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Brew’s Metric Chrono Taxi gives New York a compact chronograph

A checkerboard dial and caseback give the 36 mm steel Metric its taxi character; 1,000 are listed at US$495 or A$792.

Hen & Mills Editorial · 4 min read · 20 October 2026

• Brew released its 1,000-piece Metric Chrono Taxi on 19 October, using the familiar compact chronograph case for a New York taxi theme.
• Checkerboard graphics cross the black-and-yellow dial and decorate the caseback, while a VK68 hybrid meca-quartz movement runs the chronograph.
• The steel-bracelet watch is listed by Brew at US$495 and was displayed at A$792 with Australia selected on its storefront.

Taxi yellow and checkerboard graphics are difficult to mistake for anything else. The trick is knowing when to stop: too much nostalgia and the watch becomes a souvenir, too little and the reference disappears. Brew has put the motif onto the square-cornered Metric chronograph rather than starting a new case from scratch. The limited Metric Chrono Taxi uses its familiar compact form to give the city's black-and-yellow language a place to sit.

A checkerboard that keeps the chronograph legible

A band of black and white checks cuts across the dial, while taxi yellow marks the outer scale and the running seconds display at six. The centre remains matte black. Brew also carries the pattern onto the chronograph seconds hand, a smaller detail that moves across the dial when the stopwatch is running. The words “New York” sit near six o'clock. They could have dominated the theme, but at this scale they read more like a maker's note than a slogan.

The dial is busy, as a two-register chronograph with an outer timing scale usually is. Its colour divisions help distinguish the elapsed-time display at nine from the running seconds at six, while the broad hands and applied markers remain distinct against the dark centre. Brew says the markers are luminescent, and the sapphire crystal gives the watch a sensible everyday shield. What matters most is that the checks cross the centre without swallowing the hands; the time is still the first thing one can find.

The 316L stainless steel case measures 36 mm across and 41.5 mm from end to end, with a thickness of 10.75 mm. Those dimensions are the strongest argument for using the Metric platform. A themed chronograph can easily become an oversized object whose graphic idea is more comfortable in a photograph than on a wrist. Here the short length limits that risk. Water resistance is 5 ATM, or 50 metres, which is a practical rating for ordinary daily use rather than an invitation to treat it as a dive watch.

A hybrid movement suits the price and format

Brew uses a VK68 hybrid meca-quartz chronograph. Quartz handles the timekeeping, while a mechanical module operates the chronograph functions, with both powered by the same battery. The choice helps keep the case slim and the price below that of many fully mechanical chronographs. It also makes sense for a watch whose appeal is immediate graphic character rather than a movement on display. The stopwatch is the interaction that gives the checked seconds hand its purpose.

The back continues the idea with a polished checkerboard around Brew's coffee-bean emblem. It is a better use of the reverse than another printed taxi reference on the dial would have been. The brand began with watches intended to time espresso preparation, and the emblem keeps that identity in view while the front looks towards New York streets. The caseback remains stainless steel, so this is a designed surface, not a window onto the hybrid calibre.

A brushed and polished steel bracelet is the sole band configuration listed on the product page. It has quick-release fittings and a folding clasp with micro-adjustments. The lug width is 19.85 mm, a particularly precise figure that owners considering another band should check before buying an ordinary 20 mm replacement. The bracelet carries the case's broad metal surfaces down the wrist and feels integral to the design. A coloured strap would compete with a dial already doing plenty of work.

Brew's official product page set the release for Monday 19 October at 10 am Eastern Time and limits the edition to 1,000 pieces. The date is a stated sale launch rather than an inferred timestamp from a shop feed. That distinction matters for a small edition, where stock can change quickly. At the time of this report, the Australian storefront displayed an Add to Cart control for the steel version. That is a snapshot of the listing, not a promise that every remaining watch will still be there when this article goes live.

The Metric Chrono Taxi is cheerful without concealing its practical choices. It is small, water resistant to a sensible degree and uses a serviceable hybrid chronograph at a clearly stated price. The dial asks the owner to enjoy a visual joke, but the case, crystal and bracelet are not jokes themselves. That balance is what saves it from being just a miniature souvenir of a yellow cab ride.

Metric Chrono Taxi pricing and availability

The Brew Metric Chrono Taxi is limited to 1,000 pieces. Brew lists the steel-bracelet version at US$495 on its United States storefront; with Australia selected, the storefront displayed A$792 at the time checked. Those are the brand's displayed regional figures, not a currency conversion. The exact product page offered an Add to Cart control when reviewed, while live stock can change. Brew lists international shipping and a two-year warranty on the page.