Watch Review: Selten Grand Feu Enamel
When I had Selten’s debut watch, the Series 00, in for review four years ago, I chanced to wear it to a local meetup. The people at this meetup were what I’d call high-value collectors, sporting Romain Gauthiers, Pateks, and Journes, blissfully unaware of any watch priced under $10,000. Despite being stuck in their luxury horological pursuits, a number of them noticed and asked about the Series 00, its meteorite dial, day/night display, and attractive handset. Further, each and every one who did so thought it cost thousands of dollars rather than the $750 MSRP. In those four years, Selten has released two other watches that didn’t do much for me, but its latest release, the Selten Grand Feu Enamel, is another stunner that’s sure to wow the rich folk at the meetups.
The new Selten Grand Feu Enamel watches are part of the brand’s also-new Metiers d’Art collection. It’s unclear what else may be introduced under this banner, but I’d say the GFE (as I’ll call it) is quite the opener. Compared to the Series 00, which was impressive but had a case that felt chunky and very microbrandy, the GFE is decidedly elevated. The 39mm stainless steel case shows all the signs of a luxury watch: a polished concave bezel, a brushed caseband with a second polished edge below created by the caseback, lugs that are made to look as if they’re individually attached, a crown that wouldn’t be out of place on a Grönefeld. The slightly domed sapphire crystal isn’t too dramatic, meaning you’ll get little to no distortion of the dial — critical on a timepiece like this. With 50m of water resistance, the watch is telling you what its limits are, but that’s more than many watches that look like this, which commonly offer a scant 30m and have you taking them off at the mere suggestion of moisture.
On my 7-inch wrist, I found the Grand Feu Enamel to be an easy wear. It’s 10.9mm thick and has a lug-to-lug of 45.5mm, which should be right around most people’s sweet spot. This isn’t really a watch I envisioned on a bracelet; when it first arrived, though, that’s what it was attached to, and if I’m being honest, I didn’t go through all the packaging, so I thought that’s all there was. (The blue strap you see within this review is attached solely because I didn’t find the tan strap until I was shooting a second set of photos.)
The quick-release 20mm bracelet is nice enough, though at a $80 upcharge, I would say it isn’t worth it unless you need a bracelet. I probably wouldn’t end up wearing the GFE on a bracelet, so it doesn’t make sense for me. If you did end up with it, it has a spring-loaded butterfly clasp that snaps shut around the wrist, and you can opt for the $150 version that has an extension mechanism on either side, providing about 4mm total of extra length when needed. My pick is the leather strap, made by HasNoBounds (which is run by a relative of Selten’s owner). I have a few of these straps (including the blue one here) and have enjoyed them for several years. As a sign of Selten’s attention to detail and understanding of consumer preferences, the lugs feature two sets of spring bar holes, meaning you won’t ruin any of your straps due to rubbing against the case.
The eponymous Grand Feu Enamel dial is what will likely grab most people’s attention. Offered in “Rustique” red, “Sunbird” blue, “Prism” violet, “Moonstone” light blue, and “Golden Fall” gold seen here, the dials feature a hand-engraved pattern with an enamel finish. This isn’t guilloché, which involves a turning machine that carves a repeated pattern; the 700 lines on each watch are cut individually with a handheld cutting tool. The spiral pattern of my review sample is one of two offered, the other featuring straight radiant lines. It’s curious to offer two patterns, and I have to think it comes down to simply not being able to decide during the design phase. Since the dials are done by hand and essentially made to order, offering two options isn’t a problem for the brand and only means more choice for consumers. I think I’d go for the spiral, as it’s more exciting, if only for the fact that the lines curve and suggest motion, though not in the direction of the hands.
I do not think, however, that I’d go for this color. You can imagine what it reminded me of when I first glanced at it, but I will readily admit that its autumnal warmth grew on me over my time with it. It is far more gold than yellow, and a rich gold at that. AS was the case on the Series 00, it’s the handset that further distinguishes the GFE. Tipping the hat to Urban Jürgensen, the hour hand has an enormous aperture with a polished interior bevel that contrasts with the matte silver finish on the rest of the hands, which matches the Roman numerals marking the hours. There are times when the matte finish makes the hands seem white rather than silver, which is an odd look against the dial. On the flipside, Selten has capped the cannon pinion at the center of the hand stack, an often overlooked detail that I always appreciate.
On both the minute and seconds hands (the latter of which is only blued for the gold and light blue dials), the tips curve down. This is another feature more common in high-end watches. As I understand it, this is to reduce the parallax effect, in which hands further from the dial are more likely to have a different apparent position. Curving the hands mitigates this effect and also accounts for any small distortions caused by the sloping outer edge of the crystal. I have never knowingly been parallaxed, but will trust the brand and the internet on the matter.
The Selten Grand Feu Enamel watches use a Swiss automatic Soprod M100 that the brand has adjusted to 5 positions for an accuracy of -/+ 6 seconds per day, just shy of COSC accuracy. I received a model with a hand-engraved rotor, but you should know that it’ll cost you an extra $150, and I don’t think it’s worth it for something that you’ll almost never see. I also don’t think it’s a very high-end engraving, seeming more consistent with what I’d expect from a Sea-Gull machine engraving than what I’d desire of an add-on hand-engraving. The movement itself is decorated in a basic way with perlage and runs at 28,800 vph with a power reserve of 42 hours.
The Selten Grand Feu Enamel collection marks another impressive release for the brand. Those years ago, when I reviewed the Series 00, it was the only review of the watch available; people criticized the brand for its poor marketing (though I had reached out on my own). This time, for its fourth model, there’s coverage everywhere. Just like this watch, it shows a brand that’s maturing. During the initial launch window ending June 5, the Selten Grand Feu Enamel watches are priced at $1,899 USD for the flare dial and $2,199 USD for the spiral dial. Once the initial batch sells, the watches will be made to order and priced at $2,599 USD and $2,899 USD, respectively. For more information, please visit the Selten website.
