I've been wearing the CIGA Design Blue Planet for the past week and I can't stop staring at my wrist

What do you get when you mix watchmaking, an art piece, and an environmentally friendly message? The U Series Planet Ocean, CIGA Design’s breakthrough watch and winner of the 2021 GPHG Challenge Watch Prize. I’ve been wearing the CIGA Design Blue Planet for the last week to see what all of the fuss is about, and let me tell you, it’s a fascinating timepiece and a real conversation starter.

If you haven’t heard of CIGA Design before, it’s a relatively new Chinese watch brand founded in 2016. It’s driven by innovation and a desire to push the boundaries of conventional design. I’ve always thought it’s a great brand if you’re looking for something a little different, without breaking the bank.

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CIGA Design is particularly well-known for its skeletonised watches, which showcase the inner workings of the timepiece, but its most recognisable and commended watch is the U Series Blue Planet.

Why is it so popular? Of course, the real standout feature of the watch is the intricate dial which has been achieved using ‘micro-carving’ tech. It creates accurate representation of the globe, with crisp, sprawling mountains, detailed land, and an ocean you could get lost in.

CIGA Design claims this acts as a constant reminder of what we share and what we must preserve. It really is stunning – I could stare at it all day.

In fact, I do end up spending a lot of time staring at the watch, because while beautiful, it isn’t the most legible watch. It features a very unique way of telling time, with a single navigation marker on the dial pointing at the static hour track and rotating minute track. I love having the globe rotating my wrist and the fact that you can’t just glance at it to tell the time – you really have to study it.

When it comes to wearing the Blue Planet, the dial is just half the story. The watch also features a super-sleek sapphire crystal dome which is designed to represent the Earth’s atmosphere and the protection it provides (it also gives you an excellent view of the dial).

You also have a gloriously smooth 46mm titanium alloy case. It’s water resistant to 3ATM (basically splash-proof and rain-proof) and at 72 grams, it’s very lightweight and comfortable.

The lugless design means it wears smaller than the 46mm diameter would suggest (although this isn’t really a watch for the small wristed) and it leaves more space for the exquisite dial.

The watch is presented on a ‘fluororubber’ strap. It’s surprisingly soft and incredibly comfortable to wear.

To finish things off, the packaging also embodies the concept of safeguarding the Blue Planet. It’s made from recyclable materials and acts as the ideal home for a collection-worthy timepiece.

Fancy adding a CIGA Design U Series Planet Ocean to your collection? It’s available to buy now on Amazon for £1000 but you can get 10-percent off using the coupon code 2LQROHWM until April 5th.

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About

As Buying Guide Editor, Spencer is responsible for all e-commerce content on Stuff, overseeing buying guides as well as covering deals and new product launches. Spencer has been writing about consumer tech for over eight years. He has worked on some of the biggest publications in the UK, where he covered everything from the emergence of smartwatches to the arrival of self-driving cars. During this time, Spencer has become a seasoned traveller, racking up air miles while travelling around the world reviewing cars, attending product launches, and covering every trade show known to man, from Baselworld and Geneva Motor Show to CES and MWC. While tech remains one of his biggest passions, Spencer also enjoys getting hands-on with the latest luxury watches, trying out new grooming kit, and road-testing all kinds of vehicles, from electric scooters to supercars.