Incredible but true! Just one day after publishing the review of the Redentore Enigma watch, I received a notification from Venezianico that my Arsenale was ready for shipment. The reason for the time gap between the review of the Enigma and this one isn't due to a long wait for the Arsenale, but rather my holiday's absence.
As evident from my reviews, the Arsenale is my fourth Venezianico watch, and I must admit that I was the most eagerly awaiting this one out of the four. My expectations for this watch were very high. All the reviews published by my colleagues who received the watch before me praised its design, its slimness, and noted how similar it is to the Christopher Ward Ti12, but significantly cheaper due to the choice of movement (the Arsenale ticks with the Miyota 9029). So, as I was opening the package, I felt like a small child eagerly unwrapping gifts under a Christmas tree, nervously checking whether the gifts contained what he had wished for. However, my first look at the watch left me cold; if I can be blunt, I was disappointed. There was no spark between the watch and me that I had hoped for. Of all the four Venezianico watches I've purchased, this certainly left the worst first impression.
What is the reason? I don't know; perhaps my expectations were simply too high. Maybe I made a mistake in choosing the dial color; purple just didn’t do it for me. Perhaps everything would have been completely different if I had chosen blue. Interestingly, my twenty-year-old son, who has inherited quite a few of my genes and is interested in watches (often borrowing some of mine), one day while I was not at home and let the watch at home sent me a wrist shot showing the Arsenale on his wrist, commenting that he really liked the watch but questioning why on earth I chose the purple dial instead of black. By the way, I found black to be completely off and a bit boring.
Why did I start this review so pessimistically and depressively? Because I wanted to illustrate how important personal style is with this watch. Namely, in fact the watch is indeed made extremely well. If you like the Genta design of integrated bracelets, you should almost certainly like this watch. It is incredibly cohesive; despite having a "mere" 40mm diameter and 44mm L2L, due to its just 8,9mm thickness it appears larger on the wrist, and the shape of the case allows it to be worn easily by someone with both small and larger wrists. The dial is designed very elegantly; it is very clean, côte de Genève stripes elevate it to another level. No unnecessary numbers or text, just pure elegance. The bracelet is top-notch. Although at first glance it seems this bracelet to be the same bracelet as was presented on the Buccintoro and Nereide Agata models, a closer look shows that the bracelet on this watch is made significantly better. The bracelets share only the pattern; the differences are substantial. On this bracelet, all links are thinner and completely flat, allowing the entire bracelet to follow the slimness of the watch and not appear bulkier than it should. Links combine satin-finished and polished details. The links can also be removed even more easily, as they are easily taken off with screws.
The integration of the bracelet to the case is made to perfection. So smooth, elegant, real eye-catcher.
Despite my initial disappointment, I decided to give the watch a chance. I wore it continuously for more than a week and found that it sits beautifully on the wrist. It really is slim and elegant. The purple color is actually not distracting at all; it pairs nicely with both black and blue outfits. It even complements casual outfits well. It just doesn’t quite work with sporty attire, but that wasn’t unexpected, to be honest.
Regarding the issue of the watch without a second hand, I had already mentioned this when introducing the Enigma. Here, the absence of a second hand is even more noticeable, given the classic dial layout. Although I thought it wouldn't bother me, I must admit that I actually miss the second hand. Since it’s absent, I can't tell you how precise the watch is, similar to my experience with the Enigma. Based on my previously very positive experiences with watches that had the Miyota 9xxx movement, I believe this one is also quite accurate. My measurements on the timegraph confirm this.
I also miss the lume. It’s a pity they didn’t choose to fill the hollow parts of the hands with lume. This wouldn’t have detracted from the desired elegance of the watch but would have added important functionality.
So, what to say in conclusion? The pre-order price of the watch is 800 EUR, with official deliveries expected to start only on November 29. In my opinion, the price is certainly fair given the quality presented, though it's on the higher end considering the Miyota movement and the fact that it’s a pre-order price (which usually is lower than regular). However, much more important than the price here is how you actually experience and feel this watch. While it’s true for every watch that the impression from a picture and the impression on the wrist can be completely different, this time I truly experienced this in practice. Although I love integrated bracelets, honestly, I wouldn’t buy this watch in a store. After a week of wearing it, I found it charming but realized that in the competition with all my other watches it has no future with me. Unfortunately. It will go up for sale. But - a word of caution – after seeing it in person and wearing it on his wrist, my son was very enthusiastic and asked me to buy the black version so that he could then "confiscate it" for himself. So, "Every eye has its own painter", as our saying goes. And as this watch is done very good and with fair price at the end it all comes to this argument for or against..
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