The Amida Digitrend Brings Back The ’70s With Its Digital Driver’s Watch

There’s a new generation of high quality replica watches microbrands that’s got me excited. (Side note: I never really liked the term “microbrands” – James recently proposed “boutique brand” as an alternative and I like it). While the first generation of micros gave us a lot of heritage-inspired divers – some of them quite good! – this new generation is more design-forward, and varied. It can be difficult to evaluate these new brands; to be blunt, it’s hard to know if they’ll be around in five years. Even if the watch is good, these need to support actual, money-making businesses. It’s with these caveats we introduce one of these funky new watches: The Amida Digitrend. The Amida brand dates to the 1920s, but it really made its name in 1976 with the introduction of the original Digitrend. At that time, excitement about the future influenced the design of everything from houses to airports to objects. The retro-futuristic vibe feels straight out of Disney World’s “Tomorrowland.” For perspective, a couple of Steves named Jobs and Wozniak introduced the Apple II in 1976. It was within this futuristic milieu that Amida launched at Basel 1976 with its innovative jumping hour driver’s high quality replica watches. Nowadays, these vintage Digitrends can be picked up for just a couple hundred bucks; unfortunately, the movements tend to break down as they’re pretty cheap single-jewel calibers. Now the 1970s are back. Everything that came from Genta’s sketchbook is worshipped (literally, in the case of the Royal Oak sketch that sold for more than $600,000). We seem to be working our way through other ’70s designs to see what will stick in the 2020s. Vacheron 222. Piaget Polo. Rolex King Midas. And so on.

While the Amida comes from this same era, it’s decidedly different. The 316L stainless steel case is shaped kind of like a car body. The Digitrend measures 39.6mm wide and 39mm long. The jumping hour display is read through a dashboard-like register. At its thickest, the Digitrend is 15.6mm, but it slopes to just 6mm. The case is entirely brushed, the right choice for a big hunk of steel on the wrist. The jumping hour is powered by a mechanical Soprod Newton P092, with what Amida says is a jumping hour disc developed in-house. Unlike the original Digitrend, this is a real, 23-jewel movement with a 44-hour power reserve beating at 4 Hz. In this first “Take Off” edition, the heart of the movement is partially visible through a window in the caseback, which feels like the right choice. The Digitrend is paired with a comfortable Alcantara strap with a retro orange lining. The look works and it’s comfortable, just a little inflexible out of the box. There’s also an option for a steel bracelet – both have quick-release spring bars.
The Amida Digitrend is designed as a driver’s watch, which means the display is best read while tilting your wrist to the side. In theory, this would be while gripping the steering wheel of your matching 1970s Lancia Stratos, but I mostly bike around town so… Still, there’s no denying the Digitrend is a chunky bit of steel on the wrist, but I gather that’s kind of the point. That said, at just 39x39mm, it’s actually a compact proposition for the wrist. It’s nearly 16mm at its thickest (where the case meets the display), but it slopes to just 6mm on the other case edge, giving the steel case a smooth contour. The Amida Digitrend is totally wearable, but probably not something you’d wear every day. Again, kind of the point. I enjoyed wearing it around for a few days, and it fit my wrist better than I would’ve guessed. While I got used to reading the time off my high quality replica watches at a tilted angle (it’s actually easier once you get used to it), it could be a bit difficult picking up the full time at a glance. high quality replica watches

The first Amida Digitrend Take-Off Edition is available for pre-order beginning May 28. It’s CHF 2,900 (about $3,200), and Amida says prices for future models will increase after the pre-order window closes.