Do you want a square-ish shaped watch with a luxe, sporty vibe? Maen’s Manhattan 37 might be the one for you!
Do you want a square-ish shaped watch with a luxe, sporty vibe? Maen’s Manhattan 37 might be the one for you!
About Maen
Maen is a Swedish brand founded in 2017 by Sebastiaan Cortjaens and Jules van Helvoort.
The two share a passion for watches and watch collecting, so they created their own brand and named it after the moon, an interstellar symbol of time.
They aim to offer quality pieces for reasonable prices by selling their watches directly to customers. Since inception, Maen has released over six different collections. Today, we’ll have a closer look at Manhattan 37.
The Manhattan 37
This model is inspired by the luxury sport watches of the 1970s. It almost looks like the work of the famous designer, Gerald Genta.
The characteristic elements, like the integrated bracelet, the patterned dial and the square-shaped case, are reminiscent of the iconic Audemars Piguet Royal Oak or Patek Phillippe Nautilus.
The watch is eye-catching and has a splendid aesthetic with brushed and polished surfaces. The collection has four different dial variations: Midnight Blue, Anthracite Black, Ice Grey and Salmon.
All colors are available in date and no-date versions. I chose the salmon dial with a date display.
Packaging
The watch arrived in a plain black box with the Maen logo on it. Opening the box revealed a black leather case with a snap fastener.
This is nice because it cuts down on packaging waste, and you can use the case – which feels high quality – for travel storage.
Under the case there was a little drawer where I found a certification card and another card linking to the user manual, along with an email address for customer support.
Dimensions
The watch is perfect on a slender wrist thanks to its pleasantly svelte proportions. The diameter is just 37 mm, while the lug-to-lug height is 47 mm. The height is 9.3 mm, which means it easily slips under the cuffs of any button up shirt.
The watch is slightly wider than the bracelet at 34 mm. The integrated bracelet tapers from 22 mm to 16 mm.
With these sizes, the watch fits perfectly on my 17.5 cm (6.9 inch) wrist.
Case and Crystal
The small octagonal case is made of, you guessed it, 316L stainless steel. It’s mostly satin-brushed steel, but the edges of the case and bezel are polished.
Over the dial, you’ll find sapphire crystal treated with anti-reflective coating. This is especially important for the darker dial versions.
The water resistance is 5 ATM with a screw-down case back but no screw-down crown.
It’s a downside, in my book, especially for a sporty steel watch.
Dial and Hands
The dial is brilliant. It has vertically elongated Côtes de Genève stripes that change color depending on the lighting conditions. It looks different in almost every photo I’ve taken.
This type of depth and variety appeals to me. The styling of the indexes and hands are nicely coordinated.
All have polished sides, and the white parts are filled with C1 X1 Superluminova, which provides sufficient readability in the dark.
Movement
The heart of the watch is a Ronda R-150 automatic movement, which beats 28,800 times per hour. It has three hands: sweeping seconds, minutes and hours. The date is at 3 o’clock.
This Swiss lever escapement movement has an incabloc anti-shock system and power reserve of 40 hours. The rotor is ball bearing, and the winding is bi-directional.
According to some rumors, the R-150 is an ETA 2824-2 clone. It’s not actually true, but these two popular movements are interchangeable.
Strap
The integrated strap is made of 316L stainless steel. The links are sized individually and also have a satin-brushed finish with polished chamfers on the side (matching the case).
It has a deployant butterfly clasp with the Maen logo engraved. It’s comfortable and easy to resize due to the use of screws.
Downside
The strap on prototype 14 was comfortable, but sometimes the links stuck on each other and did not lie flat on my wrist.
Another drawback, in my humble opinion, is that all watches should have at least 10 ATM water resistance so you don’t have to worry about washing dishes, getting caught in the rain, or spilling your pina colada.
The Verdict
The Manhattan 37 has many pros. It’s incredibly eye-catching, well-made and comes with top notch customer support.
It’s a perfectly made re-interpretation of luxe steel sport watches from the ‘70s.
Of course, it has some cons, but all things considered, I have to admit that I enjoyed wearing it.
Questions? Comments? Leave them below!
Leave a Reply