The District M1 Is Great

The adidas Originals watch line—Archive, Process, District—got an update, and the timing is convenient enough that I feel obligated to write about it. The new designs refresh the color palettes and tighten the movements while keeping what made the originals work: clean seventies functionality, the kind of no-nonsense minimalism that Dieter Rams would have been comfortable with. Nothing decorative, nothing smart. Just time, legibly displayed.

The District M1 in particular—black body, copper-colored pushers, under €200—keeps catching my attention. It’s the kind of watch that looks good without announcing itself, which is increasingly rare. The Apple Watch does announce itself, loudly, and then it monitors your sleep and sends you notifications about your resting heart rate and reminds you to stand up every hour like a disappointed parent. An analog watch just tells you you’re late and minds its own business. The comparison isn’t even close.

I’m not pretending this is neutral coverage. The District M1 is great. I’m writing that down, clearly, because someone I know is presumably going to read this at some point and the Christmas question hasn’t been answered yet. Last year was socks. The year before was a Justin Bieber CD. Once, unbelievably, a comb. The bar is low enough that a watch clears it without any effort at all.