Today I am extremely excited to discuss a rather obscure watch brand that many of us may not be aware of yet. Corniche Watches is a company based out of Sweden that has produced their first watch model, the Heritage 40. Corniche Watches view their watch creations as something intimate to the wearer as described on the website: “We believe that watches are something more than a means of telling the time. It’s a unique and personal object that holds valuable memories. The purchase of a watch is often linked to a personal milestone – the first promotion, a marriage or the birth of a child. It’s also the perfect gift for someone you love.” The Heritage 40 was at one point available in (4) four different variations: a rose-tone case with black or white dial, a stainless steel case with white dial and a Limited Edition stainless steel case with black dial. I am unsure if the Limited Edition version of the Heritage 40 is still available. The standard Heritage 40 models, including the review sample, are priced at a reasonable $370USD with the following basic specifications:
Case Size: 40.00 mm
Case material: Stainless steel
Glass: Sapphire glass
Strap: Genuine leather
Movement: Quartz
Clasp: Butterfly-style
Waterproof: 5 ATM
I immediately knew I was in for a treat when I saw the exquisite packaging provided by Corniche. The outer packaging was a fairly standard brown cardboard shell like most, however, the interior consisted of a fantastic looking black lacquered, wooden, hinged case with a push button opening mechanism. The packaging is as nice as any I have ever seen and rivals or exceeds many in the watch industry. The style reminds me most of what I have seen provided with some of the older Bulova/Accutron watches. The interior of the case is well padded and should provide adequate protection for the watch during shipping. Overall, an extremely elegant presentation for an elegant looking timepiece.
The case is composed of stainless steel with both high polished and brushed finishes. The finishing immediately caught my eye, as normally with less expensive timepieces, one can typically find some unevenness to the brushed portions in particular, but not on this specific example. The finishing is what I would consider superb quality. I really like that Corniche opted for a brushed finish on the sides of the case, as it will limit the amount of time spent constantly wiping down the case. The bezel area is all high polished providing a great contrast, but be sure to keep polishing clothes on hand as surface scratches will be much more noticeable.
The case measures 40mm in diameter and right around 43mm including the crown. The case also measures 48mm from lug tip to lug tip and right about 9mm in overall thickness. The actual specifications note 7mm on case thickness but I think that may be excluding the case back, which bubbles out ever so slightly. Regardless, the Heritage 40 is an ultra-thin dress watch that will easily fit under the dress shirt cuff. The watch weighs well under 100 grams so combined with the other specifications, it will have an ultra-lightweight feel on the wrist and shouldn’t be cumbersome at all on almost any wrist. The signed crown is perfectly proportionate at 5mm in diameter to the case dimensions. The push/pull crown is easy to grasp and slide a fingernail under to engage the time setting function. There is absolutely no play or wiggle when the crown is engaged.
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I recently had this watch on my wrist. It is a nice one and looks pretty good. In my opinion the dial is a bit to “boring”. But overall, for about 400$, of course a good choice
Josh
How is it powered?
James Howells
The watch has a quartz movement .
It is pronounced corneesh. Corn- eee – sh. The e on the end is not sounded …it is French ! It is the same as the Rolls Royce car name
I have a Bota watch from Germany ..very nice with a dual time single hand feature …so I know the time for my brother in CA. I am in UK
Vadim
I have this watch, looks good but after only two months of use my bracelet broke. The funny thing is nobody is available from the “customer” support of Corniche Watches and noobdy answers emails. Wouldn’t buy this watch again because of the bad customer support ….
amagodor
Hi, did u get in touch with the customer service so far?
Brian
The Miyota 2025 is a $6.00, no jewels movement.
I’d expect more considering the price of the watch.
Corniche Watches
Greetings.
We would first of all like to thank WatchReport for conducting this review.
In addition to this we would like to say that we work very hard to keep all our customers satisfied and often replace parts even though the warranty has expired. In this case, one e-mail had slipped through and we have contacted Vadim to solve the matter.
For further questions, please contact us at info@cornichewatches.com.
Team Corniche
Asem butt
Why are you not replying to my emails regarding returns and the process
Eric A Piccolo
I just bought a Corniche Watch and am very disappointed. The spring that holds the leather strap to the clasp broke before I could even try the watch on for the first time. Also, the box my watch came in is even broken. The locking mechanism does not work so the top can just flop around. Nothing good to say at all about the watch. I will be looking to return the watch.
Asem butt
Have you returned yours and if so how did u do it. As corniche are not replying to my messages
Corniche Watches
We would first of all like to thank WatchReport for conducting this review.
In addition to this we would like to say that we work very hard to keep all our customers satisfied and often replace parts even though the warranty has expired.
For further questions, please contact us at info@cornichewatches.com.
Team Corniche
Meghan R
I recently purchased a watch from Corniche for my boyfriend, and the band is too large. They do not have the return instructions listed on the website, and have not responded to my emails or message. Does anyone have the return instructions? This company’s customer service is horrible!
Don
Hello everyone. I’m sorry to hear that anyone is having issues with any brand. But please keep in mind, this is a watch review site. We reviews many brands and have no affiliation with Corniche and reviewed the watch we were sent. If you have issues with your watch or service, I suggest contacting Corniche directly by email or maybe social media such as their Facebook page. There is nothing we at Watchreport can do with any issues you have with the brand or watch.
Thank you all.
Asem utt
They totally helped me out. I guess I was being eager that’s all
Eric P
Poor Customer Service. The company advertises their watches as both water-resistant and waterproof. They are not. I changed out my leather band for a nylon one so I would never have to take off my watch again: I loved my watch. I jumped in my salt water pool with it and now the watch facehas salt water inside of it. The watch is completely ruined. Watch is literally 2 months outside of Warranty. Customer Service tried to offer a menial discount on buying another new Corniche—I just spent over $400 on a brand-new high-quality Swiss watch—your product malfunctions and you want your customer to pay more money?! That’s not a solution.
Guess I should not have expected my waterproof watch to be waterproof and to last more than a year.
Gabriel
@Eric P, are you sure it’s even Swiss? Nowhere do the mentioned country of manufacture, which leads me to think it’s made in China. With some digging, I found out you can get something very similar if not the same on Alibaba for $12-24USD with a minimum order of 300units.
Just to be clear, I’m not saying product made in China is inherently of poor quality, as they are most certainly not, but it appears in this case Corniche has little input on the design or quality control of the product leaving the factory. It would be great if Corniche can clarify the situation.
eqfepkp
What a dumb comment. Good luck finding such watches from China. It’s mineral glass ffs, not cheap wish knockoffs.
Christian
In my opinion the customer service is one of the best I ever experienced. I had a small problem with my strap and they sent me a replacement the same day. I now have three watches from Corniche Watches and I’m super satisfied.