While it is common for us on Mainspring to speak about microbrands’ talent for crafting unique timepieces we would never get from the oldest houses of horology in this or in the next three lifetimes, both from visual and technical points of views, it is further common for us to discuss how these brands best exemplify what it means to bring about a personal vision for horology to the widest audiences. And microbrands can do these two things in isolation or concurrently: either they do create fresh designs we have never seen before which they pair with good specifications; or they break new records in terms of value-for-money (to the point of making a $500 USD timepiece entirely manufactured in Asia worth the same as a $2,000 watch proudly “made” in Switzerland;) or they simply connect us enthusiasts with the founders’ individual horological projects. In the latter case this often means creating watches that would otherwise not exist or be financially out-of-reach to most of us collectors and enthusiasts. 

And this is what brings us to today’s review subject: the Dutch brand Angelier and the Automatic BRG which is currently being Kickstarted through November 12, 2026, as it does all of the above with flying colors (please excuse the tiny spoiler.) Angelier was founded by Paul Angelier, a school teacher with a passion for horology turned watch dealer and avid collector, turned once more brand owner a couple of years back. Throughout his collecting of numerous timepieces, most of which manufactured by renowned watchmakers such as Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and A. Lange & Söhne (with a few Seiko’s wedged in-between,) Paul developed a passion for the ultra classic dress watch, a few of which he owns. However he was always dismayed by the astronomical price tags most good samples of those fetch either new or pre-owned, so he did a sort of experiment: he spec’ed out his ideal dress watch and he arrived at a price a tad over $4,000 USD. Collectors’ interest was there, so he sold the three he had made. 

But, Paul hadn’t reached his own goal of making a good dress watch available to the masses (and to himself indirectly) so he went back to the proverbial drawing board to create the Automatic BRG. 

Specifications 

His first horological experiment taught him a valuable lesson: in today’s watch world, getting good timepieces made to be sold for reasonable sums of money means exporting the manufacturing, assembling, and quality-controlling thousands of miles away and forgoing the usage of specific components. More specifically, the first collection he made, again three of which he got manufactured and sold, was equipped with the perfect movement—a manual-wind LaJoux-Perret LJP7380 which itself costs around $1,000 USD—and finished to the utmost pristine levels of watchmaking (as far as I could tell from the lovely imagery he commissioned to promote this tiny release,) and thus fetched more money than he wanted—because again, his goal was to make the classic dress watch attainable to most folks. However, he had put so much work into getting these watches made that he rightfully thought it best to go through with a few of them. But, the cost of getting the LJP calibers alone didn’t warrant perduring on that path so another one he took. 

After many personal horological meanderings, Paul came up with a different recipe for his ideal dress watch, one which costs less to produce and therefore which will make a smaller hole in your digital budget, albeit one which oozes a similar ultra-classicism the most iconic examples of this style of watch are endowed with, and which is darn well manufactured and finished according to yours truly. And besides the LaJoux-Perret caliber which we obviously don’t find in the Automatic BRG, Paul’s vision for the perfect dress watch encompassed many other key technical and visual aspects of watchmaking we do find in his second collection: the ideal dimensions for the ideal elegant everyday timepiece as well a particular type of handset and markers, and again a high level of finishing. For the first technical bit that was extremely close to Paul’s heart, we find a stainless steel case that measures 37.2mm in diameter, 45.9mm lug-to-lug, 8.7mm thick—classic dimensions indeed for today’s zeitgeist—complemented by a 20mm lug width. 

Since Paul had to abandon the idea of using the LJP7380 in order to make a sub-$1,000 dress watch (the price limit above which many of us will bat an eye before inputting our credit card details to finalize an order,) he turned to the movement manufacturer that has become synonymous with fine micro and independent horology, and which is the go-to place to source reliable, thin, and fresh-out-of-the box accurate calibers: Miyota and the 9039 (4Hz/42 hours of power reserve) we’ve encountered many times before on Mainspring and which is a sort of celebrity. The 9039 is known to be nimble indeed as it only measures 3.90mm in height, so it accounts for roughly 45% of the Angelier’s total thickness. Since the Miyota is not the sexiest of calibers, Paul decided to hide it behind a simple screwed-down case-back, which he paired with a 5.8mm decorated push/pull crown for a reasonable 50 meters of water resistance. Moreover, this model presents a box-shaped sapphire crystal whose profile is reminiscent of vintage dress watches. 

Design 

Not too long ago we took a look at an iconic field watch, the CWC G10, and it was determined that writing in-depth reviews about timekeeping devices that only have three hands and no complications is quite the creative exercise. There is objectively not much to talk about with such timepieces albeit the little there is to say about them is made the more interesting by how much work goes into designing watches that seemingly are visually simple and lack most of everything. Because, as any good designer of minimalist products or architecture or art would tell you, the simpler something is the harder it is to get it right since there are fewer design elements to look at in order to determine whether or not such an item resonates with us or is even worth our precious time. In the case of horology and dress watches, it is all a game of balance the designer needs to fiddle through in order to make their creations stand out from the busy crowds, and compel you to transfer money from your account to the brand’s. That ain’t easy. 

For his second collection, Paul had to abandon the LaJoux-Perret caliber because of its price and the high number of units he was asked to purchase which forced him to abandon one key design element that constituted his ideal dress watch: a small-seconds sub-register at the six which instantly transforms any watch into a classic one. However, he was able to preserve everything else that was close to his heart, and comparing images of the first collection and his second one, I’d say he succeeded in preserving his vision for the perfect dress watch despite the technical and financial challenges he was met with. Which is why we find the following design elements on the dial: a pearlescent ivory dial whose texture resembles the most delicate of grains of sand intensely compacted together; applied and polished hour markers with Breguet-style numerals for the even ones and dots for the odd hours; a crisply printed black railroad minute track; and a set of finely polished leaf hands that tie everything together quite neatly. 

There is no denying that the dial of Angelier’s second collection is ultra classic, on account of both how it was designed and how each set of visual elements was proportioned. Thus Paul did manage to preserve the timeless elegance of his first collection, but he further succeeded in preserving what made its case shine through in images: not only a set of proportions which place the Model 2 within the modern-classic category of dress watches we don’t see many of today, but also a superb profile and some of the best finishing a sub $1,000 USD timepiece can get you, as the saying goes. And as we’ve often pointed out on Mainspring, the best of horological experiences can only be had when a beautiful dial is matched with an equally handsome case, which is of course what Paul gives us: a narrow mid-case displaying a fine horizontal satin-brushed finish, sandwiched between a thin bezel and case-back, both polished and of equal thickness, and down-turning rounded lugs whose upper sections come with a delicious mirror polish.

The Heart of the Matter

Reviewing the Angelier Automatic BRG was an interesting exercise for me. First because it challenged my enthusiast’ brain to compute all of its design elements to see which ones I’ve encountered before and in which price category they could be found, which is a mental process we all go through whenever discovering a new model for the first time. As I’ve seen Breguet-style Arabic numerals many times before, a classic minute track before, polished leaf hands before, and even pearlescent ivory dials before. Moreover, I’ve also seen this style of case shape countless times in my six-year journalistic career, by getting hands-on with numerous microbrand offerings, and online (or from a distance) when looking at iconic collections from the old dogs of the industry. But as always—and which brings us to the second interesting part of this exercise—the raison d’être of Angelier and of this collection does not lie in the creation of an entirely visually bespoke timepiece, nor in the acquisition of unique components, but rather in the realization of Paul’s unique vision of horology which comes through here a finely made, attainable, and beautifully classic dress watch. 

In other words, it is through his years of being an enthusiast, then avid collector, and then retailer, that he forged his taste for watchmaking and for a particular style of timepiece which he wanted to see become more affordable than they generally are, insofar we’re looking at very good samples of those. Because yes, the Angelier Automatic BRG is everything but made on the cheap, and this fact shows through not only the perfect visual balance created on the dial but also through the perfect manufacturing and finishing of the case. If Paul had given up on his goal after the first three watches he sold, he would have never concocted the Automatic BRG. 

Conclusion 

I agree with you, I mentioned the affordable price of the Angelier Automatic BRG many times in this review before without actually telling you how much this collection is going for. (One ought to keep the suspense alive to the very end.) And that price is €579/$650 USD including VAT (so deduct roughly 20% from that price if you live outside the European Union) while it is on Kickstarter, therefore it is valid through November 12, 2026. Afterwards the MSRP will go up to €699/$785 USD. Lastly, the Angelier Automatic BRG comes in four classic colorways—Frosted Black, Frosted Ivory, Sunburst Blue and Tuxedo Black-White—and is slated to ship in May of 2027.

Thanks for reading.