One of the latest trends that has taken horology by storm is the popularization of stone dials. More precisely: the big comeback of stone dials made possible by the development of cheaper and more efficient ways to cut, treat, and polish stones of various types, putting them at the reach of micro and small independent houses of horology. (Larger maisons had pretty much ditched them during the Quartz Revolution as they had better things to do in order to keep the lights on.) A trend which debuted in 1957 through Piaget and which propagated to Rolex, Cartier and many other Swiss luxury brands is now popular again however at the financial reach of all enthusiasts and collectors. But the ways in which most brands approach fashioning dials out of stones feels lazy: for one, it became normal for brands to replace classic colored or textured dials of existing models with stone materials, leaving their layouts untouched. Then it also turned out many brands wrapped stone dials with simple cases, showcasing a lack of creativity. 

In other words, it is akin to car manufacturers replacing combustion engines with electric ones without touching the design of the cars, quickly hopping onto a new technology without changing how it could redefine automobiles. Or similar to mounting the first lab-grown diamond onto a cereal box plastic ring. (It didn’t happen of course, but you get the idea.) Thus, something had to be done (for horology) in order to bring the tradition of putting stone dials in watches back to its prime by combining beautiful cases and new dial layouts to these naturally-occurring materials, so that it is done purposefully and not half-assed. A challenge Swedish brand Maen imposed on itself by releasing its very first stone dial collection—based on its popular Manhattan 37 Ultra-Thin chassis—composed of three outstanding variations: Snowflake Obsidian, Onyx, and Golden Swan. This review is going to focus on the latter, as it is the one which I find to be visually the most riveting and that lends itself perfectly to the Manhattan case. 

Specifications 

Keeping in mind that everything that relates to horology is relative and subjective, you may or may not agree with something that was said in the introduction: that most brands approached this revived trend without putting too much thought into it. That is my personal observation of how many stone dial watches came to existence in the past couple of years from micro and small independent brands, however this commentary does not extend to the powerhouses of the industry even though most of them haven’t gotten back to this trend—yet. (Rolex, as an example, thought it would be better to put colored dots onto dials and Oris to replace date numerals with cartoon characters.) In most cases, brands replaced existing dials (of any color) with stone ones (and more often than not, meteorite and then aventurine) and pretty much called it a day. In the same way they replaced dive scales on bezels with GMT ones when Seiko and Miyota put affordable GMT calibers at the reach of all brands. Again, showing a profound lack of imagination*. 

The opportunity they missed was to redefine a genre of horology we haven’t seen thrive since the 1980s, by pairing beautiful natural stones with beautiful cases and dials, in the same way Piaget, Rolex, and Cartier framed these materials with their most beautiful and iconic collections. (I mean, have you seen a Daytona with a blue marbled dial? It’s quite the sight!) Thus Maen, according to yours truly, did the right thing—found the right recipe—to make stone dials watches as they were done before by opting for the Manhattan platform to frame the Golden Swan stone akin to a locket holding a photo of your loved ones. As you may remember from the review of the Manhattan 37 Ultra-Thin Tuscan, the case of this collection is a remarkable piece of horological design rooted in the 1970s and actualized by Maen to constitute one of its core offerings. It is a sculpted and angled piece of 316L stainless steel measuring 37mm across, 47.4mm lug-to-lug, 7.1mm thick, and which is complemented by a three-link bracelet screwed onto the case. 

The bracelet is made of screwed links and a double-pusher butterfly clasp to which was added perlage finishes on the hidden parts. So beyond the design of this model we are going to talk about later, what Maen did well was to add the good stuff to go along with the Golden Swan stone dial, not only in the bracelet and dimensions of the case, but also in choosing the caliber to power the Manhattan: a manual-wind La Joux-Perret D101 movement (3Hz/50 hours of power reserve) which one juices up by rotating the 4.8mm octogonal push/pull crown clockwise. And one can marvel at the movement by way of a sapphire see-through case-back screwed into the case, which together with the aforementioned crown endows the Manhattan 37 Ultra-Thin with a more-than-reasonable 100 meters of water resistance. Sapphire is also the material the top crystal is made out of, complemented by several layers of inner anti-reflective coating, so that we can have an unobstructed view of the gorgeous burnt-orange marbled natural dial beneath it. 

*To see a proper usage of a flyer-style GMT caliber check out the review of the Marloe SkySplitter.

Design

At the risk of funneling this review too much through one lens, I will admit that the Maen Manhattan 37 Ultra-Thin Golden Swan is the first stone dial watch I’ve ever reviewed—for the reasons mentioned above twice already. So it is not a case of being against stone dials but one of not having found the right version of it that would prompt me to sit in front of my computer to string many words about it. (In the same vein, I had to come across the right chronograph and dress watch to feel compelled to review these genres of timekeeping devices.) Because what is fancy and hard-to-get won’t ever bode well with Mainspring’s editorial content, however Maen—and my climbing up in age shows again based on the many times I rehash the same ideas—created something extremely compelling—visually and technically. Something that can be had for the relatively reasonable price of 1 359,20€/$1,568 USD roughly excluding VAT, a fair price to pay to acquire a stone dial timepiece that lives up to the shine and reputation of its precursors. 

Thus, at the heart of the Manhattan 37 Ultra-Thin Golden Swan is the stone dial, a golden swan obsidian, a variety of volcanic glass, whose visual appearance is marked by a soft silky external sheen, chatoyant mineral inclusions whose luster changes depending on the light and angle at which it is being observed, and a burnt-orange color. As it is the case with every single natural stone dial, not two of them will be identical, thus the marbling pattern of this particular sample is unique. What is incredible about golden swan obsidian is the profound sense of depth that emanates from an ultra thin layer of it, giving the impression that the watch is taller and more substantial than it is. (If it worked for Piaget, it certainly does too for Maen.) And the coup-de-maître of the Swedish brand was to revisit the layout of this collection’s dials to put just what is necessary—a set of delicately polished sword hands and some printed text—and to discard everything else so that we can fully take in the beauty of the material. 

Of equal importance to the golden swan obsidian stone Maen chose for one the three variants of this new collection is the case. Again, what made it for me was the ultra classic, slightly neo-vintage, and perfectly executed steel chassis of the Manhattan 37 Ultra-Thin which perfectly frames the dial, not akin to a beautiful frame on which is mounted Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Guiding the People painting at the Louvre, but something more symbiotic, more natural—for example the mutualistic relationship between bees and flowering plants, the perfectly baked bun and a grass-fed beef patty, or even the 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged 90-degree V8 powering the Ferrari F40. In other words: the elongated octogonal shapes defining the crystal and bezel beautifully frame the stone dial, the polished outer portion of the bezel answering the delicate luster of its material, cascading down towards the narrow mid-case in a sensical manner. And the roughness of the stone is emphasized by the concave cuts adorning the corners of the case. 

That thing is a real piece of art I dare say friends. 

The Heart of the Matter

Stone dial watches are not for everybody, or everybody thinks they are not made for stone dial watches because they haven’t found the right version of them for themselves. I for one kept a distant eye on stone dials ever since they became fashionable again two/three years ago because of the aforementioned lazy approach many brands have taken to incorporate these naturally occurring materials into their horological offerings. For the same reason, you may have cultivated a skeptical attitude towards GMTs in 2022 when Seiko and Miyota released the NH34/9075 GMT calibers and micro houses of horology simply swapped dive bezels for GMT ones, or replaced a Sellita SW330-2 with the 9075 to transform caller-style travelers’ watches into flyer-style ones. And that’s the difficulty many brands have to navigate whenever they are exposed to something new: to find their own way to jump onto the bandwagon to create something unique, beautiful, and sensical instead of rushing to their manufacturers to get whatever is new thrown into their already existing models. 

Clearly, Maen took its time because it waited until 2026 to release its first stone dial collection, a couple of years (or more) after that many other brands did so. (And how bizarre was it that so many brands came up with the same stone dials at the same time and so quickly? Actually, it ain’t bizarre nor was it serendipitous.) Moreover, the Swedish brand could have picked the Hudson 38, Skymaster 38, or Classic 36 collections to try its hand at stone dials, but instead it chose the Manhattan 37 Ultra-Thin because it is the best platform for it. With a core design philosophy coming straight from the 1970s when Swiss luxury brands were at their peak playing with these materials, it landed itself perfectly for Maen’s Golden Swan, Snowflake Obsidian, and Onyx stone dials as they look as good as stone dial watches were done before. 

Conclusion 

Such a new remarkable collection could have come with a serious uptick in price, however the asking 1 359,20€/$1,568 USD (excluding VAT) seems reasonable when all things are considered: beautiful stone dials meticulously worked on; a thin, sculpted, and perfectly manufactured and finished case; a robust manual-wind caliber that is also pretty to look at; a sandwich sapphire construction; 100 meters of water resistance; and a comfortable, beautiful bracelet perfectly complementing the case and dial aesthetics. As always, Maen impresses me with its talent for making excellent watches attainable as it is once again the case with the Manhattan 37 Ultra-Thin Golden Swan. All three models will be available to purchase on August 28, 2026, as in there will be 100 pieces across all variations available for immediate shipping.  

Thanks for reading.