Ernest polka dot watch with black strap and grey mirror dial

Ernest polka dot watch: a rigid silver bangle set with round black discs

The band is one continuous hoop of polished silver-tone metal: press it and it springs back instead of folding. Between the wide round black discs the connecting pieces are flat strips rather than articulated links, and a few of the discs are left bare, so they work as small mirrors of their own. Where the hoop curves away from the wrist in the second image you can see the links are flat rather than rounded, which is what keeps the whole thing sitting still instead of rolling. The crown is small and ridged, tucked close to the case at three o'clock so it stays clear of a sleeve. The rest of the range puts these two parts together quite differently, as which faces and which bands sit together elsewhere in the line-up will show you.

The black mirror disc and its small white dial

At arm's length the white circle no longer reads as part of the face: it looks like a separate object resting on the black, and only close up do you see that both are printed on one surface. That white dial sits slightly high of centre and carries black Arabic numerals from 1 to 12, the ERNEST signature and the word QUARTZ. Two black hands travel across it. The time therefore lives on one bright island, sharply cut out of the dark, which makes a glance at the wrist unambiguous.

Giving the black disc room to be seen

A mirror is only interesting when there is something for it to catch, so leave the wrist clear around it. Against a black polo neck the disc does the job of a necklace. With a pale denim shirt and cuffed trousers it reads as more of a graphic detail than jewellery. One practical point: a rigid hoop will not slide under a narrow cuff, so this is a sleeves-up watch rather than a boardroom one.

Keeping the shine, and the day the battery stops

A dry soft cloth takes the haze off the discs and the black face, both of which hold fingerprints far more readily than brushed metal does. Put the watch on last and take it off first, and store it face up. Once it does stop, here is what you need to swap the cell without marking the back.

At a glance, from the two photographs

Six rows, each pointing at something you can check in the images above.