Hey JLC, you better watch out. You too, AP. Because Circula is in the house baby and there is little you can do to impress us anymore. When Isotope released the Mercury, I thought Swiss Luxury was dead. When VPC released the 37HW, I thought why would any brand bother creating a new GADA? And when Beaucroft released the Element, well, I asked myself the same question—again. Micro/indy brands are on fire and there is no quenching that one. I can’t believe that only four years ago “microbrands” were, to many people, solely synonymous with “homages.” Or as being those which kickstarted the neo-vintage trend the Swiss luxury market thought it would be a good idea to lead by excavating their basements and dusting off old catalogs. No, micro/indy brands are at the forefront of creativity, ingenuity, and are currently at the onset of leading an horological revolution. 

So when it comes to Circula, I saw the brand as mostly being in the business of making tough, straightforward tool watches. Little did I know that the brand would create something like the Facet we’re going to talk about today. Indeed, this new release is very different from the previous models I reviewed—the AquaSport GMT, the DiveSport Titanium or the SuperSport Petrol. All three being legitimate tool watches for the pros (or you and me.) What the Facet offers, in addition to being built to be a proper GADA watch (“Go-Anywhere-Do-Anything”), is a superb and integral design where the dial, case, and bracelet are cut out of the same design cloth, each showcasing with confidence and precision what Circula can accomplish. I believe the Facet is not the brand’s pinnacle, but instead it’s warm up release. 

P.S. The model photographed was an early prototype and will therefore show imperfections.

Specifications 

The Facet is built like a GADA which means, in my dictionary, that it is built tough. A full stainless steel case displaying superb alternations of brushed and polished surfaces (which we will go back to later on); a flat piece of sapphire crystal with three layers of inner anti-reflective coating; loads of daytime and nighttime glowing SuperLuminova C7 on the hands and applied hour markers; palladium-plated faceted hands (palladium is a soft metal that protects the surface it is applied onto from corrosion); 100 meters of water resistance (screw-down crown and case-back); a La Joux-Perret G100 caliber (4Hz/68 hours of power reserve); and nimble dimensions of 38 x 44 x 100mm. Yes, from a technical standpoint the Circula Facet is actually a tool watch. And any watch built like this one makes for the perfect candidate for a GADA timepiece.

Well, let’s actually talk more about the finishing now although it is intimately connected to the design of the watch as, technically, it is superb. The finishing of the case and bracelet instantly grabbed my attention for being particularly well-made and unique in its appearance. We do find a classic alternation of brushed and polished surfaces but the contrast between the two is particularly interesting here. (Usually brands create seamless transitions between the two so that they naturally flow with each other and with the overall design of the watch head.) 

Let’s take the area of the lugs as an example. The upper section of the lugs, the one closer to the end-links of the bracelet, received a mirror-like polished treatment while the upper sections of the mid-case received a radial (circular—pun intended?) one which matches the indeed circular shape of the case. The brushing is a little rough as if it was handmade, one stroke after another, while the sides of the lugs showcase a vertical brushing. With the absence of chamfers, this particular alternation of finishes—and how intense they each look—in a way create additional facets. The same spectacle can be admired on the bezel and bracelet though I will get back to these elements later. (For real.) So Circula didn’t just create a case out of many angles but went as far as playing with the finishes to emphasize such angles—facets, actually—to create a coherent design. 

So the superior finishing of the case is interesting from both technical and design standpoints. To me, it’s one and the same. 

Design

Since we were just talking about the case, let us linger a little more on it. I love everything about it. In some ways, it looks like any other case I’ve had the opportunity to look at—it has a three-part construction, lugs, a fixed bezel, crown-guards, and a case-back. In other ways, it’s a whole new animal. It is of course full of facets which do not look gimmicky or out-of-place. (The latter comment is my literary version of a right jab directed at the numerous brands that add odd things to a case or dial just for the sake of adding them, regardless of how odd they look.) The Circula Facet was indeed created to be absent of as many curves as possible. The facets here create the frame for the case design, the crown-guards, the fixed bezel, and the bracelet. By being polished or brushed, these facets concurrently absorb and reflect light in ways that are novel to me. 

Wherever you look, the case will show these majestic facets which, taken globally, make for a very symmetrical design. For example, the same angled protrusions can be found on either side of the case, creating natural crown guards on the right side which are mirrored into a stainless steel sculpture on the left side. The bezel also comes with a stunning spectacle of alternating angles, slopes and chamfers, and its global presence is strengthened by a dramatic brushing on its upper sections. Note the undercut below the bezel which makes the latter appear to be floating above the midcase, a visual effect we also find on the dial: the minute track is separated from the dial by the same undercut to create the same effect. Wherever you look, the Circula Facet offers you one or multiple opportunities for visual gastronomy. 

And the bracelet, my oh my. Not only do the end-links perfectly match the lugs—which means they are custom-made for Circula and not grabbed from a shelf of already made parts—but they also display the same intense alternation of finishes we find on the case. And the dual-finish continues onto each link and to the butterfly clasp. And the team which designed the Facet obviously obsessed over every single detail, two of which I want to highlight here. First, how the polished upper sections of the lugs migrated onto the chamfers of the first three links of the bracelet. Second, how the center links and outer links are only made of angular facets which create a perfect continuity between each one. Like a river of metal flowing down the clasp. 

And now the dial. The palladium-plating on the hands mean they come with a dark hue which helps in making them standout from the dial. Because the latter is tapestried by a wave-like pattern of concentric circles, each being made out of an alternation of raised and lowered sections, appearing like CNC-machined cobbles. Circula describe the latter as wheel cogs from the brand’s logo. I see something different and that’s the beauty of design. I wouldn't know how to describe the shape of the hour and minute hands, but I can certainly admire the many facets they are endowed with. For once in my experience, a “needle seconds hand” actually looks like a needle as I could easily thread something through the counter-balance. 

Final design detail of the dial: the recessed applied and multi-faceted hour markers which have a dark rose gold appearance. Whatever they are, they look amazing just like every facet of the Facet looks. (A majestic pun, ain’t it?)  

The Heart of the Matter 

At the heart of the matter is the fact that Circula went off the beaten path—its own—to make a new watch. Yes, a GADA piece by virtue of its specifications which are plentiful and great. And a GADA as well as a novelty on account of its unique design. The theme of the facets was smartly weaved through each part of the Facet, from the bracelet to the case and dial, in subtle and coherent ways, showing restraint where it mattered and showing none where it mattered the most. I don’t design watches (which is a good thing for the horological community) but I can only imagine how much time and effort Circula must have put into creating this piece. And this project was so special to the brand that it required the services of one Guy Bove who was the former Creative Director of TAG Heuer. Yup, a detail which not only explains why the Facet is so different from what Circula usually puts out, but which is also commendable for putting trust in someone from outside the brand. 

Conclusion 

You know what I’m about to say, don’t you? “We cannot put a price tag on design” and indeed we cannot. But that doesn’t mean that a watch endowed with its own character—a unique, powerful, and mesmerizing character—should automatically cost an arm and a leg. No Sir, No Madam. The Circula Facet will retail for $1,590 USD on a suede leather strap/$1,890 USD on the bracelet during the pre-order period which begins November 23, 2024, and ends December 7, 2024. Thereafter, the prices will be $1,690 USD and $1,990 USD respectively. Just so you know, deliveries will begin December 12 just in time for Christmas! 

You can learn more about the Circula Facet by checking out this link. 

Thanks for reading.