CIGA Design is fast making its mark on the world of horology. CIGA has a series of inexpensive – but rather well made – watches. The watches have done well on Indiegogo, significantly exceeding their fundrasing targets.

Before the X Series, CIGA launched the Z series. The Z series is also a skeletonized watch. It is also available in titanium and in stainless steel. But, CIGA has dramatically upped its output with the X Series. Thus, I ordered an X series from CIGA’s crowdfunding campaign.

I am happy to see that CIGA has produced an impressive watch. It features high end materials (i.e., titanium, diamond like carbon, and gold coating), a custom movement, and a unique shock absorption mechanism. The design is also eye catching.

About CIGA Design

CIGA Design is a relatively small watch manufacturer. They have had several successful crowdfunding campaigns. CIGA started life in China. CIGA leans heavily on design. Notably, the designer has a strong industrial design background. He has clearly deployed this skill set with the skeletonized watches. CIGA’s design aesthetic has tended towards industrial and skeletonized movements, which put the movement front and center.

Prior models have used Seagull movements. Seagull is one of the largest movement manufacturers. However, CIGA has recently started inhousing more of the production.

X Series Aesthetics, Case, and Materials

The X Series has a very striking dsign. The initial impression is that of a skeletonized design. Both the dial and the case back are skeletonized. There are also “skeleton” style cutouts on the side of the case.

The case comes in several options. The model I purchased is titanium with a black DLC (diamond like carbon) coating. The DLC coating purports to increase the toughness and resistance of the case. The titanium option has both a black DLC coated option with gold plated accents, and a metal-coloured option with blue accents.

The case is well finished. My watch had no visible blemishes. The screws and practical aspects are all well finished and have not been brutalized or tooled. All edges are straight and perfect. There are no traces of lint or other debris, which can sometimes be an issue with smaller manufacturers.

The gold accents nicely complemnt the X Series. As indicated, the watch comes in several options. In either case, there is sufficient contrast for the color to “pop” and create visual interest. The design has some resonances of industrial design. it is nice to see watch makers leaning away from simple variations on retro design.

The dial is mostly well done. The gold/black version features a gold X. The blue/metal version has the X in blue. The X is gold plated/ coated and is textured. The downside is that the the dial is not very legible. The hands can be difficult to identify. The hands sometimes blur with the “X” in the dial. The lume is relatively weak. Whether this is a major impediment depends on your use case. If the watch is to be a combination of mechanical prowess with jewelry, the legibility is a second order issue.

Movement and functions

CIGA design indicates that it uses its own custom developed movement for the X Series. This is an impressive achievement for such a cheap watch. It certainly puts other smaller manufacturers on notice.

The movement has 25 Jewels, 40 hours power reserve, and 21,600 oscillations per hour. The specs seem consistent with many other workhorse movements, including mainstay Miyota, and Sellita movements. But, CIGA deserves credit for developing their own custom movement. Financially, this is likely sensible over the long term, enabling CIGA to reduce its reliance on potentially costly parts.

The X Series also features interesting shock absorption technology. This features a visible “suspension” system. The system has a spring at each of the four corners. Presumably, this functions like a car’s suspension system to absorb shocks before they impact the movement. This is not the first watch to have anti-shock systems. However, it is very likely the cheapest to feature such a system, let alone develop one itself.

The crown movement is smooth and pleasant. Unsurprisingly, the movement can be hand wound and has hacking (i.e., the second hand stops when the crown is pulled out, which enables more accurate time setting). The crown winds smoothly and there is no weird or unusual resistance.

The overall impression is that the movement is professionally done and is good value. In this respect, the X series well exceeds expectations.

Overall thoughts

My overall thoughts on the CIGA Design X series are positive. The X Series ticks many boxes. It has an interesting design. The X series uses interesting materials, which are relatively uncommon at this price point. CIGA has developed its own custom movement and unique shock absorption mechanism.

The sheer number of boxes ticked – interesting materials, custom movement, technical innovation – make the X series worth a look.