The Van AlenFirst Edition of 288

Name: The Van Alen, First Edition
Brand: Bien
Price: 3386.0 USD
Availability: PreOrder

Pre-orders openDecember 22

$3,386 · or start with $688

Estimated delivery July⁠–⁠September 2027

First Edition Pieces

288

98Cobalt
92Terracotta
98Iron

92 Terracotta, 98 Cobalt, and 98 Iron

Inspired by the Chrysler Building

Designed in New York City

Made in Switzerland

Individually numbered

Your piece number and “First Edition” are engraved on the caseback and matched to your warranty card.

No. 38 / 92

Every millimeter and angledesigned by hand inNew York City

I am not particularly interested in what my fellow men are doing. I wish to do things original and not be misled by a lot of things that are being done by somebody else.”

- William Van Alen, architect of the Chrysler Building

Others copy the past.We built something new.

A vintage-toned view of the Chrysler Building above the East River

The Van Alen, Cobalt dial, on its steel bracelet

01 / 05

– Our Philosophy

Design without limits

We live in an era of imitation. The watchmaking world is crowded with the same safe designs, recycled year after year by brands too timid to draw anything new.

We refuse that. Our philosophy traces back to William Van Alen, the architect behind the Chrysler Building. When the world expected another flat-topped tower, he drew a sunburst-patterned crown paired with a spire that pierced the clouds above it.

We work the same way. We didn’t engineer a watch to fit an existing category, and we didn’t shape a dial to chase what’s selling this season.

We took the Chrysler Building apart, detail by detail, and drew a watch from it. Every geometric angle on the case, every layered texture on the dial, and every link on the bracelet was drawn by hand, from scratch.

The result looks like nothing else on the wrist.

He ignored his peers.
So did we.

The Chrysler Building's crown and spire against a blue sky, New York City

– The Anatomy

Six parts of the Van Alen are borrowed from the Chrysler Building.

01

Dial

The building’s crown

Its shape comes from the Chrysler Building’s steel crown: a sunburst in the foreground, radiating metalwork behind it.

02

Hands

The spire

Taken directly from the spire: slim, upright, faceted down the center so a line of light runs along them as they sweep. Polished steel, filled with lume.

03

Indexes

The eagles

Polished five-sided indexes surround the inner dial, representing the pentagon-shaped openings where the Chrysler Building's eagles push their heads through.

04

Case

The setbacks

The lugs step away from the case the way the building’s setbacks narrow it, floor by floor. They slope steeply, and the mid-case carries a wave pattern taken from the crown’s terraced arches.

05

Bracelet

The windows

The bracelet’s center links run in straight lines, like the window bands climbing the tower. Two pairs of hidden micro-adjust links each add 1.5mm, up to 3mm, without tools, so the fit still works when your wrist swells on a warm afternoon.

06

Caseback

The subway

Turn the watch over and the city keeps going. A subway car circles the caseback. The trains still run under the Chrysler Building long after everyone above ground has gone home.

The windows

The bracelet’s center links run in straight lines, like the window bands climbing the tower. Two pairs of hidden micro-adjust links each add 1.5mm, up to 3mm, without tools, so the fit still works when your wrist swells on a warm afternoon.

The building

The watch

Caseback – the watch

Caseback

The subway

Turn the watch over and the city keeps going. A subway car circles the caseback. The trains still run under the Chrysler Building long after everyone above ground has gone home.

The Van Alen, Terracotta dial, on its steel bracelet

– Specifications

Most watches make you choose.

A dress watch is thin and usually hand-wound, but barely water resistant. A sports watch winds itself and survives a swim, but it’s thick. The Van Alen doesn’t ask you to choose.

9mmthin
100mwater resistant
Automaticwinding

Marine-grade stainless steel, brushed and polished

Dimensions: diameter 38.6mm x height 9mm

Lug-to-lug: 44mm / lug width: 20mm

Water resistance: 100m / 10ATM / 330 feet

Sapphire crystal with 5 layers of anti-reflective coating

Polished fixed steel bezel

Embossed screw-down crown

Screw-down decorated caseback with a unique engraved serial number

Hands and indexes filled with Grade A BGW9 Super-LumiNova

Case weight: 62g

Base movement: Swiss made Sellita SW300-1b

Grade: Top. Glucydur balance, Anachron hairspring, Incabloc shock protection, adjusted in 5 positions

Winding: automatic / self-winding

Power reserve: 56h minimum, 60h typical

Balance / frequency: 4Hz / 28,800 vibrations per hour

Jewels: 25

Timing tolerance: -5/+12 sec per day

Central hacking seconds

Complication: time only

Micro-adjust increments: 0mm, 1.5mm, 3mm

Marine-grade stainless steel bracelet with ‘Bien’ engraving

Quick-release system for easy changing

Fits wrists from 14cm to 21cm

Weight including bracelet: 150g

Delivered in a presentation case with a leather wallet, metal warranty card, and microsuede cloth

We designed this system to still work when Bien is two hundred years old.

Hover a digit to see what it means

Tap a digit to see what it means

Guaranteed against defects in materials and workmanship for four years from the date of delivery. It does not cover wear and tear, misuse, neglect, accident, or repair and modification by anyone other than us.

Watches may be returned within 7 days of delivery for a full refund. The watch and its packaging must be returned in unworn, original condition. Refunds are subject to inspection on receipt.

I should tell you who is asking

I have collected watches since childhood. I took a degree in Supply Chain Management, Information Systems, and Economics from Penn State University. I spent my career in consulting, project management, and sales. I learned why people make certain purchases, and how difficult it is to make anything well.

I moved to New York City in 2015 with my high-school sweetheart. We’ve been married for seven years, and we have a three-year-old daughter.

At some point I stopped waiting for someone else to build the watch I wanted. I took a course in 3D modeling and CGI and worked through it on my laptop, at night, after work.

I then drew every part of the Van Alen with my own hands. No AI. No catalog case, dial, or bracelet.

The hardest problems were the most subtle. Getting the case so thin while still sealing it to 100 meters. Engineering micro-adjustment links you cannot see. Convincing Swiss watchmakers to take a first-time brand seriously, at a price I could defend.

Bien is brand new. We do not have two hundred years of history, and I will not pretend we do. But every brand you respect started exactly here: one person, willing to begin.

- Max Bien

– What I set out to build

Inspired by New York City’s Art Deco architecture
A surprisingly thin case, sealed to 100 meters
Modern lugs that step away from the case
A unique bracelet with a hidden micro⁠-⁠adjustment system
Swiss made, at a fair price

The Van Alen seen from its caseback, on its bracelet

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

Image 6

– The Voyage

Come get it
in New York

I’ll hand you your watch myself, here in New York, and size it to your wrist. If you’ve never been to the city, this is as good a reason as any.

It isn’t instant, and that’s part of it. You get something to look forward to, and a story that comes with the watch.

If the trip doesn’t work, your watch ships insured and signature-required. Either way, I’ll send you an update every two weeks until it’s on your wrist, and I’m just a message away in between, whether you want news sooner or just want to talk about the watch.

Abraham-Louis Breguet, painted portrait, around 1800

– The Souscription

How watcheswere boughtin 1796

In 1796, Abraham-Louis Breguet offered a new watch in Paris on unusual terms:

A quarter of the price paid down
The balance on delivery
Not one part of it yet existed

The Van Alen’s first edition: 288 pieces, offered first to the people willing to go first.

Watchmakers have asked this of collectors ever since: commit before the metal is cut.

Same idea: you commit before the watch exists.

Pre-order

Choose your Van Alen

Pick a dial and a strap. Pre-⁠orders open December 22 · 9 AM EST.

Dial

Strap

No straps match this filter.

More Photos ↗

Two ways to pre-⁠order

Deposit$688$2,698 due before delivery~~Not included: Free strap of your choice from Delugs.~~Ships after every in-⁠full order. In full$3,386$0 due before deliveryFree strap of your choice from Delugs.Ships before every deposit order.

Something went wrong adding this to your cart. Please try again.

Pre-⁠orders openDecember 22, 2026

Estimated deliveryJuly–September 2027

Price includes U.S. tariffs, duties, and shipping. Local sales tax calculated at checkout. Pre-orders paid in full ship first, in the order placed, then deposits, in the order placed.

Swiss Made
Assembled, regulated, and inspected in Switzerland, then inspected again in New York.
Free Shipping
Free, fully insured, signature-required shipping in the United States.
7-Day Returns
Return an unworn watch in original condition within 7 days of delivery for a full refund.
4-Year Warranty
Against defects in materials and workmanship, for four years from the date of delivery.

In an era of imitation

Wear an
original

You are choosing to begin something with me, and I do not take that lightly. Thank you.