CIGA Design is one of the few watch brands in China that has not copied the design of any other watches, it is totally a brand that is created by a Chinese designer, whose name is Zhang Jianmin.
I like this brand, their watches are not knockoffs of some Swiss watches, they have their own design with many young and innovation elements. CIGA Design is a very young Chinese brand that was established in 2012, their first watch was launched in 2013 and won Red Dot Design Award(https://www.red-dot.org/project/ciga-design-009-series-6992), that’s crazy and I also saw they choose a development road that is completely different from other Chinese brand watches. In 2021, the Blue Planet watch from CIGA Design won Challenge Watch Prize(https://www.gphg.org/horlogerie/en/gphg-2021-prizes/challenge-watch-prize-2021-ciga-design-blue-planet), it is the first time for a Chinese watch to win a GPHG award, very inspirational. During the development in the past few years, a series of award-winning records show that their watch design has been recognized. So today, let’s see how the quality of their watches is.
This CIGA Design watch is a Gorilla model from X Series, I got this black/orange one in an iron box like a container, with one gorilla-shaped pillow for the watch. The container-style watch box has a big gorilla image, a big “X” letter crossing the entire box, “CIGADesign” logo is on one side of the box. The watch is cool and the gorilla watch pillow is so cute.
The case has an unique design, the entire case system is divided into two parts, inner case and outer case frame, I firstly saw such case structure on a mechanical watch. The more interesting thing is each corner of the case is equipped with an independent spring suspension device, whose design inspiration comes from car’s suspension system, this adds more fun to a mechanical watch, maybe also have a protection for the inner case. With the spring in four corners, the inner case can move when you push it with your fingers.
Under the protection of outer case frame, the entire watch looks very big, it is measured to be 44mm in width and 44mm in height, the case is not thick, only 11.8mm. There are orange metal pieces on both sides. The crown on the right has a big “C” logo, the left has a “Gorilla” image, both pieces are fixed by silver “X” screws. The matte black finish on case eactly meets the “Gorilla” theme of CIGA Design Series X.
Black dial is hollow, with all machine parts clearly in front of my eyes. The big “X” support on the dial looks like a standing Gorilla, in dark condition, the “X” support is luminous, so are hour hand and minute hand. The central second hand is in striking orange color, which matches the orange color on the case. The use of this “X” support on the dial not only gives me a strong visual impact, but it also makes the movement work more stable.
Through the crystal back, the movement has a skeleton auto rotor that is engraved with “CIGA DESIGN CUSTOMIZED MOVEMENT CO-01”, I think this information is redundant, “CIGA DESIGN CO-01” will be enough. The watch comes with a black rubber band that features breathable grids, which is very comfortable to wear in summer, they also offer one pair of black nylon band for free, you can change by yourself.
Overall, CIGA Design is a Chinese watch brand that is full of many creative and innovative designs, for this Series X Gorilla that looks fashion and sporty, I think a lot of young people will love it.
