The Bauhaus-Inspired Stowa Antea Classic KS Rose Gold and Anthracite

Founded by Walter Storz in 1927, German watch brand Stowa is historically associated with Flieger (pilot) watches. A lesser-known chapter in the history of the brand is its series of watches that embraced the design tenets put forward by the state-run Bauhaus school of design. Produced in 1937 and designed by the reputed dial company Weber & Baral in Pforzheim, Stowa’s round and rectangular timepieces embraced the functional minimalism of the Bauhaus. With its legitimate design vocabulary rooted in the Bauhaus, Stowa releases two Antea Classic KS (kleiner Sekunde or small seconds) dress watches with golden-salmon and anthracite dials.

The Bauhaus modernist movement (1919-1933) had a pervasive influence on all aspects of design, and its philosophy of simple, unadorned geometry made its way into architecture, art, industrial design and, naturally, watches. German brands, including Lange and Stowa, embraced the “form follows function” ideals of the Bauhaus in the late 1930s and turned to Weber & Baral to produce their dials.

A couple of years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Nomos, an independent German brand, appeared on the scene with a collection of Bauhaus-inspired watches, including the emblematic Tangente. Borrowing design cues of the 1930s dials made by Weber & Baral for brands like Stowa and Lange, Nomos is regarded as the contemporary torch bearer of the Bauhaus style.

With its legitimate history of Bauhaus-inspired watches, Stowa reissued one of its original 1937 models in 2014, the first in line of the Antea collection. The latest Antea Classic KS, with its small seconds display and elongated Roman numerals, comes in two flavours. The rose gold-toned (salmon) dial is inspired by a historical 1937 Stowa with a copper dial, Roman numerals and a chrome-plated case, while the second Antea Classic has a more contemporary anthracite dial.

With its perfect dress watch proportions, the case has a delectably compact diameter of 35.5mm and a slim height of just 6.9mm. The round stainless steel case with straight lugs has a slim bezel and an elegant, polished finish. Viewed in profile, the screwed lugs jut down at an angle, a signature design element of Bauhaus watches of the era.

The historically inspired model with a sunburst coppery golden dial has black elongated Roman numerals at XII, III, VI and IX o’clock and slim baton indices, heat-blued hands and a slightly recessed and snailed small seconds counter at 6 o’clock. The dial of the anthracite model also has a radiant, silky sunburst finish with white Roman numerals and indices and heat-blued hands. A nice design touch is the way the VI invades the small seconds counter.

The caseback has six functional screws and a window revealing the classic, manual-winding Peseux 7001 movement. For a review of this legendary ultra-slim movement, don’t miss Denis’ in-depth article. With a height of just 2.5mm, the movement beats at 21,600vph and delivers a 46-hour power reserve. A top-grade variant, the finishings include horizontal ribbing on the bridges, sunray finishes on the ratchet and crown wheels, perlage on the base plate and heat-blued screws.

For a dressier look, the Stowa Antea Classic KS models can be paired with a classic black leather strap and retail for EUR 1,200. Alternatively, they can be fitted with a sportier Milanese steel bracelet for EUR 1,270. More information at stowa.de.