Sartory-Billard SB04-E Hands-On: Getting Creative With A ‘Skin Tone’ Stone Dial And A Steel Bracelet

If you visit the Sartory-Billard watches website, you will notice that SB04-E isn’t just one watch, but a range of models at different price points, depending on the case and dial material combination. Some are limited-edition series, and others are bespoke models that the company has made just a single piece of. Companies like Sartory-Billard actually get a lot of customers seeking bespoke items, which is why the company needs to juggle making small series as well as offering personalization services. So, how was this SB04-E watch model personalized? This is a follow-up review to my original look at the Sartory-Billard SB04-E platform, and in it, I am going to examine a creative exercise in choosing a dial design for the SB04-E, as well as the optional matching steel bracelet that goes with the Sartory-Billard SB04-E. Sartory-Billard encouraged me to be creative and imagine a material that might look nice on the dial. Sartory-Billard created a clever dial design that can be wholly or partially replaced by a different material or decorative component. The company can also offer dials made from natural materials or ones that have been hand-decorated, such as engraved metal from a guilloché machine. One of the hallmarks of the SB04-E watches, in my opinion, is the quality of the dial components and the hands. So what I wanted to do was maintain as many of those parts as possible, while choosing an uncommonly used stone color for the center area of the watch face. I had this inclination to create a “nude” look. I asked Sartory-Billard to choose a natural stone that had a color similar to a skin tone. Yes, not all skin is the same color, but we needed to start somewhere. What the company recommended after a bit of a search was to use pink aventurine. I am mostly familiar with blue aventurine, but apparently, the quartz-based stone comes in other colors. With that said, some aventurine is man-made and has been for a few hundred years (it was an Italian speciality for a long time). I am not exactly sure which type this is, but I suspect the pinkish dial on this SB04-E watch is a natural pink aventurine stone. I thought it came out pretty well, actually. The Sartory-Billard SB04-E case here is in polished steel and is sized at 39.5mm wide. The case is 10.3mm thick and has a 46mm long lug-to-lug distance. Over the dial is a flat AR-coated sapphire crystal, and the case is rather sporty, being water-resistant to 100 meters with a screw-down crown. The size of the case is very sensible, and it wears comfortably. I like the high-polish look of the sloped bezel as well. The overall composition certainly looks like a more expensive watch than it is when you compare what you get from some other larger brands. One of the primary ways that Sartory-Billard keeps prices down in the SB04-E watch model family is by using a pretty affordable mechanical movement on the inside. That allows the company to focus most of its budget on things like case, dial, hands, and strap quality. Inside the Sartory-Billard SB04-E watches is a Swiss automatic La Joux-Perret G101 movement. It operates at 4Hz and has a power reserve of 68 hours. You can view the movement through the sapphire crystal caseback on the rear of the watch. When I last reviewed the Sartory-Billard SB04-E watch collection, I looked at two models on rubber straps. Those gave the watch a hip, sporty feeling, but at their heart, the SB04-E watches are a bit dressier and more for casual social or business purposes. In this review, I feature the SB04-E on both a gray-colored Delugs brand leather strap, as well as the steel metal bracelet that Sartory-Billard now offers for the SB04-E collection. The steel bracelet integrates nicely with the style of the 39.5mm wide case, but also has a trendy look to it. While the bracelet is not a direct copy of the Royal Oak bracelet, it is of the generation of bracelets that have been thematically inspired by Gerald-Genta-designed bracelets. The bracelet closes with a traditional butterfly-style deployant clasp. One of the things that I find so brilliant about the SB04-E model family is how affordable and yet satisfyingly customizable it is. No larger company would be able to offer a package like this, in my opinion. That includes the combination of being able to consult with Sartory-Billard on what the final design and outcome might be, as well as them being creative and seeking an aesthetic solution (basically, finding the right material) to most any customer idea or concept. That, combined with the ability to mix and match the right case material, dial style, and strap or bracelet combination, allows for the SB04-E platform to be versatile from a marketing perspective and broad in its larger appeal to different types of consumers. Price for a Sartory-Billard SB04-E watch in steel with a pink aventurine dial (as pictured) on a leather strap is $5,800 USD. Price for the watch on the matching steel bracelet is $6,150 USD. For more information, please visit the Sartory-Billard website.