Description
On 10 June 2026, Philippine independent Makina opened pre-orders for the Cassiel_II, its new flagship and the family-run microbrand's first automatic chronograph. Makina has built its identity on industrial, quasi-brutalist watch design, and the Cassiel_II doubles down: a slab-sided 42 mm steel case and a layered, architectural dial that replaces conventional chronograph subdials with rotating discs read through windows. The pre-order price is USD 1,850, rising to a regular retail of USD 2,100 once the launch window closes, with deliveries from 10 August 2026.
For buyers tired of yet another heritage-diver homage, this is one of the most original chronograph displays anywhere near this price — and a milestone for Southeast Asian independent watchmaking.
Design
The 316L stainless steel case measures 42 mm across (40 mm bezel), 15 mm thick including the sapphire crystal, and 48 mm lug-to-lug, finished in sandblasted matte with polished accents that sharpen its angular geometry. The matte-black dial is carved by recessed graphite-grey channels: a 30-minute chronograph counter shows through a window at 12 o'clock, a 12-hour counter at 6, running seconds at 9, and a day-date at 3. The hour and minute scale runs around a hexagonal — not circular — periphery, pointed to by Makina's signature two-pronged hands and a central chronograph seconds hand. A screw-down crown secures 100 m of water resistance; the watch ships on a rubber strap.
Specifications
- Model: Makina Cassiel_II
- Case: 42mm diameter (40mm bezel), 15mm thick, 48mm lug-to-lug, 316L stainless steel, sandblasted with polished accents
- Crown: screw-down
- Crystal: sapphire
- Water resistance: 100m (10 bar)
- Dial: matte black with graphite-grey recessed channels, hexagonal peripheral hour/minute scale, disc-based displays
- Movement: Valjoux/ETA 7750, automatic chronograph — not in-house
- Functions: hours, minutes, running seconds (9 o'clock), 30-minute counter (12), 12-hour counter (6), central chronograph seconds, day-date (3)
- Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve: 48 hours
- Strap: rubber
- Limited edition: no (permanent flagship)
- Price: USD 1,850 pre-order (from 10 June 2026); USD 2,100 RRP after launch
- Availability: pre-orders open; deliveries from 10 August 2026
What's Exciting
The 7750 inside is the least interesting thing here, and that is precisely the point: Makina spent its budget where you look. Disc-and-window chronograph displays are normally the territory of five-figure avant-garde pieces; pulling the layout off at USD 1,850 — with a hexagonal chapter ring and finishing built around blasted-versus-polished contrast — is a genuine design achievement. It also plants a flag for Philippine watchmaking: a family-run Manila brand shipping its first automatic chronograph as a fully realised industrial-design object rather than a parts-bin special.
History
Makina is an independent, family-run Philippine microbrand that has specialised in brutalist, industrial design language across its catalogue. The original Cassiel — a quartz chronograph noticed by local press as early as 2019 — established the model name; the Uriel line carried the aesthetic forward. The Cassiel_II is the brand's step up into mechanical chronographs, adopting the Valjoux/ETA 7750, the workhorse calibre that powered decades of Breitling, TAG Heuer, IWC and Sinn chronographs, and re-housing it in the most architectural case the brand has yet made.
