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MICRO MONDAYS: The Dumoreau DM02 is designed by an award-winning architect and it shows MICRO MONDAYS: The Dumoreau DM02 is designed by an award-winning architect and it shows

MICRO MONDAYS: The Dumoreau DM02 is designed by an award-winning architect and it shows

Fergus Nash

The watch microbrand game has become incredibly alluring over the last few years, with some examples rising from humble Kickstarter origins to sky-high profits and unmeetable demand. It’s such an attractive market that Carlo Aiello — an award-winning architect, designer and author — entered the fray in 2020 with his own brand called Dumoreau. The brand’s first watch was a supreme success on Kickstarter, achieving over 163% of their funding goal. Now that their sporty, 1970s-inspired proof of concept has won global attention, the Dumoreau DM02 takes things up a notch with better specifications and real elegance.

The case

Carlo Aiello is no stranger to ergonomics, with his Parabola Chair winning multiple design awards specifically for those purposes. This skill translates surprisingly well to watch design, with sloping lugs that don’t feel a millimetre out of place and compound curves that bring with it a luxurious quality. The all-polished finish lets the stainless steel sing and allows the matte surfaces of the dial to stand out further.

The Dumoreau DM02 gets its dimensions spot on, with a 39mm diameter that’s perfectly suited to a classy appearance on an average wrist. It’s pleasantly thin at 9.5mm in height including the domed sapphire crystal, and despite being quite flat in profile the lugs are still contained well within the wrist thanks to a 46mm length.

The dial

Across all elements of proportion, texture, colour and style, the dial of the Dumoreau DM02 is a masterful composition. The sector layout is split across two main styles, with a circular brushing on the outer section and a thick guilloché of concentric circles within. There’s no luminous details, as they’re frankly unnecessary on this kind of dressy-daily watch. The Arabic numerals are large and clear, with a neat closed minute track perfectly meeting the tip of the largest hand. The diamond shapes lend a slight modern sharpness to the dial, just enough to make it timeless.

There are three variations to choose from, each with their own brand of refinement. The white dial has a crisp classicism, further exemplified by the blued hands. Following that with the same blued hands is a luscious salmon-pink dial, not too fleshy and not too floral to compromise the versatility. The final reference is a black and gold wonder, serving up some art-deco charm along with the dark side of formality.

The movement

While the DM01 chose the more affordable route of a Japanese movement, the Dumoreau DM02 steps things up with a Swiss-made Sellita SW210-1. This hand-winding movement is a fantastic reason for two choices — firstly it’s thinness and secondly the uninterrupted caseback view. The sapphire window is generous, allowing you to pore over the wonderful finishing that you get for the money. It has an accuracy of just outside COSC specifications, at +/-7 seconds per day. The other details are solid too, with a 28,800 vibration per hour beat rate and a 42-hour power reserve.

The strap

Each of the Dumoreau DM02 variations comes with an Italian-made leather strap in an individual colour. The salmon dial has a fine textured blue strap, the black dial a brown suede, and the silver dial a handsome black. Given that the watch has 100m of water resistance, you will probably want to buy another strap in order to take it swimming. Thankfully, the 20mm lug width gives you almost infinite options for aftermarket and water-safe straps to keep your Italian leather safe.

The Dumoreau DM02 pricing and availability:

The Dumoreau DM02 is limited to 300 pieces, split evenly across each of the three colourways. It’s available to preorder now from their website here. Price: $975 USD

Brand Dumoreau
Model DM02
Case Dimensions 39mm x 9.5mm x 46mm
Case Material Stainless Steel
Water Resistance 100 Metres
Crystal(s) Sapphire
Dial Silver, black, salmon
Lug Width 20mm
Strap Italian leather
Movement SW210-1
Power Reserve 42 hours
Availability Available for pre-order now
Price $975 USD