Since the 1950s, Jowissa has made fashionable Swiss watches incorporating novel techniques and materials. In the 60s, they produced cut glass pendant watches. In the 70s and 80s, they survived the quartz crisis by adopting this new technology and experimenting with wood, ceramic, and acrylic cases. Today, Jowissa offers a range of men’s and women’s watches, including the LeWy Chronograph I have here today.
This LeWy Chronograph (there is a three-hand model as well) is an everyday watch with a polished stainless steel case. Angular lugs and crown guards define the watch, giving it a tremendous presence even beyond that already imparted by its 42mm case. The dominant impression is not of width but of length, as those commanding lugs accentuate its 52mm lug-to-lug measurement. Still, the LeWy wears well, added in no small part by its modest 11mm thickness. On my 6.75″ wrist, I found the watch to be appropriately sporty and not at all oversized.
To my eye, the most intriguing aspect of the design is the interplay between the sapphire crystal and the black tachymeter. Jowissa has integrated a metalized bezel into the underside of the polished and beveled edge of the crystal. It looks fantastic.
That black bezel coordinates nicely with the watch’s shiny black crown. Aggressively cut into an eight-pointed star shape, it looks sharp and affords excellent grip, but you won’t be using it very often as the LeWy employs a Ronda quartz with a 10 o’clock day indicator, a running small seconds at 2 o’clock, a 30-minute counter at 6 o’clock, and a 4 o’clock date.
Flipping the watch over, you will find an etched, snap-on case back.
The LeWy’s dial is a lovely pale sand color that does not lean too far into yellow. Its narrow black hands and applied markers are handsome, but I was distracted by the curious black circular frame around a rectangular white date. It’s an interesting look, though I’d have preferred a more subtle black date disk in a porthole window.
That white is SuperLuminova, of course. There is not much surface area for it to work, so don’t expect dive-watch potency so much as a respectable glow when the lights go down.
The sand color dial and olive pass-through strap may tempt you to treat the LeWy as a tool watch, but don’t. That crown is a push-pull, and water resistance is just 50m, or as Jowissa describes it, “shower proof.” The LeWy’s adventurous style is quite appealing; just know its limitations.
Jowissa supplies the LeWy with a military-style nylon pass-through strap. I have lost my taste for nylon straps, but I will say that Jowissa’s is one of the better ones, with a fabric that looks and feels a bit more like canvas, which is in keeping with the LeWy’s outdoorsy appearance. The hardware is polished to match the case and signed on both the retaining loop and the buckle. In terms of comfort, I’d place it above the zip-tied sensation of a common nylon strap but below that of a smooth seatbelt weave. As for me, I’d put it on leather, like this lightly padded brown one Jowissa has in their shop.
The Jowissa LeWy Chronograph is available in sand, black, red, and blue dials and sells for $439.90. It is an attractive piece that has some clever design elements. Just know that when it comes to the wet and messy, the LeWy is more show than go.
For more information or to order your own, visit Jowissa.com.
