The CIGA Design Blue Planet is the first Chinese Made watch to ever win at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève and to make it to the shortlist of the nominees. In November 2021, the CIGA Design Blue Planet was awarded the GPHG 2021 Challenge Prize —watches priced under CHF 3,500 Swiss Francs— while competing against other ‘budget-friendly’ or affordable timepieces that included the Doxa SUB 200 C-GRAPH Caribbean, Oris Divers Sixty-Five Cotton Candy, Massena Lab Uni-Racer, Anordain Model 1-Payne’s Grey Fumé and the Furlan Marri Mr. Grey.
For CIGA Design to win the Challenge Prize with their Blue Planet watch wasn’t as impossible as it seemed, as they had by far the most interesting watch in this category and a timepiece that features a very unique way of telling time.
Things to Know About the Watch
The CIGA Design Blue Planet features a pebble-shaped case in titanium measuring 46 mm in diameter and 15 mm in thickness —at its thickest point which includes its domed sapphire crystal. The case is very well finished with a circular satin-brushed finish and the crown is uniquely shaped.
At first glance, the CIGA Design Blue Planet looks a lot like an Ikepod watch but with a much thinner case construction and a flatter case back. It’s almost inevitable not to think that this minimalist case design wasn’t somewhat inspired by Ikepod. Delivered on a navy blue fluorubber strap that is extremely supple and very well made to the touch, the CIGA Blue Planet is very light and easy to wear. The watch is also water-resistant to 30 meters.
The total weight of the watch including the strap is only 83.8 grams —without its strap, the watch is only 55.2 grams. The weight of the watch per CIGA’s website is 72.43 grams. The difference between our number and theirs comes from the fact that our watch is heavier as it includes a commemorative metal keeper that was added by CIGA after winning the GPHG 2021.
The most interesting part of this watch and the reasons why it was awarded the ‘Challenge Prize’ at the GPHG 2021 is because of its unique way of telling time, its story, and the movement that was designed by CIGA Design. The Blue Planet watch is equipped with a blue anodized aluminum domed dial with silvered micro-craving of the earth. A good reminder for us watch lovers to love and protect the Earth, our only home.
The micro-craving mainly reproduces Asia, Europe, the Middle East, part of Africa, and part of Oceania as seen from space. Then, a wind rose symbol also carved onto the dial disc is used as a pointer to read the hours and minutes that appear two black rings with silvered markers and numerals. This wind rose is the only way to tell time on the CIGA Design Blue Planet.
This patented system to indicate the time is referred to as an asynchronous follow-up technology. On a traditional watch, when the hour hand rotates 30 degrees, the minute hand makes a full 360-degree rotation. On the Blue Planet, both the hours and minutes are indicated with a single pointer, transforming the traditional way of time-telling. The second picture shows the time as 10:12 as the minute-ring rotates in clockwise direction.
The Movement
Powering the CIGA Design Blue Planet is a customized movement by CIGA. This 35-jewel automatic movement beats at a frequency of 28,800 vph and provides a power reserve of 40 hours when fully wound. Nothing fancy under the hood but a reliable self-winding movement with a nicely finished oscillating weight. Considering that the 50-piece limited edition of the Blue Planet watch sold out really fast, CIGA Design decided to produce another limited run of only 365 pieces after their win at the GPHG 2021.
To commemorate their win, this limited edition of 365 pieces includes the GPHG 2021 logo and the words ‘Challenge Watch Prize’ imprinted on the crystal of the display case back as well as a special engraving on the case at 6 o’clock that reads: “GPHG Awarding Commemorative Edition XXX/365”. All pieces are individually numbered accordingly.
On the Wrist & Price
On the wrist, the CIGA Design Blue Planet wears slightly smaller than its actual size and more like a 42-43 mm watch. The light titanium construction of the watch as well as its rounded pebbled-shape case, makes for a very comfortable watch to wear. Definitely a conversation timepiece wherever you go. Now, it does take some time for one to get adjusted on how to read the time on this watch.
Sticker Price CHF 1,800 Swiss Francs — approximately $2,000 USD. For more info on CIGA Design click here.
