Albert Villa's modern take on Art Deco inspired vintage dress watches from the 1920s immediately reminds us of Jaeger-LeCoultre's Reverso, a well-known classic dress watch design, that first retailed in 1931 as a watch that could withstand the rigors of a polo game. All very apt as the general shape of the case here puts us in mind of the Reverso, (while thankfully not being a close homage,) but in a more modern size, with one of the most reliable of all mechanical movements, scratch resistant sapphire crystal, and 50 meters of water resistance. Very handy for those unexpected rain-showers while playing polo, or should you fall off your horse and land in a puddle!
The 1920s Grande Seconde is the most eye catching of all of the Albert Villa designs, with the carefully hammered gold-colored case that reflects light and can sparkle like diamonds, contrasted with a highly polished champagne gold-colored finish on some surfaces, and a deep black enamel dial overlaid with a classic gold-colored Art Deco sun pattern dial. The dial pattern is subtly symmetrical and divided into quarters that aid in time telling. We've never seen another microbrand watch quite like this, and it simply is in a league of its own. The case is also very thin for an automatic movement, and comes in at under 9mm, exactly what we want to see in a mechanical dress watch, so it can fit under a formal sleeve cuff for the grandest of occasions.
Not only is Albert Villa Timepieces the only watch microbrand we know of hailing from Romania, but the small limited edition size here of just 100 timepieces makes this model fairly rare and adds to the interest, making this watch quite the conversation piece, since it is sure to be noticed when worn.
1920s Grande Seconde
The "Grande Seconde" in the name of this watch simply means "large second hand", and is a reference to the central second hand on the dial to distinguish this model from the other gold on black design in Albert Villa's 1920s series, the "Petite Seconde", which has a sub-dial with small second hands. Despite the rather plain meaning, we think this is a truly appropriate name as the design of this intricate dial is very grand indeed and is the most outstanding Art Deco design we've seen from any microbrand.
