Brew Introduces the Limited Edition Retrograph Stone Blend

Just last week, I wrote about the stone dial trend and how it’s all getting just a little tiresome. And while I certainly stand by my position, we have to acknowledge and accept that there will continue to be stone dial watches announced and released while the trend continues (or peters out) that are interesting and worth covering. Being able to hold two conflicting ideas in your head at the same time is an essential piece of being an adult, after all, and certainly it matters in the watch world as well, and is something we do all the time (we know buying watches is an objectively bad financial decision, we do it anyway, etc.). 

With that being said, Brew has introduced a new watch with a stone dial that I think is actually very nice and not part of the crop of stone dial watches that we’ve seen as of late that appear to be haphazardly slapped together for the sake of capitalizing on an opportunity. The new Retrograph Stone Blend Automatic is a new limited edition featuring a pietersite stone dial inspired by the signature visual element of coffee culture: the moment when milk is poured into a coffee and begins to swirl and blend together. 

Specifically, Brew says that the Stone Blend is meant to conjure the patterns created as milk is added to cold brew coffee, which of course is often served in a translucent glass that allows one to see the two liquids come together in a sometimes dramatic way. Who hasn’t been transfixed by this at one point or another? Pietersite is a stone that is uniquely suited to capture this idea given the way the colors present in the stone seem to be wrapped around each other. Brew, of course, has been inspired by coffee, both the culture of the coffee house experience and the aesthetic of it, for as long as the brand has existed. But the visual representation of coffee and everything associated with it has always suggested coffee in a more abstract, modernist way. The use of pietersite here to represent coffee itself is at once more literal and evocative in the way a natural stone is used. 

The Retrograph Stone Blend Automatic is in a stainless steel case with a gold PVD coating that measures 38mm in across, 10.4mm tall, and 41.5mm from lug to lug. It runs on a Miyota 9015 automatic movement which is visible via an exhibition caseback. The watch is mounted to a brown strap in pebble grain leather with quick release spring bars. 

The retail price of the Retrograph Stone Blend Automatic is $775, positioning it as a more premium offering in Brew’s catalog. It’s a limited edition of just 250 pieces. More information can be found at the Brew website.

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