SYE - History, Models and Owners' Reviews

On the occasion of a vacation in Laos and Vietnam, I chose to take as my only watch this SYE Chronograph that I had bought on impulse but without ever having really worn it. It was a revelation to wear a completely unknown watch with a design very different from the chronographs that I know. The shape of the case is very particular, close to a flying saucer. In the Asian sun, the striated dial and the sub-counters flash with 1000 lights. At first I wore it with a black strap but once the steel strap was installed, I didn't change it... Exit the system - not very practical for changing the strap - I didn't understand everything about the movement and am curious but also worried about the moment when the battery will have to be changed. This watch arouses the curiosity of other watch lovers in a benevolent way because it represents nothing and does not convey any other emotions than the most positive of all, curiosity. Beautiful memories. Thank you

SYE founded by Arnaud Pezeron in 2020 is not unknown. Arnaud came to present his brand on the Dialicious channel in Startup-Heures, the meeting place for watchmaking entrepreneurs. On the occasion of his latest launches, I asked him to lend me the prototype of the new SYE MOT1ON Automatic 24 Bullitt entirely in titanium… which has just been marketed! I share with you my first impressions but also my keys to reading a discreet brand that has not chosen the easy way of the neo-vintage and crowdfunding highway, but rather the ridge road with its uncertainties and hidden treasures. Flying saucer or piston of a beautiful displacement, this SYE MOT1ON Automatic 24 has everything to please as long as you are interested in design in the broad sense and not just that of watches. Brutalist art lovers and connoisseurs of post-war architecture will be able to see stylistic lines from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rio designed by Oscar Niemeyer or in France with the building of the former Caisse d'Épargne in Bordeaux in the Mériadeck district. The 40.5mm Grade 2 titanium case seems modular in its perfectly machined and grooved construction like many historic buildings in the La Défense district of Paris. Mechanical enthusiasts will undoubtedly see the segments surrounding the pistons allowing the sealing of an internal combustion engine. At 50 meters, it is sufficient for daily use without displaying the same performance as an American big block, a source of visual inspiration for the brand. The bezel, meanwhile, imposing and light, sits like a cylinder head on its engine block. Another conceptual association between watchmaking and motor sports. The integration of Bracelet + Case with a registered system called "Fastback", takes us back to our childhood - depending on the generation - with a key straight out of the famous "Mecano" to screw and unscrew a capsule to fix the bracelet to the case. For someone like me who likes to change bracelets, it's fun and different compared to a Bergeon fork and especially without the risk of scratching the horns. There are simpler ones - certainly - with automatic pumps, but in this case we no longer play mechanic. It was on this occasion that I realized that the watch smiles at you with a chamfer at 6 o'clock and 12 o'clock, but it's the one at 6 o'clock that sticks its tongue out at you ;-) The brutal austerity of titanium brings you light. I told you, you know, a watch is a message… ➡️ The crown - not screwed - unpretentiously displays the S of SYE and inscribes the brand in a DNA of singularity and coherence without leaving room for the ease of a case that is too conventional and consensual. We could criticize this SYE MOT1ON for being a little too thick, but the lightness of the titanium makes us forget everything. This SYE speaks to you or not! It speaks to me - not because it smiles at me - it speaks to me because it naturally fits into a style of watches that I like and that I collect like the Omega Dynamic, Omega Genève or LIP Sportville which already offered at the time a very circular bracelet and/or case change system without a handle. More recently, Tissot relaunched its Sideral models well known for their roundness, even if this reissue has given way to a more conventional shape. What if it was a sign of a return thanks to this type of design? ➡️ The dial of this titanium SYE MOT1ON offers something minimalist and refined while filling the dial in a balanced way and not overloaded with superlatives of all kinds ;-) God knows that it is not easy to dress a dial with a 3-hand Date. The tachymeter scale printed on an almost vertical flange brings an interesting volume and depth and complements the applied indexes. The latter nourish the positioning of the model in the 70s - 80s without dripping into the neo-vintage which is not my thing! Its striated dial - like all the other models of the brand, including the chrono - in green marries very well with the matte gray of the titanium. Three informative mentions on the dial. Twenty-Four, the historic blue used by the brand, to remind that the subdial at 9 o'clock is a 24-hour indicator; Automatic for the winding mode and a new mention - Made in France - which was not on the models that Arnaud had presented on the Dialicious YouTube Channel. Too bad not to go all the way with the "Made In France" with a "Fabrique en France" or "Fab France" as the Swiss watch industry did before the implementation of the Swiss Made label, thus promoting French as the international language of watchmaking. ➡️ The straight, simple hands are consistent with the indexes and of the same width. Readability is quick and the electric blue seconds hand brings an almost emblematic touch of the brand. Almost! because the recent launch of the Estoril reference with a blue dial saw the arrival of a white second hand! This is a good sign, the brand is not resting on its laurels and is not trying - too much - to build an immutable visual identity! The hour and minute hands are covered with a correct luminescent treatment that resonates with a small reminder under the cardinal index at 12 o'clock. ➡️ The SYE MOT1ON Automatic 24 collection is equipped with a Miyota caliber - a subsidiary of Citizen - reference 8217. A reliable caliber in the high-end offered by Miyota, without being the 9015 flagship of the Japanese brand. The precision announced by the manufacturer is -20 to +40 seconds per day, an honorable score for a model that focuses mainly on an explosive design and a disruptive story telling - I exaggerate a little - more than on exceptional precision. After almost 4 years of existence, the brand will probably have to innovate in terms of caliber, because the competition from more recent, more precise models with more power reserve is starting to emerge! ➡️ The bracelet and its articulation is undoubtedly one of the strong points of this watch and more generally of the MOT1ON collection. In this case, I was able to wear it both on a leather strap (black or blue) and on a titanium strap. Being a big fan of leather goods, I can only be enthusiastic about taking the risk of offering a proprietary system called "Fastback" allowing you to change the strap. I have done it several times without encountering any major difficulties, unlike other members of the platform who felt less comfortable. The experience will undoubtedly have its day. The titanium bracelet brings a real plus in all respects. The watch is lighter, more comfortable and above all more coherent in terms of aspects more than ever anchored in brutalized art, a little austere and rough. We lose visual tone - compared to colored bracelets - but we gain in my opinion in coherence and comfort with a different buckle - and thinner - than on leather bracelets. "Fastback" is certainly a proprietary format that can slow down but I have the feeling that Arnaud, the founder of the brand, will soon release end-links that allow you to put on the bracelet of your choice. Shhh, I didn't say anything... The SYE MOT1ON Automatic 24 Bullitt Titanium is sold on the brand's website at the price of €850 on a leather strap (13 colors to choose from) and €899 on a titanium strap. This last combination is the most interesting in my opinion! 😎 My "Mood Board" for this SYE MOT1ON Automatic 24: Film: Le Dernier Combat by Luc Besson Car: Nissan GTR Black Mat Music: Mass Production by Iggy Pop Architecture: Niteroi Museum of Contemporary Art in Rio de Janeiro All the technical specifications below XS

A birthday present from my parents for my 17th birthday, this chronograph watch has concretized a budding interest in watchmaking. A great gift for a gift to start in watchmaking, me who until then only had a Casio LCD and my phone. By dint of trying out these watches I got caught up in the game of trying to understand what mechanics could be hidden in these small objects. So I went to the brand's website to try to understand how the movement inside works. It's a hybrid between a battery-powered motor and a mechanical chronograph function called mecaquartz. Frankly I don't really care because it's beautiful, original according to my humble knowledge and above all very different from those I see at home. I'm lucky to have the steel bracelet in addition to the colored leather one that I don't like very much. The operation of changing the bracelet is nice but still a bit tedious... Moral: I almost exclusively wear it with the steel bracelet. The cherry on the cake is that, at 18 years old, my father often accuses me of it when we go on vacation.