The Nico Gerard Pinnacle watch that combines a mechanical timepiece with an Apple Watch is probably a good idea, but executed with a price that makes it utterly unrealistic. As we have said here time and again, smart watches are a growing segment, and one that we expect to continue covering for some time. Of course, probably the most anticipated smart watch release this year was the Apple Watch, though sales seem like they might be a bit off. If you find yourself in the camp of wanting an Apple Watch, and still want to wear your traditional mechanical watch, what are you to do? You could certainly wear a watch on each wrist. While that is something I have grown accustomed to, I realize that not everyone may be ready for that. That, then, leaves the option of leaving one of the watches at home, or figuring out how to get both onto a single bracelet. That is what we have here with the Nico Gerard Pinnacle.
This is not the first time we have seen an Apple watch combined with a regular watch on a single bracelet (that honor belongs to a wooden watch), but this is certainly one of the most, well, ambitious. Yes, ambitious is the word we will go with (and I’ll explain myself in a bit). First off, let’s take a quick gander at the mechanical portion of the Nico Gerard Pinnacle.
Tucked into a 41mm stainless case, we have what the brand is labeling as a NG2824A COSC movement, and that we presume is the well-known ETA 2824 movement. In terms of styling, the watch is subdued, with standard stick indices on the hour marks, angled chapter ring, and modified baton hands (I am calling them katana hands, as they remind me of that blade shape). It’s a fairly standard three-hand styling with date display (unfortunately not color matched to the dial), making for a sporty-leaning steel watch.
Coming off of that case we have what looks to be a nice three-link steel bracelet, which then joins on to the more interesting part of the Nico Gerard Pinnacle – where the Apple Watch is attached. Here, we see a sort of double-sided butterfly clasp implementation with a simple friction lock (no push buttons that I see), with the Apple Watch (which is included in the purchase price) taking up the center portion of the clasp. This means that you have the gadget portion of this package tucked under your wrist (and, presumably, out of site) providing the various notifications and functionality.
While I personally am enamored with the idea of a smart notification module that is built into a bracelet (or otherwise attached), I am not sure that I would want a $350+ one on the underside of my wrist, where it will no doubt be getting banged around. Not to mention the additional bulk when you are at a keyboard – I’m sure the tendons there will love that pressure. What I am also not enamored with on the Nico Gerard Pinnacle is its price – and that is why I’m calling this watch particularly ambitious.
Even with the included Apple Watch, the starting price of $9,300 (for the black dial; the blue dial is $9,500, and the 18k gold watch with red dial is $112,000) for the limited-edition Nico Gerard Pinnacle is quite a stretch. In fact the price is so out of tune with the delivered value and competitive pricing out there that we simply can’t explain what Nico Gerard was thinking. While the 2824 is a nice movement, it is not what we expect to see when we have a watch approaching five figures (nor would we expect the date wheel to not be color matched to the dial). On its own, the Nico Gerard Pinnacle is a tidy watch, and decently styled. While its execution with the integrated Apple Watch may not be my personal cup of tea, I do see the appeal. I just think that at the price they have things at, this is not a watch that will likely see the light of day.
To clarify, the Nico Gerard Pinnacle is not a watch that exists yet – they are simply working through pre-orders at this point, with delivery expected in 10-12 months (when perhaps another Apple Watch will be available already). Hopefully, they will realize that their pricing structure is simply unrealistic for what is on offer, and get things brought back down to a reasonable level before delivery starts. We need to see more good ideas executed in good ways. nicogerard.com