Sternglas Naos Pro Watch Review | “Pro” Watches Are Now A Thing
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Let’s be real, we all expected this to be a thing at some point! We’ve all seen phones go from a name and model number to Pro X Max Plus Ultra S 2 Lite, yada, yada, yada.
While watches have had words like ‘Professional’ in them for many years, the Tudor Black Bay Pro, released in 2022, was the first time it felt like this smartphone slang was blatantly latched on to the end of an existing model name.
But now, you don’t have to be rich to afford a ‘pro’ level watch. Well, not quite.
This is the Sternglas Naos Pro, the second pro watch I’ve come across, and the first one that’s well under $1000 USD.
It’s the successor to the highly popular Naos Automatik that I reviewed a few years ago, which offered an award-winning look and fair specifications for a respectable price. While they told me they don’t want to be known as a ‘fashion brand’, to me, the Naos was a great, fashionable watch, that succeeded because it didn’t skimp too much on build quality and materials; unlike some other minimalist brands, whose watches were minimalist for all the wrong reasons!
Nevertheless, I was particularly excited when I heard about the Naos Pro, because there were several clear areas for improvement. While the quartz version of the Naos was very thin, the original Naos Automatik was far from that, with a chunky, bulbous exterior, that did detract from the sleekness.
Left to Right: Sternglas Naos & Sternglas Naos Pro
Additionally, it used a movement I would come to hate, the Miyota 821A, and Sternglas completely bypassed lume in pursuit of the cleanest look possible. The Naos was essentially invisible in the dark.
So, yeah, too thick, no lume, a mediocre movement, and, clearly, room for improvement. When they showed me the spec sheet for this new Naos Pro, I was pleased to see that all of those things seemed to have been changed. A thinner case, added luminescence and an upgraded movement. However, something else was also upgraded...the price.
Indeed, at the time of writing this, the original Naos is sitting at £339, while the Naos Pro is almost double that at £639. So, is this really a pro watch with pro-level upgrades? Or, is it simply a ‘pro-cess’ to ‘pro-cure’ some more money out of you?!
Sternglas Naos Pro Review
So the watch arrived in Sternglas’s new packaging, which most of their models seem to ship in now. The new box is much more distinctive and on-brand, giving a less generic first impression that’ll make it a touch better for gifting; it’s also fully recyclable, which I won’t complain about.
As you might have guessed, for an iterative design, the Naos Pro looks a lot like the regular Naos straight out of the box. It’s got a near-identical dial layout and, from above, provides you with essentially the same look as last time.
Nevertheless, you can immediately feel one difference in the hands.
Watch Strap
It’s not often I start with straps here at Ben’s Watch Club, but I wasn’t expecting much from this one, as Sternglas weren’t pushing this at all in their marketing. In fact, the strap didn’t even feature in the press release they sent me, leaving me to speculate it must be similar to the last one, which was decent enough but would have been underwhelming, given the elevated cost of this piece.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. This new bridle leather strap is so good, they’d probably still make bank if they ditched watches entirely and became a strap company. It’s made from British leather by a factory in Bavaria, Germany, with light brown perimeter stitching and quick-release springbars around the back. It’s one of those products you pick up and can immediately sense the quality of, especially with the initial firmness offered by bridle leather.
More importantly, it suits the styling and feels like you won’t need to change it for many years unless you decide to change up the look. Behind the scenes, I recently purchased a plethora of watch straps from a variety of brands, many of which cost substantially more than this one, yet this Sternglas strap is surprisingly in the top 20% of those in terms of its construction. To have that as a stock strap on a watch is a rather surprising treat, to say the least!
It’s a good job the leather band is so good, too! You see, I asked them to provide me with both straps that the watch shipped on so I could review them and the bracelet...well, look at it. It’s far, far too cumbersome for a watch of this size, and stylistically, it’s not a good match either, especially given the lack of a taper. For a £50 surplus, you’d be scamming yourself by choosing this option. Grab the strap and thank me later. If you really want a bracelet, a thin Milanese-style band would be a much more appropriate option.
Case
Well, the next most obvious switch is the case. Sternglas advertises this case as being 25% thinner than before, and while that might be accurate when comparing just the cases, when including the domed crystals, the difference is more like 20%.
Still, that’s a substantial reduction in size, as far as watches are concerned, and the difference is palpable, as the new Pro version not only looks thinner, wearing closer to the arm, but also has lugs that sit at a much more appropriate height thanks to the less bulbous rear. You get less of the floaty, flying saucer effect, basically.
Dimensions
In tandem with a mere 42.3mm lug-to-lug distance, you’d think this slimness would render the watch tiny on the wrist. However, the expansive dial and skinny bezel retain the wrist presence of a slightly larger watch, so while the Goldilocks-zone measurements are viable for most male wrists; just keep in mind that the watch looks a fraction bigger in person than on paper. Overall, it’s a very comfortable watch, though, aided by the aforementioned strap.
The amended case also brings with it two other changes. The Pro is three grams lighter in the stock configuration, which improves the balance, and from side on, the slightly enlarged crown also sits more centrally. Last time, it was situated relatively low down.
Case Finish
The case finishing is also substantially different. The polished finish may have suited the regular Naos quite well, but it also looked simplistic, lacking the finesse or complexity typically indicative of higher-end watches. The Naos Pro takes some steps to alleviate that, with a brushed main case sandwiched between the polished bezel and case back, and while this does add some more visual interest from a distance, I think it still looks a little run-of-the-mill. I wonder if a more angular approach or some extreme matte blasting across all the surfaces would have paid dividends instead.
The Peren Regia that I featured in our newsletter a few weeks ago comes to mind, offering a remarkably clean, blasted look. If you want to stay up to date with the latest affordable watch releases by the way, you should definitely sign up. It’s free, it’s called In The Loupe, and I’ll leave a link to it here.
Movement
The movement powering this watch is much more eye-catching than the case. Indeed, when you flip the watch over, you’re met with the striking gold and black color scheme of the rarely-used Miyota 9015 ‘gilt’ version. While not a super high-end movement, as the flashiness may initially have you believe, this movement is still a decent choice that provides you with a smooth second hand and reasonable accuracy in a very compact package. It’s one of the reasons they were likely able to reduce the thickness so much with the Naos Pro.
Sternglas has even gone a step further by adding a very tasteful custom black rotor with gilded text that completes the luxurious facade. I get a real 20s high-end cocktail bar vibe from this color palette, which is aided by the fact Miyota went with a nice deep gold rather than the tacky, yellowy hue you often see elsewhere. I’ve shown this watch to several people so far, and every last one of them commented on this rather unique inclusion.
That said, for the most part, you’ll likely be looking at the upper half of the Naos Pro. Like the original, it’s got a domed sapphire crystal that’s susceptible to circular lens flares but, in general, is surprisingly glare-free, considering the raised profile. It’s likely the same glass as the last model, but what sits beneath is slightly different.
Dial
The most distinctive element of the Naos design has been carried forward: the inset chapter ring, segmented by elongated hour markers that stretch right to the circumference. While similar designs can be found on a handful of Junghans watches, the Naos is by far the most extreme interpretation of this concept that I’ve seen on a minimalist watch, and...it still looks great!
It’s a clean, simple design that avoids looking generic, thanks to the atypical layout; a common pitfall of upstart brands. I’m no designer, so I can’t go speak on the technicalities of such a simplistic dial like this, but it’s clear the design community also loves this look, given the two awards the Naos has received. All I’ll say is that from above, the proportions seem bang on and it feels like an incredibly versatile design that suits casual use just as well as formal occasions.
Now, following some legibility complaints, Sternglas has slightly thickened the markers on the Pro model, and they also switched up the handset a little. The first iteration of the Naos essentially has two naked super-thin batons, which work with the design, especially with the thinner markers, but they lack luminescence and do look a little cheap up close.
The new version has marginally thicker pencil hands, with strips of luminescent paint in the center, giving the Naos Pro some reasonable low-light visibility, especially when combined with the lume pips at 3, 6, 9, and 12.
Dial Colors
The black outline also prevents the hands from blending into the background, as may have otherwise happened with this color variant. This is the ‘Alabaster,’ a cream tone featuring a micro-flecked surface resembling Alabaster, a rock widely used in Ancient times for carvings and ornaments. This isn’t actually a piece of Alabaster; it’s just styled to look like it.
Genuine mineral dials have advantages and disadvantages. It’s pretty cool if a watch uses a natural material in its construction, and you’ll often get a look exclusive to your unit. That said, the side effect, as I covered in my Jade-dialled San Martin unboxing, is that the randomness of minerals can land you with a watch that looks much different from what you see in the photos, with unsightly dints or unlucky layouts that could result in an uglier overall appearance.
While this dial may not be a real mineral, it does at least sidestep that last issue, with an even consistency across the surface, giving a predictable appearance from unit to unit. You won’t have to worry about your watch looking wildly different than this one.
Despite being a little numb to it when I first saw the online listing, I’ve grown to like this particular color. The textured effect also makes the Pro’s dial look higher quality than the plain dial of the regular Naos, and I’ve found the color just as versatile. It also combines nicely with either the black or brown strap.
Nevertheless, I can’t help but feel that the geometrically precise design of the Naos makes it one of the few that can pull off the starkness provided by bright white, a color I otherwise tend to steer away from, as it often leaves watches looking either too dressy or too plain. It’s hard to find a good-looking white watch that offers such a level of flexibility, so it seems a shame to skip over one with this “pro” version.
Of course, the regular Naos is still available in white, but the Naos Pro’s selection is limited to just two colors at present, the other being a grey-black named Anthracite, which ships with a variety of Bauhaus-inspired colored accents, which you’ll either love or hate. These primary colors were widely used together by designers in the early 20th Century but could be seen as a little bright today, partly due to their widespread usage by low-cost and youth-focused brands, including toy manufacturers and fast food. As such, I think the Alabaster is comfortably the classier of the two.
Meanwhile, the original automatic and quartz Naos watches, have since been released in a multitude of dial colors, potentially broadening their appeal in comparison. I’d love to see more options available for the Pro in the future, but I guess they wanted to avoid the overlap and prevent devaluing it with a near-identical-looking cheaper alternative.
Date Window & Text
Of course, there are also some more subtle differences. The main one is the date window. The Pro has a metallic frame around it, usually indicating a higher-quality watch. Nevertheless, my wife and I both prefer the border-free window on the regular Naos, which we feel is better integrated and closer to pure Bauhaus.
The silver border on the Pro is the only metallic appendage on the whole dial, which draws your eye, and while it’s potentially better sized, it also sits deeper, losing the sleekness of the near-flush window on the original Naos. Additionally, this unit appears to be tilted anticlockwise slightly, while the rest of the dial appears pretty straight.
Thankfully, the Pro still has minimal text usage and the same clever text placement. You’ll notice that Zeitmesser is deliberately presented below Sternglas in a smaller font, creating a natural V-shape that slots in flawlessly between the hands when set to the famous ten past ten position. All the typefaces are attractive and inoffensive, which has always been a strong suit of this brand. Sternglas apparently translates to ‘Star Glass,’ if you were wondering.
Price
Before I sum up, I must talk pricing and competition. You see, as I anticipated, the consensus among commenters on my unboxing video is that the watch looks good but is too expensive, with many indicating that for this price, they’d rather opt for bigger, more established brands. And I absolutely get it. I also think a more appropriate price for this would be around £449 or £499, not £600+, though I would be willing to pay the asking price if the watch were even thinner and made in Germany because, from what I can tell, the Pro is still made in the Far East.
That said, we onliners seem to be the vocal minority on this, as sales don’t seem to have been negatively affected by the higher price tag; clearly, plenty of people feel the design and upgrades warrant this bigger RRP.
I think this depends on how much you value brand heritage and history. Obviously, other brands have the edge on Sternglas, which was only founded in 2016, but in terms of the actual product offered, Sternglas doesn’t have a great deal of competition.
Most lower-cost minimalist watches are either blatant clones of luxury watch designs, are much more generic, or offer far worse construction. Outside of that, you have brands like Junghans and Nomos, which I see frequently mentioned as better alternatives, but the price tag isn’t even comparable. Maybe years ago, those two were trading blows at this price, but nowadays, you’ll struggle to find a quartz Junghans Max Bill at this price, let alone a Nomos, which starts at around triple the cost of the Naos Pro. Even then, the likes of Nomos and Stowa have substantially different styling, with elongated numbers.
I mean, maybe the quartz Max Bill is worth considering. It does have advantages over the Naos, particularly in the case department. The watch is far thinner, as is the more expensive manual wind version, with the huge bubble crystal making up most of the watch’s listed thickness, giving a sleeker on-wrist look.
Nevertheless, it’s still not a like-for-like comparison, as the much cheaper Naos quartz already has some of those same benefits at an even lower cost. I think the dial on the Naos is arguably just as good-looking, too.
Their main rival in this £300-£700 range would have been Junkers, known for their solid, German-made watches and ties to legendary designer Hugo Junkers. However, they recently shot themselves in the foot, rebranding as “Iron Annie” in most regions, likely in a move to avoid the association with the word ‘junk’ in English-speaking markets. I think it’s a massive fail! “Iron Annie” both sounds and looks worse than “Junkers” and it lacks the iconic designer’s name, to boot. If you’re unfamiliar with the “Iron Annie” aircraft or the brand’s history (which is highly likely), you’d probably assume it was just another oddly named Chinese brand.
Unless you can ship one from overseas with the original branding, they’re immediately out of contention, leaving Sternglas as the defacto winner, with unique, original designs and decent sizing in this middle-of-the-road price bracket.
Final Thoughts
For me, the Naos Pro is a clear example of a watch that is worth it if you can get it substantially discounted. I think it is somewhat deserving of the pro banner, as it is generally better, but I’d love to see Sternglas attempt a substantially thinner hand-wound option at either 38 or 36mm to see if they could match Junghans in that department, too, for less money.