(AROUND 4 YEARS AFTER THIS REVIEW WAS PUBLISHED, WE RECEIVED MESSAGES FROM 5TH WATCHES CUSTOMERS, STATING THEY DID NOT RECEIVE PRODUCTS THAT THEY HAD PAID FOR. WE’D RECOMMEND REFRAINING FROM PURCHASING UNTIL THIS IS INVESTIGATED).

On my Ben Arthur channel, I recently covered one of the shocks of the year in the watch world. Low cost fashion watch brand The Fifth, who have been producing super cheap Chinese watches for years, out of the blue announced they were going Swiss-made.

Given my history with certain fashion watch brands, I thought they were pranking me at first. However, it really looks like The Fifth are trying to change the game and today I’ll be taking a look at what they’ve come up with.

So, you’re aware, the brand did send me these prototypes free of charge; though, as with all of my reviews, that in no way guarantees positive coverage. Also, as these are prototypes, they are somewhat subject to change; though they are obviously close to the final product.

The brand sent me a short list of things they’re changing:

For example, on the Quartz case backs - the engraving will be deeper and higher quality, as will the engraving on the crown.
There is small error on the case back (stainless - "stanless") and 1/500.
The crown on the Swiss Chronographs has been made slightly larger, as we felt it was slightly small.
The automatic is going to be 1mm wider in diameter, to open up the dial, the lugs are going to slightly longer to make it more balanced.
On the automatic, the crown will also be made slightly larger, for functional purposes.

It’s pleasing that they are already aware of these issues and are acting to change them before shipping them to customers.

Either way, let’s see what you get for your money.

The Fifth Swiss Watches Review

Formerly, The Fifth watches were made in China, just like the majority of fashion watches out there. These are 100% Swiss made and it shows.

Let’s begin with the two quartz pieces.

While these are undoubtedly a far cry from the watches The Fifth used to make, these two aren’t my favourites.

The case construction on both of these models is great. These are both a high shine finish and feature a sweeping design that is really attractive. I really like the curvature to the bezel on each of them, it creates a cohesive, high quality look.

The proportions and weight of these watches seem just right. Both measure in at just under 41mm in diameter and sit comfortably on my smaller wrist – this is a great size that should suit a variety of wrists out there. There’s also a selection of 36mm watches available, though I haven’t tried them. While not as slim as their previous Chinese constructed watches, these are still quite thin and do feel far more substantial. These come with a fair 5ATM of water resistance and are covered by lightly domed sapphire crystal. It’s nice to see this glass appear even on these models, there are plenty of brand using inferior mineral crystal at a similar price point to these.

The thing putting me off the chronograph is simply the colourway. If I had the choice, I would have gone with a black version, which, at least from the images, looks a lot better. I think this peachy colour is quite bizarre to be honest.

I do like the texture of the dial. The sub-dials have the expected ring engravings and the you have small applied hour markings around the perimeter. I also like the position of the date window at the 6 o’clock position. It slips in there almost unnoticed, which I like.

The other quartz watch is more minimalist, featuring a white dial with some similar design cues. While I quite like the design, and definitely prefer it to the previous Chinese made designs, there are a couple of things I think could improve it. Firstly, there’s something about the font. I think this is the same as on the logo, but there’s something about its implementation here that I feel doesn’t quite fit the theme of the watch. I feel similarly about the choice of hand shape. Nevertheless, I like the raised chapter ring, which is present without being too tall. The branding on both of these watches is nice and small and the overall printing is very accurately done.

Both quartz watches from The 5th feature a solid Swiss Ronda movement. I’ve noticed the versions installed in these consistently hit the second markers, which you’ll notice is often erratic with cheaper quartz movements; so, they seem like a good choice.

The 5TH Swiss Made Automatic Watch

However, this whole ‘5th going Swiss’ venture is fully realised with their automatic model. While I thought the previous two watches were pretty good, this one is clearly more refined and is by far my favourite of the three.

On paper, this features a strong lineup of:

Stainless steel construction
26 Jewel STP Automatic Movement
Sapphire Crystal Glass
10 ATM Water Resistance
Quick-release genuine leather strap

In person, the watch looks and feels even better. The case, especially from a side-on perspective is gorgeous, you can tell it’s really well constructed and the finishing on the lugs is superb. This features an exhibition case-back, so you can observe the movement within. It’s slightly different than the other two and comes in at exactly 40mm in diameter.

The dial looks really premium and it really suits my preferences. This variant has a nice blue colourway with a lovely sunburst effect too. The chapter ring is one aspect of this watch I really like. The second markings are really precise and have intervals even between each second – very nicely done.

The little lume pips above each hour marker also adds to the interest; a couple of these are fractionally misaligned, though I imagine this would probably be fixed with the final versions of these watches…hopefully. Dauphine-style hands really complete the aesthetic and are the perfect choice for this style of watch, I think it makes it look all the more premium. The extra lines of text are spot on too, the white and red contrast well and the subtle slim font ensures they don’t stand out excessively; well played The Fifth. I’d prefer it if the date window were a closer match to the dial colour, though they have shortened the 3 o’clock hour marker to compensate for this, meaning the window sits there nicely.

The movement inside is a solid choice, this STP 1-11 is nearly identical to the popular ETA 2824-2 and is arguably better in some areas. Those are movements found in watches selling for up to several thousands of pounds, so it’s great to see a movement like this inside this watch.

I’d expect sapphire glass and half-decent water resistance in a watch like this and that’s what is duly provided. It’s nice to see The Fifth aren’t cutting corners by ramming mineral glass in here or terrible water performance.

All three prototype watches feature a five-sided crown, referring back to the brand name. I like this, it does reduce the grip but it is an interesting way to market the brand without some crazy inscription like that found on the Invicta I covered a while back. If I remember correctly, this may be an area they are changing, potentially to regain some grip.

The Fifth Watch Straps

The straps that come with each of these watches are pretty standard genuine leather ones. These aren’t anything special and I think are a possible area for improvement, though aren’t bad either. They’re relatively soft and flexible and do come with the quick release tabs, for speedy strap changes. For their target market, these will probably be useable and suffice for a decent duration.

The 5TH Watch Price

Pricing for these will start at just over £200 for the quartz models and around £400 for the automatic, with kickstarter backers able to get them substantially cheaper; though backer slots may be filled by the time this video is published. That puts them in a comparative price category to something like a Tissot and that is going to be the difficulty faced by this brand.

They’re going to have to persuade customers to choose them over brands like Tissot. Based on these watches, I’d say they have a chance; but only time will tell. I like them, the designs are quite interesting and overall, it’s refreshing to see a brand attempt something like this. These are arguably the first direct to consumer Swiss watches, so it will be interesting to see how they fare.

check out the 5th swiss made kickstarter