A mechanical wristwatch, especially if it is supposed to come from a German brand, requires a certain financial outlay.

With small exceptions, at least four-digit euro amounts are required, there is almost no upper limit.

This scares off many customers and manufacturers, and a few feel motivated by it.

Dustin Fontaine, founder of the Sternglas watch brand, is one of the latter.

Fontaine is a former web designer in the third decade of life who has set himself the goal of selling Bauhaus-style watches under his own brand.

We took a closer look at the Naos Automatic model with a diameter of 38 millimeters, which can be ordered from the Hamburg-based online shop for 369 euros. At least for viewing, we also got a pre-production copy of the Asthet model (399 euros) with a diameter of 40 millimeters, which will be available in June. It is the second batch of a model that has since been sold out and that arose from a crowdfunding campaign. Both timepieces have the basic concept in common: a round stainless steel case with a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal over a white dial, plus a leather strap that can be changed quickly and without tools thanks to the small slider in the strap bridge. When it comes to movements, the customer can choose between quartz movements from the Swiss brand Ronda and Japanese Miyota automatic movements,which the Citizen Group sells in large quantities to watch brands all over the world.

The Naos automatic is equipped with the caliber 821A, which Miyota itself classifies as the standard movement, while the Asthet is equipped with the younger and more modern caliber 9015, which Miyota sells as the "Premium Automatic". Whereby premium is relative here. For its premium movements, Ronda guarantees an average deviation of minus ten to plus 30 seconds per day, abbreviated as s / d, for standard movements it is even minus 20 s / d to plus 40 s / d. In fact, the Naos on the arm went around ten seconds a day, on an electronic timing machine we even determined minus 11.7 s / d. That's a lot in the watch world. For comparison: A tested Swiss chronometer allows a maximum deviation of - 4 s / d to + 6 s / d, which is easily possible with Swiss standard movements such as the ETA 2824-2 or the Sellita SW 200-1.Watches equipped in this way cost around 1,000 to 2,000 euros in stores. Expensive chronometers work in the narrow range of - 2 s / d to + 2 s / d. But around 5000 euros have to be spent quickly for this.

The two star glass models are cheap for less than 400 euros, and you should base your expectations on that. For the price, there is no European craftsmanship, but an almost fully automatic watch from Asia, which is designed and sold by a German company. Obviously, at Sternglas, the delivered goods are also carefully checked. Because the processing of the two watches is okay.

The Aesthet comes with a bead-blasted steel case with a closed steel bottom, which is a bit mundane. The Naos appears more elegant and chic with a highly polished case, the bottom of which is even equipped with a viewing window, behind which you can watch the polished clockwork at work. The manufacturer's homepage praises this model as a classic, which is a big word for a watch brand that is now five years old. In combination with a beautiful dial and perfect hand lengths, it appeals to us emotionally more than the technically and visually more modern Asthet, whose minute and second hands are too short and do not reach the minute track. We don't want to talk about a price difference of 30 euros.