Corum Swiss Quartz Gold Coin Watch Review

Corum Coin watches comprise the brand's only collection to include quarts movements, marking a significant departure from its horological principles. The reason for the one-time shift lies in the case: it consists of an antique gold coin, which the watchmakers decided should be the timer's only highlight.

Indeed, if the main design piece is already a recognized collector's item, sought after by aficionados from around the globe, supporting it with a self-winding automatic caliber might be over the top. Some models, however, encase a hand-wound mechanical movement.

Currently in production is the $20 Double Eagle line, previous lines included $10 and $5 dollar cold coins. The watch itself presents a surprisingly stripped dial – there's the obverse and the reverse of the coin, the former featuring a pair of plain black minute and hour hands; the words “Corum” and “Quartz” appear respectively at three and nine o'clock – there are no markers or indexes of any sort, nothing contaminates the original coin design.

The Double Eagle was created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, a famous American sculptor and artist. Heads features the goddess of Liberty moving energetically towards the viewer, tails show a profile of an eagle in flight. The United States Mint produced various similar coins, designed by different artists, and Corum employ these pieces in their Coin watches.

Despite the visual variety, the reverse always shows an eagle (or two), either sitting or soaring. The face reveals human heads of Indians or profiles or figures of familiar mythological figures. The most successful pieces (particularly that of Saint-Gaudens) were resurrected, and the Mint still continues to use them.

Though its unclear how Corum inserted a caliber inside the coin, it appears that each watch's value depends on both the original design and on its being a working timepiece. Today, the rarest Double Eagles can cost up to hundreds of thousand of dollars, and one coin, a one of its kind piece, was sold for several million.

Rare watches command similar prices – so surprisingly Corum took no risks in converging the two spheres in one.