I love watches that go outside the norms of case design. No offense to the Oyster case, but we’ve seen it and I want to see something different. So when the Manime La F. came up for review, I was super excited. A cushion case watch with modern sensibilities? Yes, please!
At 40mm and with a fairly narrow bezel, you’d think the cushion case would big on my 6.5” wrist. But the fact that the lug to lug distance is a svelte 45mm and the watch is only 10.2mm thick balances out the size. So it wears extremely comfortably. I really enjoy the proportion and texture of the crown. It’s beaded instead of the usual coin edge, which makes it very pleasant to set and wind. The case is brushed on the top and sides, with the bezel and chamfers polished. I wish the transition to the chamfers was slightly better defined, but the overall effect is very pleasing.
The dial is silvered with a colored ring in either black, blue, red, or green at the same diameter as the hour markers. The circular brushed finish catches the light nicely and matches well with the circular brushed finish on the top of the case. The applied hour markers are faceted and polished, another thing to catch the light and make you look at the watch. The hour and minute hands are silvered, faceted, and match the hour markers quite well, giving the watch a modern, minimalist look. C1 Superluminova lume dots at each hour marker continue the minimalist aesthetic: they’re exactly the right size to be functional but do not distract from the design of the dial.
Under the hood is a Miyota 9039, the no-date version of the workhorse 9015. The fact that the movement hacks is kind of amusing, given that there is no minute track. You can’t use the hacking feature effectively, but it is another excuse to play with the crown, which, I repeat, is really comfortable to use. If that crown becomes a signature Manime design element, no one should be disappointed.
The stock strap on the La F. is a 20mm mesh strap with an engraved butterfly deployant clasp. I think 20mm is an excellent size for the watch, and the polished steel mesh is a great choice for the overall aesthetic, but there were definitely better choices that could have been made regarding the clasp. With the butterfly deployant, the range of adjustment for the strap is limited to 10 polished links. This meant for my 6.5” wrist, I couldn’t actually make the band small enough to prevent the watch from sliding on my arm. The polished links are likely to pick up scratches with consistent use. I think a mesh strap with a single-fold deployant probably would have been a better choice since that mechanism allows for more granular adjustments, and there is less surface area to be scratched while still providing room to engrave the clasp.
Luckily, the La F. is a strap monster, so there is no shortage of options. I personally tried it out on rubber for a more sporty/casual look and brown alligator to dress it up. With a water resistance of 5ATM, the watch is more than capable of going about with you in your day-to-day life.
The La F. is a great watch, and at under $400 for pre-order, I think it’s an excellent choice for a modern cushion-cased watch. Pre-orders are currently closed, but Manime is already gathering ideas for their next effort, so I would definitely head over to their website to stay informed for the next release!
