Albert Kaminsky - KAMINSKY BLOG -- Wrist Watch Reviews

Let’s take a look at the watch as it is a stunner!

The watch we are gonna look at today is the Teufelsberg with black dial. The Teufelsberg comes in three variations: Black dial, White dial and Silver dial. But the one I like the most is what we have here in for a review. The name of the watch Teufelsberg (German for Devil’s Mountain) comes from a man-made hill in Berlin, Germany, in the Grunewald locality of former West Berlin. Very interesting name choice, but I like it. You can read about the history of that place here, it is a very interesting place with some history.

The Teufelsberg comes in a very nice wooden box. Reminded me of the Vejrhoj packaging actually. The bo is nicely signed with FineWatchesBerlin logo. Inside the box, you will find your warranty card, spare strap in a different colour and of course the watch. Wilfried was very kind and put me a little present with the watch: a very nice FineWatchesBerlin keychain which is on my keys from the first day when I got one. It looks like I have a couple of watch company keychains for each of my key sets, haha. The first impressions were good. The case design actually reminded me of the Nomos Tangente, the Teufelsberg just has that Bauhaus design a little bit too. I also like what they did with the Miyota 8218 which has some interesting things changed on the looks, but about that later as no one has done it before. So let’s dive in.

The case of the Teufelsberg is made of 316L stainless steel. The case is very well machined with nice and sharp lines. The case is finished in a high polish which is also done very well. The case is round with some and small, but long lugs. Overall the watch has really nice proportions. The diameter is 40mm, the thickness is 11mm and from lug to lug it measures at 49mm. The watch itself actually in real life looks a bit bigger than it is due to those long lugs, but it still wears like any other 40mm watch. I actually like when companies do watches in smaller sizes like 38-40mm. I always liked bigger watches as I have big wrists, but in recent years I have fallen in love with smaller sized watches as they look better and are more wearable. On the right side of the case we have a push-pull crown which has the FineWatchesBerlin logo in colour. The crown is very easy to operate as it is in just the right size, not too big or small. On the left side of the case, we have the FineWatchesBerlin name engraved, in my opinion, it is a bit of an overkill with the branding and that is probably the only thing I maybe dislike about the watch. Where we have the lugs we have some decorative blued screws so it looks like the strap is held in place with screws, but in reality, straps are held in place with spring bars, but nonetheless, I like that blue accent, looks cool! I also like how thin is the bezel line so the dial looks bigger and you can read time more easily! The exhibition case back is another great touch to display the customized Miyota movement. The case back is held by 6 small screws which is a German thing in watchmaking, they all seem to use screws and not more or less than 6! The crystal in the case back is a flat sapphire just like on the front. The watch is water resistant to 50M (5ATM) which is more than you need for a dressy watch like this! But I advise you not to swim with it as it isn’t designed for that!

The dial on the Teufelsberg is very simple in my opinion and I like it. In my opinion, the watch needs to be functional as it’s main thing is to tell time, but FineBerlinWatches also made it so it looks good and also functional! The dial is matte black with applied hour indices and a nice FWB logo which actually is very well designed, saying it as a graphic designer myself! Around the dial, we have a very subtle blue line with a white printed minute track. For each hour we have a lume dot so you can read the time also in the darker hours. Between 4 and 5 o’clock, we have a small seconds subdial in white with red seconds hand which gives a nice detail to the dial and a little depth to it too. The stick hour and minute hands with sharp ends have polished finishing with some lume applied in the middle. The lume isn’t the strongest one but works fine for 3-4 hours which is more than enough. The dial overall is pretty well designed and very legible in the day just as in the dark.

Now we come to the most interesting part of this watch in my opinion as nobody, in my opinion, has ever done it to these movements. So inside the Teufelsberg sits a Miyota 8218. A very reliable and robust movement that works pretty great. It is an automatic movement with 42 hours power reserve, has 21 jewels and beats at 21,600 bph and it has decent Geneva line finishing on the top of the movement. Nothing out of a usual right? So what’s so special about the movement you would ask? Well, Wilfried went an extra step with this, they changed all the visible screws with an actual real blued screws. He told me that it took him more than 2 months to find a fitting supplier and who could manage that. I only could imagine how much this costs. And on top of that, he put a customized skeletonized rotor with gold colour engraving “From Berlin With Love” which is a really cool touch! An I definitely think it was all worth it as the movement looks a million times better than seeing a regular Miyota in there.

With the Teufelsberg you get two straps. Mine watch came on a black strap with nice blue stitching matching the accents on the watch. and also it came with the same style strap but in brown leather and with the same blue stitching. All the straps are signed with the FWB logo on the top and underside. The leather is really nice to touch and the straps are very supple so the watch will sit on the wrist nicely right out of the box. The underside of the straps is lined with this beige soft material so it doesn’t irritate your wrists. I also have to mention that all the straps are handmade. The tang style buckles are made of stainless steel and have matching polished finishing. Also, the buckles are signed with the round FWB logo which another nice touch. And the last thing that I have to mention is the built-in quick release spring bars! I just love when companies put them in the straps as it makes the strap change super easy and you don’t risk scratching your watch with the spring bar removal tool.

Overall the watch is great! I have been wearing it for the past month more times than any other watch I have for the test. I have taken it to my watch meets and the guys there with Rolexes, Pateks, Hublots etc. in their collection were asking me about this watch and especially admiring the blued screws and rotor on the movement. Of course, for a great watch you need to pay money and this one doesn’t come as cheap as you’ve maybe expected it to be, the watch costs 698€ which a lot for the specifications, but you must understand that the company is independent and it takes a lot of work to come to this point. Also for that price, I think you get a very unique and very well made watch. Look at it, you get a nice and legible dial, sapphire crystal on front and back, automatic Japan-made movement with some custom work with those blued screws and rotor, two very nice handmade leather straps and overall a good looking German designed watch! Do I recommend it? ….Yes!

I also have to mention that FineWatchesBerlin donates 50€ from each watch they sell to a charity called Hands With Hands, an NGO that uses the full amount to fund the construction of orphanages and schools in Nepal. The organisation also trains teaching stuff, supports further education and the training of craftspeople, and allocates microcredit to women in order to support their independence and self-employment. So you get a watch for yourself, and help others in need

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