There are many ways a certain watch can become your next target. Brands hope that presenting their latest creations and making them somewhat rare sparks your desire. For my next watch acquisition, I no longer follow a certain brand’s novelty announcements. Well, in a way, I am following all brands, which I partly justify by what I am doing here at Fratello. I also don’t have any more grail watches that I dream of owning one day. Certain watches or aspects of them do captivate me, though, and the Venezianico Arsenale Bizantino is a perfect example.
I often run what I call “watch projects.” Such a project is always ignited by a certain model that, while very interesting to me, is not exactly what I want to own. A simple reason why I won’t want a certain interesting watch is its unaffordable price. Another reason that often hinders me is the “wrong” size of a watch. Sometimes, I absolutely don’t like a certain watch, but I find the decoration, material, complications, arrangement of indications, or whatever interesting. And sometimes, this aspect I like becomes a bee in my bonnet.
Engraved watches
In 2015, I discovered a Panerai Radiomir with an engraved case. I immediately liked it. The engraving was a neat enhancement of the watch’s design. Unfortunately, that watch was hard to obtain and rather expensive for a Radiomir. A year later, Panerai introduced the PAM00672, which even featured an engraved version of the P.3000 movement. That model was limited to 99 pieces and cost €25,800.
Later, I stumbled upon the brand Magrette, based in Auckland, New Zealand, which has a few models with engraved cases in its portfolio. An artist from New Zealand manually decorates these watches with motifs originating from Maori culture. I find these watches interesting, and they are relatively affordable. However, this brand just didn’t produce a watch that really made me pull the trigger.
In 2021, Maurice Lacroix introduced the Aikon Urban Tribe, which even had an engraved bracelet. This watch fascinated me, but the style of its engraving wasn’t quite what I was looking for. In 2023, the brand released a version of this watch with a skeletonized dial.
Last year, Venzianico presented the Nereide Acquaforte. The engraving on this watch’s case was not executed by hand but through an ancient method applying nitric acid (historically called “Aquaforte”) to etch motifs into a metal surface. This model is a variant of Venezianico’s Nereide dive watch and costs a budget-friendly €850. The decoration, showing the Renaissance motif of an acanthus-leaf pattern, is exactly to my taste. That was it! I bought it. Mission accomplished!
Well, until Venezianico released another engraved watch…
Along comes the Arsenale Bizantino
As its name suggests, the Arsenale Bizantino’s decoration is inspired by patterns found in Byzantine art. And the brand applied this decoration even to the bracelet. The result is an engraved pattern that spreads across many different surfaces of the watch, resulting in a harmonious overall impression. Every link of the bracelet carries this pattern in an individual size matching the link’s dimensions. This attention to detail demonstrates the great effort invested in the design of this watch.
In contrast to the Nereide Acquaforte and several other engraved watches, the details carved into the steel case and bracelet are not filled with black varnish to enhance the presence of the engraved pattern. On the Arsenale Bizantino, the engraved patterns are matte details in a polished surface. This way, the whole watch appears rather bright and shiny. In combination with the gray fumé dial, the overall result is a quite elegant timepiece.
In addition to the gradient effect, the dial provides a sunray finish that creates varying reflections, enhancing the elegant appearance. The dauphine hour and minute hands provide good readability, and though the needle-thin seconds hand becomes invisible under certain light, it serves as an indication that the watch is running. The ingot-shaped hour indexes are more elaborate than typical baton indexes. A restrained minute track around the dial’s rim provides a detailed time indication when needed and blends with the dial’s background when viewed from a distance. The hour and minute hands, as well as the indexes, are filled with luminous material.
A unique bracelet
A broad, polished chamfer along the upper case flanks continues along the outer edges of the bracelet to intensify the visual unity of case and bracelet. When I look at the side of the case, I notice that the engraved pattern does not repeat along the sides of the links. The screws fastening the bracelet to the case do not look very attractive, especially up close. But when I wear the watch, those details on the sides don’t strike me. The winding crown visually stands out a bit. Even its color is slightly different. But this only becomes apparent at close inspection.
The bracelet links connect via screws, not pins, which is a remarkable feature at this watch’s price point. Another pleasant detail is the folding clasp, which is a well-formed, solid piece of metal. Some watches in the lower price brackets still provide something like a stamped piece of tinplate instead. Because the ends overlap, the bracelet must be closed in the correct sequence. It tapers from 25mm at the case to 17mm at the clasp. While it was a hair-puller at the beginning, it stopped after I wore the watch a few times. Don’t ask me how this is possible. The reason is not that it had pulled out all my wrist hair.
Hidden gems
The Miyota 9039 caliber driving the Arsenale Bizantino is a robust, thin, and inexpensive movement that keeps the price of this watch at an affordable level. This movement provides a more sophisticated handling than the Seiko calibers in some other Venezianico watches, and its accuracy is significantly better than what the specification states. Venezianico doesn’t expose the movement through a display back. That wouldn’t enhance the watch’s charisma. Instead, the brand chose a pleasantly decorated case back with a motif supporting the theme of the design.
The case back carries a depiction of Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I and his wife, Empress Theodora, who are considered the last Roman rulers who paved the way towards the Byzantine Empire. This laser-engraved image bears an impressive level of fine detail. Notice that the decoration along the rim of the case back is a copy of the decoration on the bezel.
Wearing the Arsenale Bizantino
As I already mentioned, the Arsenale Bizantino appears shinier than I expected. But this shine is not annoying, and it adds to the elegant appeal. For my 19cm wrist, the 40mm case should not be any smaller. Due to the integrated design of the bracelet, the case has just a 44mm lug-to-lug length. Its 9.95mm total thickness provides a comfortable wearing experience.
From a distance, the engraved pattern is hardly noticeable, which renders this watch not too flamboyant for daily wear. The quite restrained dial, showing only the tiny brand logo and the brand name in miniature print in the minute track at 6 o’clock, has a mysterious quality to it. I like this kind of dial, and for me, it matches the overall design quite well.
Considering that I couldn’t find an engraved watch to my taste for quite some time, the fact that Venezianico had two solutions to my quest is one more peculiarity in the watch world. Since the brand offers extremely good value for money, I could even afford both of them. While I am quite happy with both engraved watches, the Arsenale Bizantino is a bit more special. The build quality Venezianico offers is absolutely solid, especially considering the price. The Arsenale Bizantino costs €900. I don’t think another engraved watch will pique my interest for the foreseeable future.
The first batch of the Arsenale Bizantino is sold out, but you can pre-order yours now from the next batch. To do this and to learn more about Venezianico, visit the brand’s website.
What do you think of the Arsenale Bizantino? Do you prefer a more restrained design, or do you welcome the added detail?
Andreas Ahrens
2026-02-18 14:00:00