasn’t working, so the team created a multi-piece design with a mid-plate holding the lugs, which would then be hidden by a thin shell in tandem with the bezel and caseback. The seamless result gives the impression of perfectly integrated lugs on a case just 6.8mm thick.
The diameter is 38mm and 42.4mm lug-to-lug. With the double-domed AR sapphire crystal, total height is 7.4mm, which is still very thin. The exhibition case back is secured via six screws and displays a nicely decorated ETA movement. Water resistance is quite impressive at 100 metres with a push/pull crown.
The case is just half of the show as the dials are also unique, especially for such a thin piece. There’s real depth with three levels and a total of five parts, almost creating a 3D effect when viewed head-on. The inner central portion has eight vertical grooves, while the small seconds sub-dial is a step below with a nice chamfer. The upper (third) level is an outer ring with applied indices and a cool minute track of small dots with slightly larger counterparts every five minutes. The spade-style hands and indices have Super-LumiNova inserts and the dials come in three colours – Midas Gold, Arctic Silver and Forest Green. The gold and silver variants have thin layers of either 18k gold or silver fused to the surface, while the green dial has a PVD coating.
Powering the Retter Mistral is the calibre 2105, based on ETA’s hand-wound 7001 (only 2.5mm thick). It’s a Top Grade movement that the brand regulated to +/-10 seconds per day, although it’s well within that parameter in practice. Functions are simple with central hours, minutes and small seconds at 6 o’clock. Custom decorations include a bead-blasted anthracite finish (on reworked bridges), perlage and heat-blued screws.
The straps are a bit special as well, designed in France by revered strap maker Jean-Rousseau. Dyed goat leather and alcantara lining are used, while tanning and stitching are all done under his hand in Paris. The straps taper from 20mm at the case to 16mm at the pin buckle, and thickness tapers from 3.5mm to 2.5mm. Strap colours include beige (for gold dial), grey (for silver dial) and green (for green dial), but white, blue and red are also available separately at USD 229 each.
The Retter Mistral is available to preorder tomorrow (18 June 2024) with shipping scheduled for November 2024. They’re not specifically limited, but only 100 of each colour will be made for the initial launch. The preorder price is USD 1,595, which certainly isn’t cheap, but very reasonable for what’s being offered. For more information and to place an order, please visit retterwatches.com.
Sponsored post: This article is sponsored by Retter Watches. However, it reflects the writer’s opinion and has been written according to MONOCHROME’s editorial policy.
