We have come to know Sternglass as a brand that creates watches, primarily within the minimalist Bauhaus style. But over the past few years, we have seen brands push the boundaries of their aesthetics. One of the main examples is the brand’s Berlin model. The watches still check out quite a few minimalist boxes, but the style is different from the brand’s regular Bauhaus watches. The dial shows a gentle infusion of Art Deco elements, and date and date displays create a classy daily watch. The inspiration for the watch comes from the Berlin station, founded in 1857 in Hamburg, Sterngrass’ hometown. It’s time to learn more.
As Germany is a large country, the impact of the introduction of long-distance train travel was enormous. It connected the major German cities that were then separated for days. A trip to Hamburg in the north to Berlin in the east was a long journey before the mid-19th century. These days, it takes more than three hours by car, but this is nothing special. However, when the first train connection was established, riding the train for nine hours significantly improved travel by horses and carriages.
The Tale of Sterngrass Berlin
The first train connection between Hamburg and Berlin was established in 1846. That first trial took place on December 16th of that year, beginning a permanent link between the two cities. In 1857, a dedicated station opened in Hamburg to connect to Berlin.
It was that special moment that influenced the creation of Sterngrass Berlin. This watch features a sculpture on a caseback commemorating the opening of Berlin Station in Hamburg. It also combines a slightly different dial design from most other Sternglas watches.
Especially even if Art Deco was a movement in the early 20th century, dial designs like Art Deco are more suited to the height and elegance of classic railway imagery than the usual Bauhaus style. This gives it a charm that works well in the Sterngrass Berlin story. Plus, I like it when brands mix things up, like I saw in the Sedius model I reviewed last year.
Sternglas started with two quartz versions from Berlin, and now there are two more brands featured. These new ones offer some tweaks compared to the first two, and choose a rather tighter one between the four available versions.
Details of the new Sterngrass Berlin Variant
Overall, the style remains the same for the two new models. First, it features the same stainless steel case as the first version. Measures a thickness of 38mm in diameter, 45mm from lug to lug, and 10mm including dome crystals.
The first new model is Berlin Metro Silver, featuring a matte silver dial with black markers and numbers. Unlike the original green dial version with case matching steel hands, the Berlin Metro Silver has gold hands that enhance the overall look. Like the first two models, there is a day and date opening at 3am. These are rather seated near the center, so there is also a perfect time marker next to them. This looks a bit strange at first, but I found my eyes used to it pretty quickly. Another difference between the two newer versions and the original version is that the date and date disks are now matched with the dial colour, rather than the date disk being black and the day disk being white.
The Berlin Metro Silver comes standard with a 20mm dark brown or black leather strap. However, you can also choose a Milanese bracelet or a branded signature super slim bracelet.
Second new version
Next is the Sternglas Berlin Piano Black. This combines a golden case with a white marking and a black dial with numbers. As mentioned before, this time both the date and the date disk match the dial. That is, it has white text.
The golden hands match the case, giving it a more dressy, stylish aesthetic than the silver dial model. The watch looks very classic, especially with leather straps. But like the first model, Sternglas also offers watches with Milanese and super slim bracelets. This time it will be run in matching gold.
Sternglas is equipped with Miyota GM02 caliber on both watches. This quartz movement displays hours, minutes and seconds and is hidden behind an engraved caseback depicting the old Berlin station. Additionally, as mentioned earlier, you get a 1 day/date display. The caliber operates with an accuracy of ±20 seconds per month and offers 36 months of battery life.
Wearing a new Sternglass Berlin model
On the wrist, Sterngrass Berlin is worn beautifully. The 38mm case is nicely proportional, with a crystalless 8mm, which is quite slim. The domed sapphire crystal adds 2mm to it, but it also brings considerable appeal. Plus, with a total thickness of 10mm, Berlin still slips easily under the cuff.
After spinning both models, some things quickly stood out. First, the appearance of the dial works best with leather straps. Normal Bauhaus models such as the NAOS look great on Milanese bracelets, but I prefer the classic aesthetic of Sterngrass Berlin with straps.
Come to think of it, the straps are not of the best quality. Just moving the strap made me squeal. I’m sure it will become more supple over time, but I don’t want to hear these strange sounds every time I move the clock. So I switch straps and go for something different. That being said, both strap options look very good.
Each of these watches comes for 209 euros for one of the leather straps and 239 euros for one of the bracelet options. As mentioned before, I would choose the former, more specifically the gold version with a black dial. I enjoy the look of that watch and prefer it over the other three available models. Sterngrass Berlin offers a great break from the usual Bauhaus style and an alternative for fans of the brand looking for something different. So I think expanding the Berlin lineup makes sense and will attract new buyers to the scope.
What do you think about these watches? Please let us know in the comments section below.
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