You can touch it: Venezianico Nereide Aureo clock

In recent years, the young independent Italian brand Venezianico has developed a cult following due to its impressive craftsmanship, moderate prices and firm commitment to lush, distinctly Venetian imagery. This last point ranged from a penchant for traditional Venetian aventurine glass to intricately carved dials depicting the city’s Renaissance masterpieces, but one of the most striking visual homages to date is an homage to perhaps the city’s most popular landmark: the Basilica of San Marco ( or St. Mark’s Basilica, for non-Italian speakers). The new Venezianico Nereide Aureo adds a 24-karat gold dial to the brand’s robust, modern diving platform, creating a unique blend of practical functionality and impressive spectacle that few watches in this price range can match.

With a width of 42 mm and a lug size of 49 mm, the stainless steel case of the Venezianico Nereide Aureo is on the larger side of current trends, but fits well on medium-sized wrists thanks to its balanced case profile and pronounced wraparound effect. The overall shape here isn’t exactly groundbreaking, with a typical modern diver-style mix of tapered, athletically beveled lugs and a pronounced square-tipped crown guard. It may not be the most adventurous diving case, but the workmanship is well done throughout, with impressively sharp transitions between light linear brushed surfaces and brilliantly polished bevels. What really catches the eye on the Nereide Aureo case, however, is the unidirectional rotating diving bezel. The insert here is made of highly polished tungsten, which gives the watch a striking, ultra-reflective look. It’s hard to convey how reflective this bezel is on the wrist (which makes photographing our media sample a real challenge). Aside from the completely distortion-free Zaratsu polish used by brands charging almost ten times the price Venezianico charges, this is more or less the most brightly reflective and mesmerizingly sharp bezel one is likely to see in metal. Additionally, thanks to the ultra-hard tungsten insert material, this near-flawless mirror shine is unlikely to be marred by the superficial scratches that watches acquire over the years. However, this has a small downside: although the polished tungsten is durable and scratch-resistant, it attracts fingerprints and smudges like a magnet. After turning the bezel or handling the watch, more demanding wearers will probably need to get out a cleaning cloth. For the caseback, Venezianico offers a razor-sharp, finely detailed engraving of the interior of the Basilica of San Marco, complete with depictions of the opulent mosaics that line the gold leaf-covered walls. As you would expect from a diver, the Nereid Aureo has a reliable water resistance of 200 meters.

At first glance, the main dial surface of the Venezianico Nereide Aureo appears to be made of hammered gold leaf, but the reality is far more complex and labor-intensive. The main visible layer of the dial is actually pure 24-karat gold, a rarity even in the upper echelons of watchmaking, but instead of the thin, gossamer work of gold leaf, the brand has developed a proprietary process. To mimic the hammered texture of the leaf affixed to the walls of St. Mark’s Basilica, Venezianico first subjects each brass dial blank to a tumbling process, creating a series of tiny dents and imperfections. From here, the dial blanks are electroplated with 24-karat gold and then given several layers of clear varnish for protection. The end result is a real eye-catcher on the wrist, with a rich shine and a fascinatingly detailed texture that outshines virtually every competitor in its price range. Outside of this magnificent gold dial surface, the dial of the Nereid Aureo is sharp and linear, with faceted ladder hands accented by beveled, lustrously polished indices mounted on a raised, radially brushed outer chapter ring. The only real downside is the mismatched white date display at 3 o’clock, but making a date wheel to match the hammered gold look of the dial probably wouldn’t be an easy feat.

The well-known Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement beats inside the Venezianico Nereide Aureo. One of the most popular options for independent brands today, the SW200-1 offers easy maintenance, simple construction and mediocre performance, including a 41-hour power reserve at a beat frequency of 28,800 bph.

Instead of the H-Link bracelet of previous versions of the Nereid, Venezianico is using the Nereide Aureo to launch a new bracelet design for the brand: the “Sansovino”. At first glance, this five-link stainless steel bracelet features a similar layout to the sometimes controversial Omega Seamaster Professional bracelet design, complete with two rows of polished center links and a generally rounded link profile. Beyond the basic layout, however, the “Sansovino” is a beast all its own, with a sweeping, curved profile of the outer links, simplified second and fourth links, female end links and a slimmer, more streamlined overall design. A brushed and polished two-button clasp with an applied Venezianico cross emblem completes the design here. On the wrist, the weight of this bracelet is noticeable but not unwieldy, and the gently curved link profiles ensure it is comfortable and attractive even when worn for long periods of time.

Venezianico’s recent rise in enthusiast circles appears to be closely linked to the strictly Venetian brand aesthetic, and some of the young brand’s most interesting work emerges at the intersection between this love of the look of Venice and the need to produce functional, practical timepieces. The Venezianico Nereide Aureo is a shining example (in the truest sense of the word) of how interesting this interface can be – this solidly built mid-range diver’s watch becomes an eye-catching conversation piece primarily through the power of its dial and bezel. The Venezianico Nereide Aureo is available to pre-order now via the brand’s e-commerce platform. The RRP for the Venezianico Nereide Aureo is included $1,295 at the time of printing. For more information, visit the brand’s website.