Hello everyone – welcome back to another of my reviews. In today’s article, I’ll be reviewing the new Ultra Thin Mechanical from local watch brand Coup De Coeur.
The Ultra Thin Mechanical is the brand’s dress watch offering, and as its name suggests it’s purported to be one of the thinnest mechanical watches in its price point. Let’s see if it’s any good.
Coup De Coeur Ultra Thin Mechanical Watch – Video Review
If you’re interested in seeing some hands-on footage of the Coup De Coeur Ultra Thin Mechanical Watch, do check out my Youtube review below:
Coup De Coeur – the Brand
I’ve previously covered Coup De Coeur as a brand in my initial review of their SGC Classic. For more information on the brand, as well as my detailed thoughts on their debut model, do read my review of the SGC Classic here. I also reviewed its sophomore model, the Elan, here.
Coup De Coeur Ultra Thin Mechanical Watch – Build Quality
I’m pleased to report that the specifications of the Coup De Coeur Ultra Thin Mechanical punch above the watch’s affordable price point.
Firstly, the Ultra Thin Mechanical uses a flat sapphire crystal. As aforementioned numerous times in my previous reviews, I’m a huge advocate of sapphire crystal due to its inherent scratch-resisting properties. Personally, I always look for sapphire crystal in my modern watches as it adds greatly to the durability of the watch. It also looks to be coated with an anti-reflective coating as I encountered no unwanted reflections while photographing the watch.
Despite being just 6.8mm thick, the watch is actually powered by the Seagull ST1700 movement. A manual winding calibre, the movement beats at 21,600 bph (3 Hz), has around 36 hours of power reserve, and does not hack. Personally, I’ve not encountered any accuracy issues with the movement – Seagull movements have come a long way in these past few years. It’s also an astute choice, as comparable hand-winding movements such as the Miyota 8N33 are substantially thicker. However, the slim nature of the case also means that the watch lack any significant water resistance, with the brand describing the Ultra Thin Mechanical as simply being “splash-resistant”.
The Ultra Thin Mechanical comes default on an embossed black calf leather strap. Given that Coup De Coeur actually sells a wide variety of straps, it is perhaps no surprise that the quality of the strap is decent. It’s nothing outstanding, but it’s certainly much better than the cardboard-like straps often found on watches of this price point (E.g Daniel Wellington). It also has quick-release pins for easy interchangeability.
All in all, the Ultra Thin Mechanical has great specifications for its price. Despite costing less than some quartz fashion watches, the Ultra Thin Mechanical boasts sapphire crystal, a mechanical movement, and even a decent strap. Honestly, that’s probably as good as you’re going to get at this ~S$200 price point.
Coup De Coeur Ultra Thin Mechanical Watch – Design
While the Ultra Thin Mechanical doesn’t reinvent the wheel aesthetically, it does offer a versatile, clean design.
The dial of the Ultra Thin Mechanical is quintessentially dress watch, with elements such as its use of Roman numerals, railway minute pad, and a sub-second dial giving it an old school charm. In addition, I like the slender leaf hands, which add a dose of sophistication to the dial. While it’s not exactly a Patek Philippe Calatrava 3919, it’s also far from a Daniel Wellington.
Still, some aspects of the design betray its low price point. For one, the dial lacks texture – it’s a plain matte dial. While I can understand a matte surface for the main part of the dial, I would have liked the sub-dial to feature some sort of texture (perhaps azurage) for some contrast. The dial is also rather flat due to the printed indices, railway track and logo – applied indices would have gone a long way here.
Similarly, the case appears to be simply finished with a mirror polish. There’s nothing wrong with that, but again it lacks the chamfered edges and contrasting case finishing of more expensive watches. I should also mention that there’s also a rose gold case variant available, but I recommend going for the steel variant pictured in this review – the rose gold plating may scratch off or tarnish over time.
The snap-on caseback is a fairly simple affair too, with the brand’s logo prominently depicted. However, I’m not a fan of the website URL being on the caseback – it cheapens the watch a little. In fact, I can’t think of any other brand that actually puts their full webstore URL on the caseback, and that’s probably for good reason.
There is a signed crown, which isn’t always a given at this price point. The crown is of a nice size as well, which is great since this is a handwinding watch. The side profile also highlights just how insanely thin the Ultra Thin Mechanical is, especially for such an affordable watch. For context, Seagull themselves offer the same movement in one of its watches and it has a thickness of 8mm – over 1mm thicker than Coup De Couer’s execution.
Its thinness is balanced by a restrained case dimension of 38mm – the perfect size for a dress watch. Due to its smaller size and ultra-thin nature, the watch slides under a shirt cuff with ease, and looks right at home when paired with more formal outfits.
Overall, the Ultra Thin Mechanical is a simple, sleek timepiece that has a tad of vintage dress watch charm. Yes, it’s not the most refined or sophisticated dress watch out there, but at its price point I don’t expect it to be.
Shootout – Coup De Coeur Ultra Thin Mechanical vs Seagull Ultra Thin Mechanical
If you’re in the market for an ultra-affordable, ultra-thin mechanical watch, then the aforementioned Seagull Ultra Thin Mechanical is a prominent alternative.
In terms of specifications, both watches are largely similar, being powered by the same Seagull ST1700 movement and featuring sapphire crystal. The Seagull Ultra Thin just has a slight edge due to it having a 3ATM water resistance rating (as opposed to merely being splash-resistant on the Coup De Coeur), but it’s something that’s unlikely to affect everyday usage – I doubt anyone would be wearing either of these watches in the pool, or even the shower.
From an aesthetic standpoint however, the Coup De Coeur is definitely the better looking watch. The Seagull looks, for the lack of a better term, like a cheap fashion watch – very MVMT-esque. The Coup De Coeuer has a dressier vibe, and functions more appropriately as a dress watch. I like the vintage details (leaf hands, roman indices, railway pad) of the dial too, as compared to the spartan stick hands and indices of the Seagull.
The Coup De Coeur also trumps its Seagull counterpart is in its value proposition. The Seagull Ultra Thin Mechanical costs more than 50% more than the Coup De Coeur, which is far too much given their similar specifications.
Conclusion – so the Coup De Coeur Ultra Thin Mechanical Watch “shiok” or not?
Like the previous Coup De Coeur watches that I reviewed, the Ultra Thin Mechanical is best suited for those who are starting out on their horological journey – perhaps switching over from wearing a fashion watch – and just want something that’s well-built, simple looking and bang-for-buck. It’s not the most refined of microbrand dress watches (that would probably be the Baltic MR01) but at its price, it doesn’t have to be. The fact that it’s razer thin already separates it from its competition, which is a noteworthy achievement for a watch that costs less than a Daniel Wellington.
For those interested in purchasing the Ultra Thin Mechanical, you can use the promo code “WAHSOSHIOK” to get 10% off the watch and all Coup De Coeur products on its webstore. After the discount, the Ultra Thin Mechanical can be had for just S$224, which makes it probably the most affordable ultra-slim (<7mm) mechanical watch on the market.
View the Ultra Thin Mechanical here.
View the rest of Coup De Coeur’s offerings on its webstore here.
Specifications:
Model: CDC Ultra Thin Mechanical Watch by Coup De Coeur
Watch Case(front): Silver Stainless Steel with Polished Finish
Watch Case(back): Engraved Case Back with Snap off Case Design
Watch Dial: Matte White Surface with Embedded Dials
Watch Glass: Scratch-Resistant Sapphire Crystals
Case Shape: Round
Dial Diameter: 38mm
Case Thickness: 6.8mm
Case Material: 316L Grade Stainless Steel
Resistance: Splash Resistance
Movement: Mechanical Hand Wind
Movement Model: ST1700-Manual winding Seagull Mechanical Movement
Band Length: 120mm/80mm
Band Width: 20mm
Band Type: Black Leather with Quick-Release Pin
Clasp Type: Silver Buckle
P.S Do check out the new “Discounts!” page for exclusive discounts for Wah so Shiok readers! More brands will be added very soon – stay tuned.
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P.S.S.S Shiok is a common word Singaporeans use to express admiration or approval. As of 2016, you can find the definition of the word in the Oxford English Dictionary.
