CIGA Design Z-Series Review: Xiaomi’s Affordable Luxury Mechanical Watch

When you stare at smartwatches for too long, there's just something amiss in a digital display. Even if it's a gorgeous watch face design on the latest AMOLED panel with smooth animations, after using smartwatches for a while, I found myself craving for a three-dimensional time keeper.

Xiaomi is normally known as a company that focuses on electronics, but it's investment in CIGA Design who joined its ranks in 2018 evidently shows that it still finds mechanical watches relevant. There is something about intrinsic design and precise engineering that goes into an automatic watch that cannot be replaced by electronics - and the incorporation of CIGA Design is Xiaomi's nod to acknowledging that.

The Z-Series is CIGA Design's latest automatic watch design, launched on the crowd funding site Indigogo, the project is as of this moment almost reaching $1.5M USD in backing, one of the most demanded products around.

As a business traveler, the Z-Series is very attractive because it has many of the right boxes ticked in its concept: tough case and curved sapphire crystal, intriguingly see-through movement and an affordable price tag. I was eager to experience the watch in person and spend some quality time with it.

This is not a book

Those who read my reviews, you will notice that I rarely include packaging and the unboxing experience in the reviews, because it hardly adds to the final use of the product. However in the case of the Z-Series it was interesting enough and useful enough that I feel compelled to make a mention of it.

Once I opened the normal brown packaging box, I was presented with what appears to be a silver colored book, complete with a book sleeve. When opened, the first page reveals a window that showcases the watch face in its mechanized glory. Turn another page and the full watch along with both its silicon and leather straps are shown in cut-outs in the book. The book is a simple but classy way of presenting the watch and it even includes all the paperwork right there in its pages.

In the time that I possessed the CIGA Design watch, I found myself putting the watch back into its book whenever I'm not wearing the watch and it proved to be quite a useful storage. I bet most people who have purchased the watch would have kept the book on their bookshelf as a handy dedicated display case for the Z-Series watch - just like I did.

Three-dimensional time keeping

For most of us, we are staring at information displayed on flat screens all day long. So it becomes a little getaway to have a three-dimensional, multi-layered timepiece on your wrist that you can see and even hear ticking away.

The Z-Series enhances the whole experience with its see-through design, which is a running theme for CIGA Design watches. The layers of metal craftsmanship are further enhanced with a variety of finishes: anodized finish for the frame, polished gears that vary between silver and brass tones and a brass balance wheel. The time markers are precisely laser cut into the frame, which is both aesthetically clean and easy to read.

The hands used are elegantly designed, with a classic sweeping red second hand and matching minute and hour hands. What many people do not realize is that the white chevrons on the minute and hour hands glow in the dark, which is a must for travelers when in dark cabins.

Batteries not included because it's not needed

Murphy's Law tells us that if something wrong can happen, it will happen. That is why for me, my preference for a travel watch is that either it is rechargeable where I know its battery level, or alternatively: an automatic watch like the Z-Series. Having a 'flat' watch while travelling can mean missing an important appointment (Sometimes with a flight) and needing to carry a dead watch throughout the trip, both pretty glum prospects.

The Z-Series uses a customized Seagull movement and is rated to have a 40 hour reserve, in additional to having a self-winding rotor. I picked up the watch once when the reserve has already run out, and I was surprised to find the motion of picking up the watch alone was enough to get the watch ticking again. In a time where wrist motion just simply increases your step count on your Fitbit, it's intriguing to see the automatic watch being wound up through these minute motions.

An additional advantage of a transparent automatic watch is that the mainspring that holds the reserve potential is visible at all times, which means you're also very aware of how much wound is remaining in the watch.

Light and strong

The Z-Series is encased not in stainless steel, but grade 2 Titanium. This means getting a lighter overall body providing has great strength and provides excellent protection for the watch. A curved sapphire crystal is inlayed giving great clarity and provides good scratch resistance. Over the few weeks that I have worn the watch, there isn't any sort of scratches on the glass or the case.

The light and strong casing of the Z-Series makes a good case to take it along on trips, because no one wants to tip-toe around the possibility of damaging their watch while being on the move.

Quick release straps for different occasions

The design of the Z-Series is versatile enough that it can pass for both a sports watch and a dress watch. This can be taken advantage of right out the box, because both leather and silicon straps come included. For people with sweaty wrists like me, the silicon strap is a must, especially in humid time zones. Since there is the quick release on the straps, it means I can easily dress it up for a couple of hours to look more professional for important occasions.

Who is the CIGA Design Z-Series watch for?

For watch lovers time keeping is not only utilitarian, but it's also an art to behold. In the era of smartwatches, when much of that art is lost, CIGA Design is keeping the art alive by providing a very functional yet beautiful watch all with a reasonable price tag. I gladly wore it both for daily use and on longer trips where I need a timepiece that is both reliable and durable. For those who still appreciate the art of time keeping, the Z-Series is a little oasis of mechanical splendor to carry around on your wrist.

Check out CIGA Design's Z-Series on Indigogo

David is a tech enthusiast/writer who is often on the move and is on a mission to explore ways to make his overhaul flights more enjoyable. This is a contribution to an ongoing IBTimes review series on gadgets for Business Travellers.