Democratic vintage: Calvin Klein K9Q125Z1 watch review

Wrist Watch

I am a big fan of square and rectangular clocks. Models of this form appear in my collection much more often than the round ones familiar to the general consumer. I always explain this by the fact that the first men's watches that Louis Cartier created for the pilot Albert Santos Dumont were exactly square with slightly rounded corners. I suspect that if an experienced watchmaker has created a utilitarian device (and wrist watches for pilots have always been primarily a functional instrument) of this form, then this is not just.

Therefore, when I saw the Calvin Klein K9Q125Z1, I immediately wanted to try them on - in my opinion, this is how a high-quality and fashionable watch mass market should look like. It is difficult to imagine a more worthy model for a completely ridiculous price for these cool watches.

The Calvin Klein brand created the watch line in 1997, when they entered into a partnership agreement with the Swatch Group. Fashion brands, unless we are talking about high fashion houses, never make watches on their own. Brands simply do not have the necessary expertise to create high-quality movements and develop the correct ergonomics of the model, so they can offer designs and sketches, for the implementation of which watch companies are always responsible.

For Calvin Klein, the calibers are made by ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse, a Swiss factory founded in 1793. Now this production is part of the Swatch Group. There are several important achievements in the history of this factory. For example, in 1969, ETA masters were able to automate the installation of watch stones for the first time, and in 1996 they created a self-winding quartz caliber for the Tissot brand.

Calvin Klein's three switches are powered by the ETA F04.101 movement, which is widely used in the watch industry. For example, the same engine is inside many Tissot and Baume & Mercier models. This is important, because most often watches created by fashion brands are scolded precisely for the quality of mechanisms, but in this case, the K9Q125Z1 model is in no way inferior to democratic watch manufactories.

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Calvin Klein designers love vintage and always flirt with 90s fashion. The basis of the brand is sporty casual style and denim, which they often use even when creating watches. The brand likes to experiment with metals, using steel of different colors and different textures. For example, the case and bracelet of the K9Q125Z1 model is made of steel with black and gold PVD coating, thanks to which the watch wears out much more slowly. To give the product such shades, superhard titanium nitride is applied in a vacuum to the case and bracelet, on top of which an ultrathin layer of gold or chromium oxide is applied for a dark color.

But the most attractive thing for me in this Calvin Klein watch is the dial. It looks like it's just black, but it has an amazing, complex vulcanized texture that makes it cool to change color with light. In the rays of the sun, the dial, which is accompanied by contrasting hands and indexes, turns from graphite to light gray. The mineral glass protects it from bumps and scratches.

The model K9Q125Z1 has an optimal size - 38 by 38 millimeters, which makes this watch an absolute unisex. They will look equally good on both women's and men's wrists, becoming one of the central elements in the image. Still, gold always attracts a lot of attention, so don't overdo it with other jewelry when you wear these Calvin Klein.

And remember the main rule - metals are friendly in color. Gold watches should be accompanied by gold bracelets and rings. Or choose jewelry from other materials - wood, stone, leather and textiles. Otherwise, you run the risk of turning from an elegant retro fan into an aging Italian mafia, overdoing it with kitsch.

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