A Tiny De Stijl Gallery for the Wrist
Few collaborations manage to feel genuinely surprising in a watch market saturated with “limited editions” that differ only by a dial color. The Ace Jewelers x Fears Brunswick 38 “De Stijl” doesn’t have that problem
. Created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Amsterdam-based retailer Ace Jewelers, this 50-piece edition turns a classic British cushion-case watch into a wearable interpretation of the Dutch De Stijl art movement and the work of Piet Mondrian.
On paper it sounds simple: take the Fears Brunswick 38, rework the dial in primary colors, engrave a number on the caseback, and call it a day. In reality, the project is more ambitious. 
The design team didn’t just paste a Mondrian print onto a standard dial; they rethought what hour markers could be when you’re limited to straight lines, rectangles, and a handful of colors. The result is a watch that deliberately splits opinion - some enthusiasts instantly fall in love with it, while others bounce off the bold dial and question its practicality.
This in-depth review looks beyond the initial shock factor to ask a few key questions: What exactly is the Ace Jewelers x Fears Brunswick 38 De Stijl? How does it wear? Is it actually readable? And perhaps most importantly: who is this watch really for?
De Stijl, Mondrian and the Long Road to a Watch Dial
De Stijl (“The Style”) emerged in the Netherlands around 1917 as a group of artists and designers pushing for radical simplification. The rules were strict: only vertical and horizontal lines, only rectangles and squares, and a limited palette of red, blue, yellow, black, white, and grey. Piet Mondrian became the movement’s best-known figure, thanks to his grids of black lines filled with bright blocks of color that still feel modern a century later.
Those compositions have escaped the museum and seeped into everyday life
. We see De Stijl influence in furniture, posters, logos, sneakers, handbags, and architecture. In that context, a Mondrian-influenced watch dial doesn’t feel forced. A dial is a framed space with a functional purpose, much like a piece of signage or graphic design. You glance at it for information, but you also experience it visually, often at a subconscious level.
Ace Jewelers has played with this visual language before. In 2017, the Ace x Nomos Orion “100 Years De Stijl” used quirky, multi-colored indices as a subtle tribute to the movement’s centenary. The Fears collaboration is a full step further: instead of a conventional dial with a playful twist, the entire watch face is built from the De Stijl toolkit. Timekeeping is integrated into the artwork itself.
Ace Jewelers x Fears: How the Collaboration Came Together
Fears, one of the oldest names in British watchmaking, was revived in the 2010s with a focus on clean, well-proportioned designs and careful finishing rather than aggressive hype. 
The Brunswick 38 quickly became its flagship model: a compact, cushion-shaped watch that feels dressy yet relaxed, with a quiet confidence that appeals to enthusiasts who are tired of oversized sports pieces.
Ace Jewelers, meanwhile, has turned collaborative projects into a kind of calling card. The retailer has worked with different brands - from German Bauhaus-inspired makers to modern British independents - on small runs that reinterpret existing models in surprising ways. The idea is not to create a totally new watch, but to unlock a side of the design that might not appear in a regular catalog.
For the 50th anniversary, Ace wanted something that felt both personal and distinctly Dutch. Returning to De Stijl made sense. Partnering with Fears provided the perfect “canvas”: the Brunswick 38’s relatively open dial and elegant proportions could handle a bold experiment without losing their core character. The brief was simple but challenging - design a dial that is unmistakably De Stijl, yet still behaves like a watch dial rather than a novelty graphic.
Case and Dimensions: The Brunswick 38 as a Design Platform
The Ace x Fears Brunswick 38 De Stijl uses the standard Brunswick case architecture, and that’s a smart move
. The cushion-shaped 316L stainless steel case measures 38 mm across and 11.69 mm thick, including the domed sapphire crystal. The lug-to-lug distance is 48 mm, and the 20 mm lug width makes strap changes easy and endlessly customizable.
On the wrist, these numbers translate into a watch that strikes a rare balance. It’s compact enough to work on smaller wrists and under a cuff, but curved lugs and the case shape give it more presence than a typical round 36–38 mm dress watch. The De Stijl dial is visually loud; the restrained, softly curved case serves as a frame that keeps everything grounded.
The finishing is in line with Fears’ usual approach: alternating brushed and polished surfaces that catch the light without turning the watch into a mirror. A signed crown, appropriately sized for a hand-wound movement, sits at three o’clock. Water resistance is rated at 100 meters, higher than you might expect for something that looks like a dressier piece, which adds peace of mind for everyday wear.
Unlike the regular Brunswick 38, where buyers can choose between a solid and display back, the De Stijl edition comes only with a sapphire caseback. The metal ring around the glass is engraved with the limited edition number “xx/50” and the collaboration inscription, reinforcing the sense that this is not just another dial variant but a celebratory project.
Movement: La Joux-Perret D100 and the Case for Hand-Winding
Inside the Ace Jewelers x Fears Brunswick 38 De Stijl beats the Swiss La Joux-Perret D100, a manually-wound caliber derived from the ETA/Peseux 7001. The 7001 architecture has long been valued for its slimness and reliability, making it a popular choice for independents; La Joux-Perret’s version refines that base with updated components and finishing.
The D100 is time-only with small seconds. It runs at 21,600 vibrations per hour (3 Hz) and offers a power reserve of around 50 hours. That’s enough to wind it in the morning and forget about it for the rest of the day - or to let it sit over a short weekend without immediately stopping.
Through the caseback, you see a clean, modern take on traditional watchmaking: neat striping, bevelled edges, and carefully aligned screws. It’s not a movement that screams for attention, but it communicates seriousness. That restraint feels deliberate; visually, the De Stijl dial is the extrovert here, and the movement plays the understated supporting role.
The choice of a hand-wound caliber is more than a technical footnote. In a watch that already leans into the idea of an object of culture rather than pure utility, the act of winding becomes part of the ritual. Every morning, you interact with the watch for a few seconds, give the crown a handful of turns, and take another look at the dial composition. That repeated moment of engagement is exactly what many collectors appreciate in pieces like this.
The De Stijl Dial: Art, Geometry and Hidden Hour Markers
The dial is where this collaboration either wins you over or loses you completely. True to De Stijl principles, everything is built from straight lines and blocks of color: vertical and horizontal black lines form a grid, carving the surface into rectangles and squares that are either left white or filled in red, blue, yellow, grey, or black.
Within this grid, the crucial watch elements hide in plain sight:
- The large blue block in the lower half of the dial is actually the small-seconds subdial, with a discreet seconds hand sweeping over its surface.
- Black squares and rectangles positioned near the dial edge have their corners aligned with the traditional hour positions, creating “invisible” hour markers that your brain can latch onto once you understand the logic.
- The central hour and minute hands, kept relatively simple, stand out against most of the backgrounds to aid quick reading.
At first glance, it can feel like pure chaos. But after a day or two on the wrist, many wearers find that their eyes adjust. The brain automatically maps corners and intersections to “roughly ten past” or “almost half past,” using the grid as an intuitive reference. If you treat this as a tool watch and demand precise minute and second readings at a glance, you will be frustrated. If you accept it as an art-forward watch that still attempts to remain functional, the compromise starts to make sense.
Importantly, this is not just a standard Brunswick dial with printed artwork on top. The sub-seconds, the placement of blocks and the choice of colors have all been rethought so that the dial composition and the functional layout are the same thing. That level of integration is what separates thoughtful “art watches” from simple novelty pieces.
Legibility and Everyday Wear: Is It Actually Usable?
The big practical question is simple: can you live with this dial day to day? The honest answer is “it depends on your expectations.”
Pros for daily use:
- The contrast between the hands and most sections of the dial is good, especially in natural light.
- The 38 mm case size and comfortable lugs make it wearable for long stretches of time.
- 100 m water resistance and a robust case mean you don’t have to treat it like fragile art behind glass.
Drawbacks you need to accept:
- No minute track and no distinct minute markers - reading down to the exact minute is more guesswork than measurement.
- The dial can be visually busy, especially if you are used to minimal or monochromatic designs.
- In low light, the abstract layout becomes harder to parse; this is not a lume-heavy, night-legibility champion.
In short, if you are the kind of wearer who needs absolute clarity at 6:43 a.m. before your first coffee, this is probably not your primary watch. But if you mostly need to know whether you’re roughly on time and you enjoy glancing at something visually stimulating rather than purely utilitarian, the De Stijl dial delivers a kind of joy that a black three-hander rarely can.
Straps, Styling and How It Fits Into a Collection
Out of the box, the Ace Jewelers x Fears Brunswick 38 De Stijl is paired with a simple black leather strap that intentionally fades into the background and lets the dial do all the talking. Thanks to the 20 mm lug width, though, the watch is extremely strap friendly.
Swapping to a light grey or off-white strap pushes the watch further into “design object” territory, echoing the gallery-wall aesthetic. A navy blue strap can frame the blue subdial nicely, while a deep red or mustard yellow strap leans fully into the primary color theme. Because the case itself is relatively understated, it plays well with quite a wide range of styles - as long as you’re happy letting the dial remain the star.
Within a collection, this is the opposite of an only watch. It makes far more sense as a “mood piece,” rotated in when you want something playful, when you’re heading to a design-focused event, or simply when you need a break from more conservative pieces. Many collectors find that one or two such statement watches make the rest of their collection feel more complete.
Price, Value and Collectability
At launch, the Ace Jewelers x Fears Brunswick 38 De Stijl carried a retail price of €3,400 EUR excluding VAT, roughly $3,940 USD at the time. For a three-hand watch with small seconds and no complications, this is not an entry-level figure. The value question comes down to how you weigh the different elements at play:
- What you’re paying for: A hand-wound Swiss caliber from a respected manufacturer, a well-finished steel case with 100 m water resistance, a very low production run of 50 pieces, and a dial design that required substantial custom work and coordination.
- What you’re not paying for: Extra complications, precious metals, or heavy marketing overhead. Ace has a history of pricing its collaborations in line with the equivalent core models rather than adding a large “limited edition tax.”
Viewed purely as a specification sheet, there are certainly other watches in this price range that offer more functions or mainstream appeal. 
Viewed as a design object that sits at the intersection of independent watchmaking, art history, and retailer storytelling, the equation shifts. For collectors who respond emotionally to the design, the combination of tiny production numbers and a coherent concept can make the price feel reasonable - especially when compared to other “statement watches” from bigger brands that cost significantly more and are produced in far larger quantities.
Key Takeaways
- The Ace Jewelers x Fears Brunswick 38 De Stijl is a 50-piece limited edition that uses De Stijl principles to completely rethink the watch dial.
- It retains the proven Brunswick 38 case and a Swiss hand-wound La Joux-Perret D100 movement, keeping the mechanical side serious.
- The Mondrian-inspired dial hides hour markers in its geometry and sacrifices precise minute legibility to gain a strong visual identity.
- This is not an all-rounder; it shines as a secondary or tertiary piece in a collection, worn when you want art and conversation on the wrist.
- The price sits in line with comparable independent watches, with value concentrated in design, rarity, and collaboration story rather than complications.
FAQs About the Ace Jewelers x Fears Brunswick 38 De Stijl
Is the Ace x Fears Brunswick 38 De Stijl a limited edition?
Yes. The watch is limited to 50 individually numbered pieces, produced to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ace Jewelers. Each watch has its unique number engraved on the caseback.
How readable is the Mondrian-style dial in real life?
Once you understand that the corners of the black blocks act as hour reference points, reading the approximate time becomes straightforward. However, there is no minute track, so you cannot easily read the exact minute or second. It’s best thought of as “good enough” for everyday situations, but not a tool for precise timing.
What movement powers the Ace Jewelers x Fears De Stijl?
The watch uses the La Joux-Perret D100, a hand-wound Swiss movement derived from the ETA/Peseux 7001. It offers time-only functionality with small seconds, runs at 21,600 vph, and has a power reserve of around 50 hours.
Is it suitable as a daily watch?
Technically, yes: the watch has 100 m water resistance, a comfortable 38 mm case, and a robust movement. Practically, its bold dial and approximate legibility mean it’s better suited as part of a rotation. If you want a discreet, do-everything daily watch, a more traditional Brunswick model will likely serve you better.
Who should consider buying this watch?
This piece is aimed at collectors who enjoy design, art history, and independent watchmaking, and who already own more conventional watches. If you want a small slice of De Stijl on the wrist and you’re comfortable trading some legibility for personality, the Ace x Fears Brunswick 38 De Stijl could be a very satisfying addition to your collection.
