The Rockstar · First Edition of 297
Reservations close November 2026
Estimated delivery May 2027
Introducing
the Rockstar
Inspired by the Chrysler Building
Designed in New York City
Made in Switzerland
Delivered May 2027
44mm lug to lug
38.6mm case
9mm thin
$3,485
First Edition Pieces
$3,485 introductory pricing · Delivery estimated May 2027
Your unique number and "First Edition" are engraved on the caseback and matched to your warranty card.
No. 014 / 099 · First Edition
Every millimeter and angle
designed by hand in
New York City
Others copy the past.
We Built Something New.
Our Philosophy
Design without limits
We live in an era of imitation. The watchmaking world is crowded with the same safe designs, recycled year after year by brands too timid to draw anything new.
We refuse that. Our philosophy traces back to William Van Alen, the architect behind the Chrysler Building. When the world expected another flat-topped tower, he drew a sunburst patterned crown paired with a spire that pierced the clouds above it. He ignored his peers entirely and built what he wanted.
We work the same way. We didn't engineer a watch to fit an existing category, and we didn't shape a dial to chase what's selling this season.
We captured the raw spirit of New York’s most iconic Art Deco masterpiece, the Chrysler Building, and transformed it into a completely unique design. Every geometric angle on the case, every layered texture on the dial, and every link on the bracelet was drawn by hand, from scratch.
The result is a structural timepiece that looks like nothing else in the world.
He ignored his peers. So did we.
"I am not particularly interested in what my fellow men are doing. I wish to do things original and not be misled by a lot of things that are being done by somebody else."
-William Van Alen, architect of the Chrysler building
Its shape comes from the steel crown on the Chrysler Building. The sunburst pattern in the foreground with intricate, radiating metalwork in the background.
Taken directly from the spire: slim, upright, faceted down the center so a line of light runs along them as they sweep. Polished steel, filled with lume.
Polished 5-sided indices surround the inner dial, representing the pentagon-shaped openings where the Chrysler Building's eagles push their heads through.
The lugs step away from the case, the way the building's setbacks narrow it floor by floor. The lugs are dramatically sloped, and the mid-case features a wave pattern, mirroring the radiating terraced arches found on the building's crown.
The bracelet runs in straight lines, one link after another, like the window bands climbing the tower. Every link is shaped and finished by hand. Four specialized links add up to 3mm without tools, so the fit still works when your wrist swells on a warm afternoon.
Turn the watch over and the city keeps going. A subway car circles the caseback. The trains still run under the Chrysler Building long after everyone above ground has gone home.
Specifications
Most watches make you choose.
A dress watch is thin and usually hand-wound, but barely water resistant. A sports watch winds itself and survives a swim, but it's thick. The Rockstar doesn't ask you to choose.
- 9mm thin
- 100m water resistant
- Automatic winding
Marine-grade stainless steel, brushed and polished
Dimensions: diameter 38.6mm x height 9mm
Lug-to-lug: 44mm / lug width: 20mm
Water resistance: 100m / 10ATM / 330 feet
Sapphire crystal with 5 layers of anti-reflective coating
Polished fixed steel bezel
Embossed screw-down crown
Screw-down decorated caseback with a unique engraved serial number
Case weight: 62g
Base movement: Swiss made Sellita SW300-1b
Grade: Top. Glucydur balance, Anachron hairspring, Incabloc shock protection, adjusted in 5 positions
Winding: automatic / self-winding
Power reserve: 56h minimum, 60h typical
Balance / frequency: 4Hz / 28,800 vibrations per hour
Jewels: 25
Timing tolerance: -5/+12 sec per day
Central hacking seconds
Complication: time only
Micro-adjust increments: 0mm, 1.5mm, 3mm
Marine-grade stainless steel bracelet with 'Bien' engraving
Quick-release system for easy changing
Fits wrists from 14cm to 21cm
Weight including bracelet: 150g
Hands and indexes filled with Grade A BGW9 Super-LumiNova
Delivered in a presentation case with a leather wallet, metal warranty card, and microsuede cloth
We designed this system to still work when Bien is two hundred years old.
Hover a digit to see what it meansTap a digit to see what it means
Model
The Rockstar
One additional model line
Five complete model lines
Complication
Three hander
Date
Added complications
Material
Stainless steel
Precious metals
Advanced materials
Movement
Sellita SW300-1b
Customized movements
In-house movements
Case size
38.6mm
36mm, 41mm
28mm and up
Guaranteed against defects in materials and workmanship for four years from the date of delivery. It does not cover wear and tear, misuse, neglect, accident, or repair and modification by anyone other than us.
Watches may be returned within 7 days of delivery for a full refund. The watch and its packaging must be returned in unworn, original condition. Refunds are subject to inspection on receipt.
More in the FAQs.
the Founder
I should tell you who is asking
I have collected watches since childhood. I took a degree in Supply Chain Management, Information Systems, and Economics from Penn State University. I spent my career in consulting, project management, and sales. I learned why people make certain purchases, and how difficult it is to make anything well.
I moved to New York City in 2015 with my high-school sweetheart. We've been married for seven years, and we have a three-year-old daughter.
At some point I stopped waiting for someone else to build the watch I wanted. I elected to take a highly-specialized course to learn 3D modeling and CGI on my laptop, at night, after work.
I then drew every part of the Rockstar with my own hands. No AI. No catalog parts. Nothing customized from a supplier's shelf.
The hardest problems were the most subtle. Getting the case so thin while still sealing it to 100 meters. Engineering micro-adjustment links you cannot see. Convincing Swiss watchmakers to take a first-time brand seriously, at a price I could defend.
Bien is brand new. We do not have two hundred years of history, and I will not pretend we do. But every brand you respect started exactly here: one person, willing to begin.
Max Bien
Founder, Bien New York City
What I set out to build
- 01 Inspired by New York City's Art Deco architecture
- 02 A surprisingly thin case, sealed to 100 meters
- 03 Modern lugs that step away from the case
- 04 A unique bracelet with a hidden micro-adjustment system
- 05 Office to pool on the same bracelet
- 06 Swiss made, at a fair price
The Souscription
How watches were bought in 1796
In 1796, the most legendary watchmaker to have lived, Abraham-Louis Breguet, offered a new watch in Paris on unusual terms. A quarter of the price paid down. The balance on delivery. Not one part of it yet existed.
Watchmakers have asked this of collectors ever since: commit before the metal is cut.
The Rockstar's first edition works the same way.
297 pieces, offered first to the people willing to go first.
Straight to the atelier
Your souscription goes into making your watch.
None of it sits in inventory waiting for a buyer.
Refundable until your
serial number is assigned
The Acquisition
Two ways to begin
Both end the same way:
Your number on the caseback.
Your name on the first edition.
Reservations close November 2026.
Deposit Only
$645
Due now
- $2,840 due before delivery. $3,485 total.
Refundable until your serial number is assigned
Paid in Full
$3,485
Due now
- $0 due before delivery.
- Prioritized delivery before down-payment reservations.
- A free Delugs strap of your choice.
Every serial is matched to its warranty card.
The Voyage
Come get it
in New York
Meet me at the Chrysler Building, where this watch began. I will hand it to you in person, then we will walk to Bryant Park and size it to your wrist.
If the trip does not work, your watch ships insured and signature-required, wherever you are.
Delugs Strap Included
Free with every Rockstar paid in full.
Add a note
✓ Note added — taking you to checkout…
The city never asked permission
They built
it anyway
You are choosing to begin something with me, and I do not take that lightly. Thank you. — M.B.
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