The news from Geneva that CIGA Design took an award win for Innovative design with their rotating globe, single hand timepiece was something of a wake-up call for us here.

Yep, NWC hasn’t really clocked on to CIGA as a brand and once we delved into their website and history it’s obvious we should paying more attention to the Chinese watch brand.

Why? Simple reason really, they love watches and balanced, compact engineering for its own sake, like Brunel or Tompion did in the past. We celebrate that ambition, that wonderful attention to detail.

They’re also ridiculously great value.

How much do you think an Indie brand, 18K gold plated, steel case, see-thru automatic, with spare strap and sapphire crystal should retail for? £500 perhaps, or a bargain at £300. Well the RRP is £189 in the UK and that includes a box that looks like a cool David Bailey photo collection book from the 1980s.

Got to say, we can’t wait to see what CIGA get busy creating next, because too many brands rely on essentially recycling their greatest hits.