Formex sells 10 Swiss Made lines from a $975 titanium field watch to a $7,900 micro-rotor dress watch, every one assembled in Biel/Bienne and sold direct since 2016. The count that matters is 8, the lines that could be ordered at check: the Aria's 100 pieces have sold and the Ceramica was out of stock.
Checked 19 September 2026 · list prices on the maker's site that day unless marked street
Formex is a Biel/Bienne brand, founded in 1999, that designs, develops and assembles its watches in-house at its headquarters there, by its own account, and marks them Swiss Made. It left retail in 2016 and sells direct only, with a 3-year warranty and free 30-day returns stated on its story page and in the site header. The storefront shows Swiss francs by default and switches to pounds by location; every dollar figure on this page is the store's own US dollar price, returned by its storefront API on 19 September 2026, not a conversion, and the franc price sits beside it in each entry. Where a line shows a range, it runs from the cheapest strap to the dearest strap or bracelet on that line.
The spec sheets settle three things. Every model has a sapphire crystal, and the Essence lines, Field, Stratos and Aria list a sapphire back as well. Lug width follows the case: 20 mm on the Essence 39, Field and Stratos, 22 mm on the Essence 41, Leggera, Ceramica and all three Reefs, 19 mm on the Aria. Water resistance is 30 m on the Aria, 100 m on the Essence lines and the Stratos, 150 m on the Field and 300 m on the Reefs. COSC certification is stated on the Essence 39, 41, Leggera and Ceramica, the three Reefs and the Aria, and it is not stated on the Field Automatic or the Stratos UTC; the Stratos is regulated to plus or minus 7 seconds a day instead. The consequence is plain: a buyer of the Field or the Stratos is paying for a Swiss Made watch and not for a chronometer, and the word should not appear on the receipt.
Two catalogue notes. The brand's patented Case Suspension System is stated on the Essence 39, 41, Leggera and Ceramica pages only; the Reef, Reef GMT, Field, Stratos and Aria pages do not mention it, so a Reef buyer is not paying for it and should not expect it. And the Essence 43 no longer exists: its collection and product URLs return 404 and the Essence page lists 39 mm and 41 mm only. For most buyers the decision is between $1,690 and $2,490, where the Essence and the Reefs sit, and the rest of this page is about which.
Founded1999
BasedBiel/Bienne, Switzerland
AssembledDesigned, developed and assembled in-house at the brand's headquarters in Biel-Bienne, Switzerland (Swiss Made per the 2017 rules)
MovementsSellita SW200-2 Power+ automatic (COSC on Essence lines), Sellita SW300-1 automatic COSC (Reef), Sellita SW330-2 GMT automatic COSC (Reef GMT), Soprod Newton P092 automatic COSC (Essence Ceramica), ETA 2892 with Dubois-Depraz GMT module (Stratos UTC), FX01 micro-rotor manufacture calibre engineered by Horage, COSC (Aria)
Price range$975–$7,900
SoldDirect-to-consumer only; the brand states it opted out of brick-and-mortar sales in 2016. Storefront defaults to CHF (GBP/EUR/USD/JPY/CAD/AUD selectable); USD figures below are the store's own USD prices returned by its storefront API on 2026-09-19.
Warranty3-year international warranty; free repairs within two weeks for defects (https://formexwatch.com/pages/our-story/)
Read the table by movement. The Sellita SW200-2 Power+ runs four lines, and the difference between them is the certificate: the Field carries it uncertified with a 65-hour reserve, the Essence 39, 41 and Leggera carry it COSC certified. The Reef 39.5 and Reef 42 run the Sellita SW300-1 COSC, and the Reef GMT the SW330-2 COSC, a caller-style GMT whose 24-hour hand is set independently. The Stratos UTC runs an ETA 2892 with a Dubois-Depraz module that jumps the local hour by pusher. The table also shows the Essence Ceramica (Soprod Newton P092, $3,690, out of stock at check) and the Aria (FX01 micro-rotor by Horage, $7,900, all 100 pieces sold), which have no entries below.
Case materialgrade 2 titanium, hard-coated to 900 HV
Price$975
The Formex to buy under $1,000, and the only one there: $975 to $1,115 (CHF 750 to 895), 40 mm grade 2 titanium hard-coated to 900 HV, 46.6 mm lug to lug, 10.6 mm thick, 20 mm lugs, 150 m, Sellita SW200-2 Power+ with a 65-hour reserve, on nylon velcro or calf leather. No COSC certificate is stated, and that is what separates it from the Essence 39 at $1,005 more, 1 mm smaller, 1.1 mm shorter, 50 m lower. On pre-order at check, orders from 18 September 2026 shipping mid-November 2026. The alternative for the money is the Halios Universa II at $995, steel, on a bracelet. The trade at Formex is a strap, and a wait until November.
The Essence for a wrist that takes 41 mm, and on a strap $160 cheaper than the 39: $1,690 to $1,890 (CHF 1,400 to 1,500) from strap to quick-release steel bracelet. 46.5 mm lug to lug, 10.6 mm thick, 22 mm lugs, 100 m, Sellita SW200-2 Power+ COSC, Case Suspension System stated. The table sorts it below the 39 only because the data records the bracelet price. The alternative for the same money is the 39 itself, 2 mm smaller, 1 mm shorter lug to lug, 0.6 mm thinner, on 20 mm lugs. The trade is 22 mm lugs, which widen the strap and the watch alike.
The Essence to buy if the wrist is under 7 inches: 45.5 mm lug to lug ties the Reef 39.5 for the shortest orderable case (only the sold-out Aria is shorter, at 45.45 mm) and 10 mm is the thinnest bar the 6.9 mm Aria. $1,850 to $1,980 (CHF 1,470 to 1,570) from strap to bracelet, meteorite dials at CHF 1,850 to 1,990, 39 mm, 20 mm lugs, 100 m, Sellita SW200-2 Power+ COSC with a 65-hour reserve, Case Suspension System stated. On pre-order at check. The alternative is the Essence 41, the same watch scaled up by 2 mm and cheaper on a strap. The trade is the wait, and $160 for the smaller size.
Case materialproprietary carbon fibre composite, 40g case
Price$1,995
Buy the Leggera for the 40 g case or not at all: against the steel Essence 41 the $105 buys the carbon fibre composite and costs 0.4 mm of thickness. $1,995 (CHF 1,780), with Forged Carbon at CHF 1,950 and meteorite dials at CHF 2,150. 41 mm, 46.4 mm lug to lug, 11 mm thick, 22 mm lugs, 100 m, Sellita SW200-2 Power+ COSC, Case Suspension System stated, on NATO, calf leather or rubber with a carbon composite folding clasp; no bracelet is offered. Most colourways were out of stock at check. The alternative is the steel Essence 41 on its bracelet at $1,890. The trade is a bracelet you cannot have, and stock you may not find.
The Reef to buy if the wrist is the question: the same $2,085 to $2,230 (CHF 1,760 to 1,890) as the Reef 42, 1.5 mm shorter lug to lug and 0.4 mm thinner. The Baby Reef in the store: 39.5 mm, 45.5 mm lug to lug, 11 mm thick, 22 mm lugs, 300 m, Sellita SW300-1 COSC, a unidirectional 120-click bezel with an interchangeable zirconium oxide ceramic insert, on quick-release rubber or a screwed-link bracelet, both on a carbon composite clasp. The alternative at close to the money is Serica's 5303 at €1,590, 39 mm, 46.5 mm lug to lug, 300 m, on a COSC Soprod. The trade is 22 mm lugs on a 39.5 mm case.
The full-size Reef, at the same $2,085 to $2,230 (CHF 1,760 to 1,890) as the 39.5, with the Radiant Bronze at CHF 1,950 to 2,065. 42 mm, 47 mm lug to lug, 22 mm lugs, 300 m, Sellita SW300-1 COSC, unidirectional 120-click ceramic bezel; the brand quotes a perceived height of 9.4 mm, which is a figure for the brochure, and the case is 11.4 mm. The screwed-link bracelet and the rubber strap are both in the box. The alternative for the same money is the Reef 39.5; the alternative for $270 more is the Reef GMT, the same case with a second time zone. The trade against the 39.5 is 1.5 mm of length for 2.5 mm of dial.
Bezelbidirectional 48-click, removable, ceramic or steel insert, BGW9 lume
LumeSuper-LumiNova BGW9
Case material316L steel
Price$2,355
The GMT diver at $2,355 to $2,490 (CHF 1,920 to 2,050), and a caller GMT, which decides who should buy it: the Sellita SW330-2 COSC sets the 24-hour hand independently and the local hour does not jump, so it suits the desk that phones another zone, not the traveller. 42 mm, 47 mm lug to lug, 11.4 mm thick, 22 mm lugs, 300 m, 56-hour reserve, a bidirectional 48-click removable bezel with a ceramic or steel insert and BGW9 lume, across bracelet, mesh, leather and rubber. The alternative for $270 less is the Reef 42 on three hands; for $2,115 more, the Stratos jumps the hour. The trade is the GMT type, and it is the whole decision.
Ø41 mm · automatic · 100 m · $4,470 · Jumping-hour GMT · ETA 2892
Formex Stratos UTC 41
41 × 47 mm · ref 40 × 47
MovementETA 2892 with Dubois-Depraz GMT module, pusher-set jumping local hour, regulated to +/-7 s/day
Case41 mm
Lug to lug47 mm
Thickness11.8 mm
Lug width20 mm
Water resistance100 m
Crystalsapphire front and back, AR treated
Bezelfixed
LumeSuper-LumiNova BGW9, hand-painted numerals
Case material316L steel, multi-layer case
Price$4,470
The Formex for the traveller, and the most expensive current model in stock: $4,315 to $4,470 (CHF 3,350 to 3,480), on a screwed-link bracelet or leather. The movement is an ETA 2892 with a Dubois-Depraz GMT module, set by pusher so the local hour jumps in 1-hour steps, regulated to plus or minus 7 seconds a day and not COSC certified, which at this price is worth knowing. 41 mm multi-layer steel case, 47 mm lug to lug, 11.8 mm thick, 20 mm lugs, 100 m, numerals hand-painted in BGW9. The alternative for $2,115 less is the Reef GMT. The trade is 200 m of water resistance for the jumping hour, and $2,115.
Formex is for the buyer who wants a Swiss Made automatic with COSC on the spec sheet rather than implied, between $1,690 and $2,490, where 8 of the 10 lines state it. For the wrist under 7 inches the Essence 39 and the Reef 39.5 at 45.5 mm lug to lug are the two to consider; the 42 mm Reefs and the Stratos at 47 mm are for a larger wrist or a taste for presence. Look elsewhere if the budget is under $1,000, since the Field is the only Formex there and it was on pre-order to November, and the Halios Universa II at $995 and Serica's 6190 at €1,090 are the neighbours; if you want a bracelet on the Field or the Leggera, which ship on straps only; or if you have settled on the Ceramica or the Aria, neither of which could be bought at check.
Where it sits against the field
In this data set Formex's nearest neighbour is Serica, the other Swiss Made brand that prints COSC on its dials. The Serica 5303 diving chronometer (€1,590, 39 mm, 46.5 mm lug to lug, 12.2 mm, 300 m, Soprod M100) is the direct comparison for the Reef 39.5 ($2,085, 45.5 mm, 11 mm, 300 m), and the Serica 8315 GMT (€2,090, 39 mm, 46.5 mm, 200 m) for the Reef GMT ($2,355, 47 mm, 300 m); Formex is the shorter and thinner watch in the first pair and the higher-rated in the second. Farer's Endeavour ($1,370, 41.5 mm titanium, 45 mm lug to lug, 300 m, La Joux-Perret G101) undercuts both Reefs without a certificate, and Farer's Resolute ($1,220, 39 mm, 45 mm, 100 m) sits under the Essence 39 the same way. At $975 the Field is priced against the Halios Universa II ($995, 38 mm, 48 mm, Sellita SW300-1, assembled in Canada), the Serica 6190 field chronometer (€1,090, 38 mm, 46.5 mm, 200 m, COSC) and the Nodus Canyon ($1,199, 41 mm, 47 mm, 200 m, La Joux-Perret G101); of the four only the Field is titanium, and only the Serica is certified.
Questions people ask
Where are Formex watches made?
Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. The brand states that it designs, develops and assembles its watches in-house at its headquarters there, and the watches are marked Swiss Made under the 2017 rules. It has sold direct only since leaving retail in 2016, with a 3-year warranty and free 30-day returns stated on its site.
Are Formex watches COSC certified?
Most are. COSC is stated on the Essence 39, Essence 41, Essence Leggera, Essence Ceramica, Reef 39.5, Reef 42, Reef GMT and Aria pages. It is not stated on the Field Automatic (Sellita SW200-2 Power+, 65-hour reserve) or the Stratos UTC, whose ETA 2892 is regulated to plus or minus 7 seconds a day rather than certified.
Formex Essence 39 vs Essence 41: what is the difference?
Two millimetres of case and the lug width. Both run the Sellita SW200-2 Power+ COSC, both are 100 m with sapphire front and back and the Case Suspension System. The 39 is 39 mm, 45.5 mm lug to lug, 10 mm thick on 20 mm lugs, $1,850 to $1,980. The 41 is 41 mm, 46.5 mm lug to lug, 10.6 mm thick on 22 mm lugs, $1,690 to $1,890.
