Hands-On Review: D1 Milano Polycarbon White Sketch

D1 Milano is an Italian brand that has carved out a pretty specific niche for itself: accessible, fashion-forward watches with a distinctive visual language. The Polycarbon Sketch series is one of their most interesting expressions of their design-first philosophy. They have made a watch look like someone drew it. The black sketch marks on a matte white polycarbonate body make this effect pop.

Specs

• Reference: D1-PCBJ34

• Case size: 40.5mm

• Case thickness: 8.8mm

• Lug-to-lug: ~51mm

• Case/bracelet material: polycarbonate

• Crystal: Mineral with anti-reflective coating

• Dial: Matte white

• Movement: Seiko VJ21 quartz

• Caseback: Stainless steel

• Water resistance: 50M / 5ATM

• Weight: 54g

• Price: $195

What Works Well

The design

I enjoy the watch’s playful and fun design. The printed hands, markers, and lug details are all rendered intentionally imprecise, like someone was working from a concept sketch and decided the concept was better than the finished product would be. The matte white polycarbonate pulls this off because it reads like paper. Put it all together and you have something that could sit on an art director’s wrist as comfortably as a watch collector’s.

Weight and wearability

The case, bracelet, everything is only 54 grams. To put that in perspective, most steel sports watches are roughly 150-180 grams. The Polycarbon White Sketch essentially disappears on the wrist. For summer wear, sitting by the pool or laying out on the beach, days where you just want something comfortable, this is a great choice. The polycarbonate material is the whole story here, it’s what makes the design possible and what makes the wearing experience what it is.

Room for improvement

The lug pin indicator

This one is most likely a one-time issue, but it’s a frustration that could have easily been avoided. Most watch bracelets mark the inside of the lug with an arrow indicating which direction to push the pin when adjusting the bracelet. Simple, functional, industry standard. On the White Sketch, it’s a dot instead. No directional information whatsoever. When I was sizing the bracelet after it arrived, I pushed the pin the wrong way because there was nothing telling me which way was correct. It’s a small thing in the grand scheme, but it’s an annoying thing. Good industrial design is supposed to eliminate exactly that.

No micro-adjustment on the clasp

The hidden butterfly clasp looks clean, and I appreciate that about it. But there’s no micro-adjustment. You get whatever link sizing you get. This is a known trade-off with integrated bracelets at this price point, but with higher-end integrated bracelets you can get a half link to make the fit perfect. On the Sketch you don’t get that luxury, so although the fit is comfortable, it may not be exact.

Scratch prone material

Although the polycarbonate case and bracelet make the watch extremely lightweight, the trade-off is that it scratches more easily compared to steel. Getting this watch scratched could mess with the drawn-on design, ruining the sketch effect. But at this price point, it’s not the end of the world if it gets scratched up a little.

Conclusion

The D1 Milano Polycarbon White Sketch is a genuinely fun watch at a price that makes it easy to recommend. The design concept is executed well, the comfort on the wrist is hard to beat, and the few gripes I have are mostly nitpicks that come with the territory at $195. If you want something that stands out without making a huge financial commitment, this is worth a look.

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