After positive comments by Robert-Jan about Basel, my attention was drawn to Linde Werdelin’s new time pieces. I was aiming first at the classy 3Timer that was launched in the 2009 line up, but I changed my mind quite quickly to go for the older model, the original 2Timer. The design is a bit more uncompromising and sporty.

The LW team in London is was very helpful and the watch arrived with the speed of light. LW packs it in a black shiny box with an architectural shape. It’s actually the first watch box that I could to put on top of my night stand instead of in the drawer.

RJ covered the LW concept of attachable outdoor instruments, so: the watch! On first impression it has a the wow factor. Like RJ remarked: This design is unmistakably Linde Werdelin. The 2Timer has presence. Please note that the reviewed watch is of the first series of Founders Watches. The current version might have slightly different specs. The black steel caseback is numbered 40/222 and the dial has the writing >>founders watch<< on the dial above the depth rating.

The 2Timer has a pretty busy dial layout and matching bezel design. If you’re looking for a stealthy dress watch, skip the 2008 models. I must add that the readability of the dial is very good and the dial design is not too dominant in the total concept. Comment on the 24 hour hand: it’s quite small and gets lost sometimes under the unusually broad hour and minute hands. This changed already in the 2009 model with the 24 hour scale going to the bezel and the hand stretching out all the way to the rehaut. Maybe those guys in Geneva weren’t that crazy after all .

Enhancing readability is the strong green lume on the markers, very effective. But the very green color is not that pretty to me and I’d prefer a more white-ish lume like shown on their website. The angular shape of the case is fascinating every time I look at it and the finish of the brushing and polishing is impeccable. The ratcheting system of the bezel does it’s job but leaves room for improvement.

The watch is big although not gigantic: it compares to a 44mm Panerai or a Royal Oak Offshore when on the wrist. I have a small 7 inch wrist and I’m perfectly fine with it. For it’s size it’s quite a flat timepiece, not as heavy or high as an Offshore and the case bends down over the wrist nicely for maximum comfort. The crown is fully covered by the big crown guard and sits high enough not to dig into the hand.

The 2Timer comes standard on a rubber strap with a solid feel and sporty look. The clasp, the screws for attaching it to the case, everything fits exactly and oozes quality. It has a brushed clasp with a nicely shaped and logoed buckle. Minus is that it sticks out quite a bit from the strap, so it will do plenty of desk diving. My 2Timer was before shipping mounted on an optional black alligator. The alligator is quite an investment but it is extremely well made and finished. It balances the sporty design of the watch, making it versatile and wearable with both a casual outfit as well as business attire. The first day in my office the 2Timer attracted plenty of interested looks, more than any Panerai or Rolex ever does. The shape of the case is what makes it pop, even for non-WIS.

I won’t dig any deeper now, since it’s meant to be a first impression review. I must say this Linde Werdelin 2-Timer is a spectacular watch. For it to become perfect in the way for example a Rolex is perfect, it will need more evolution. Well, for a young brand it’s not a fair comparison of course. And seeing how old and imperfect Rolexes are now the real deal in watch collecting: why try to be perfect?

After strapping my 2Timer around the wrist there is one thing I’m sure about: Linde Werdelin has created a unique DNA that has all the richness and qualities to found a watch brand on. I’m very interested in getting to meet those guys and see where they’re heading in the future. And don’t forget: if you get an LW, which I think you should, go the extra mile and get the alligator strap as well.

While companies are struggling to survive and governments making dubious plans to reanimate whole economies, it’s This Time of Year again… What? Ah yes, Basel, the annual party thrown by the watch business! The haute horlogerie is hit hard by what is potentially the largest blow since the quartz crisis. The Rolex company is hit extra hard according to the Swiss newspaper L’Agefi because of a hundreds of millions investment disaster linked with the Madoff scandal. This supposedly led to the departure of CEO Heiniger, who was only the third leader of the company in it’s long and rich history. True or not, Rolex withstood many storms in the past and presented their newest time pieces last week at BaselWorld like it was business as usual.

The introductions at Rolex follow a specific ritual: There are two kind of pictures coming in on the boards: first there are the official press pictures issued by Rolex. The look and feel of these are somewhat air brushed a strange artificial lighting. The watches are floating in the air, surrounded by abstract flows of color and liquids. Probably the goal is to get us in a state of delirium ready to draw our wallets at the Authorized Rolex Dealer. Secondly, there are the quick shots by the visitors. In the heavy spot lights the watches are covered with dust and carry heavy shadows, exactly what the official pictures try to avoid. While the press pictures trigger a >>What Is This?< < feeling, the amateur shots most of the time leave us with a disappointing >>This Is It?< <. Our German neighbours always stand first in line to take the This-Is-It?–shots. They publish them with the R-L-X.de logo all over the place, not really making the result any better. Fortunately, some time later the first good quality wrist shots appear on the net and give a better impression of the new models in real life.

Hot question on the boards: when do the new models hit the stores? Last years showed Europe being ahead of the rest of the world and small countries getting their first deliveries sooner than the big ones. So, in we here in Holland we should be OK. BUT: most of the first pieces go to incrowd, celebs and grey market traders offering them for sky high prices on the net. Well, the money crisis will probably smoothen up this part of the ritual this year.

Another thing softening the hype might be the not so exciting introductions… I try to avoid reading any reviews before writing my own, partly not to be too influenced and partly because first reactions can be very negative. Maybe people expect THE watch that will bring paradise on earth will come out, so disappointment easily takes over. Luckily the ritual always has a happy end. Many afficionados still buy the new models after all and shoot razor sharp and sexy pictures. Proudly they post them on the boards, accompanied by halleluja stories about how paradise did come to earth after all. No better commercials than that: the rest of the WIS world follows.

So, what happened? First a flash back to 2008: Last year the intro of the new Submariner was a rather quiet one because of the spectacular and much debated Deep Sea. This first new Sub in 30 years had a hideous blue color and because of the white gold case and bracelet also a hideous price level. But quiet introductions might not be that bad for a company preferring to bring change at a glacial pace. This year there was no new Deep Sea and the spot light turned on the new TT Sub. The update with bigger case and maxi dial gives the watch more presence, the massive bracelet and new clasp are great improvements that are widely appreciated. The Sub bezel is graphically very pretty due to less numbers on it than the ceramic GMT-bezel and also the font is thinner, giving it a nice subtle balance. In all a TT Sub is not everybody’s cup of tea of course, but I rate the black version 9/10. With gold writing on the dial and a gold date disc instead of the new white one it would have been a perfect 10.

Than there is the classic Date-Just, better known as DJ. It has gotten it’s long awaited supersizing, going from 36 mm to 41 mm like the Day-Date last year. It has the well known oyster bracelet and calm and classic dial designs. As pointed out about the Milgauss last year: 41 mm is a whole lot of space for a classic watch that has nothing going on than time and date. No diving bezels, 24 hour hands or text about original ring lock systems to keep the eye busy. How on earth to fill the space? Well, the stick markers were blown up to the same gigantic proportions as on the Milgauss. It will probably take some time to get used to and there is nothing really wrong with the watch, but maybe 39 mm would have been easier to design and a better size for a dress watch.

In the introductions there is always a tactical point from Rolex. For example they introduce their new sports models in gold and two tone first, probably to boost the sales of the gold models a bit. With the DJ they only introduced it with a fluted bezel. It is a nice bezel but most people simply prefer a domed one, so, why not give it to them right from the start?

Well, so much for the news. There was a lot of watch decorating going on at the Rolex stand that can not be classified as design: icy Daytona’s full of diamonds, some with romans, some with sticks. Some nice but predictable white croco straps for the ladies, like most brands introduced 5 – 10 years ago. More “home decorating” going on with the 36 mm DJ’s: flowery wall papers on the dials, diamond bezels, randomly chosen combinations of sticks and romans in surreal color combinations. I guess Rolex wants more sales to women, fine. But the way to persue this goal does not make Rolex stand out from other brands anymore like they always did in the past. On the other hand, these flower dials can probably be exchanged once the girls get tired of them, just like the wall paper at home. And the watch itself still has all the qualities Rolex always had. So, a lot of decorating, no news, but no harm done either.

The conclusion last year was that after a Deep Sea that can travel almost 4 kilometers under water there is not much functional news to bring anymore for Rolex. Supersizing is continued this year with the intro of the new DJ. More bling, well, same watches, plenty of bling added.

The good news is that the home decorating mainly took place in the Oyster line and not too much in the Professional line. The slight improvements made with the GMT like the ceramic bezel, new clasp and more substantial case are gradually introduced across the sports line. No surprises happening with the roll out of the new TT Subs. We always want to know what’s new at Rolex, but the best news can be sometimes that there is not much going at all.

The 2008 Basel show is lovingly called “this time of year” around the Rolex boards. The rules of the game are that Rolex S.A. does it’s best to guard their news untill the start of the show, and the rest of the world seems to be hunting down every particle of information available. It starts in January with a wide variaty of wild rumours, and it always narrows down in March to some mixture of truth and nonsense. This years truths were a new and bigger Sea-Dweller and a red gold Daytona, secrets not really well kept. The nonsense turned out to be a Daytona with a date window and the rumours about anything on a rubber bracelet.

So, what does the horological land scape look like after Basel? For the broad trends in the whole industry I’m not informed well enough yet, but for the Rolex brand some initial conclusions can be drawn. The first and most significant one is that Rolex follows the big watch trend after all with a bonanza of 40 and 41 mm dress watches and a Sea-Dweller of 43 mm. An interpretation of this fact could be that their attempts to revive the 36 mm size for men were to no avail: the Turn-O-Graph, the new Datejusts and Day Dates just don’t work for todays men anymore in terms of sales. 40 mm is the new standard and even the stable and cautious design school of Rolex has to follow the market.

My second observation is that the design job of filling this bigger dials in some way seems to puzzle the Rolex company. A range of solutions has been chosen, from a wild carnival of colors for markers, hands and glass on last years Milgauss, to dials with more and more expressive writings and numerals even on this years new 36 mm watches. The new Day Dates got a more busy dial and the bigger Sea-Dweller Deep Sea gained an extra Power Ring under the glass and a lot more writing as well. Not to start again about last years new Yacht Master II that is filled with funny primary colors and complications. Somehow the designers seem to be afraid of simplicity or empty spaces. Although the new Day Date is a wonderfull new piece, in all the new dial layouts are far from perfect in my opinion.

Thirdly it is noticable that with the introduction of the DeepSea, Rolex continues their beautiful high end tool watch tradition. The fears of every model being turned into a polished dress watch did not become reality after all. But as pointed out in the text of their own press kitt: The deep seas are part of peoples dreams. And the depth rating of 3900 meters it will also stay there and will not come to life: there is not much use even for divers to have a watch with this qualities. Does that make this a silly invention? Bottom line: Yes. Does that make it a silly watch? No, not at all. The DeepSea is an impressive piece of innovation and an absolutely gorgeous tool watch I’d love to own. It is Non Plus Ultra, nothing superior seems to exist. That is what we all want and why we spend ridiculous amounts on luxury watches, right? On the other hand, in moving in this direction Rolex accepts that their wrist watches have nothing extra to add to modern day life anymore. Back in the ’50’s they did add usefull functionalities to watches when they invented Submariners for real divers and GMT Masters for real pilots. Without going into any suggestions for other concepts, this does feel like a missed opportunity to me.

In all the noise of the new innovations one should not forget to mention the gradual and flawless update of the Submariner. It moved in the same direction as the lovely new GMT II: maxi case, maxi hands and a new bezel. Although the color of blue of this first white gold model has been a turn off for many and the watch has been renamed The Smurf already, color is a matter of taste and the new Sub is a thing of beauty in the best Rolex tradition.

So, where does this leave the Rolex line up right now? With the new Day Dates and Datejusts Rolex covers the dress and jewelry watches segment just perfectly, both for women as well as for men again, there is space for innovations that go extreme and beyond with the DeepSea, and the main lines of Submariner and GMT II had their subtle but very strong updates. It is a job well done and worthy of the companies legendary name. Actually… I’m looking forward to Basel 2009 rumours already. – Evert ‘08

Credits for the picture go Elmar @ Oysterinfo.de

Authentic tool watches and military watches are getting more and more attention these days. Not only old military Rolexes and vintage Benrus watches for example,  but also the more modern pieces by brands like Marathon and CWC are popular. Many of these watches have a matte black finish to the steel. This color is created not by paint but by physical powder deposition (PVD). Part of this demand for rugged (looking) tool watches is the interest in the old stories and adventurous values behind them. It is the story of a watch being “issued” to the military, complying with certain “specs”, being used in combat or the choice of a certain commando unit for the watch. Many of these stories are genuine and interesting developments that stem from a “form follows function” design. Great examples are the watches Panerai developed for marine frogmen in the 1930’s with the protective lever or the Rolex Submariner in the 1950’s that soon qualified as the no. 1 choice for diving.

The demand for tool watches happens to be a very profitable business. And demand creates is own supply. The watch industry responds with a wide range of matte steel or PVD products from the oversized U-boats, over to square-headed Bell and Rosses, to limited edition blackened Rolex Sea-Dwellers: no matter what, anything seems to sell and get applause these days. There is nothing wrong with these products, but in my view only the watches that had or have a real functional purpose and a clear cut design will survive the test of time. They are recognized by a real history, a refreshing simplicity and a design that pleases the eye without being invented to please. The rest of the pack won’t survive in terms of lasting appreciation or a economic value. The merits of a watch are a matter of personal taste, but my advise would be: Don’t believe the PVD hype.

Hi, my name is Evert, I’m a WIS friend of mr. Fratello aka Robert-Jan. He kindly lends me his blog space to share my thoughts when and if worthwhile. Thanks to him and I hope you enjoy.

Since the beginning of my watch passion, I’m interested in Rolex. The internet turned out to be the place to be to fuel my passion, and it was through the internet, that I bought my first serious watch. It was an Omega Seamaster coming from a guy who was saving for a Rolex Sea-Dweller. Back then the prices of Rolex watches seemed to come from another planet in my view. Although I could already see the magic of the “SD”, I thought this guy was nuts to spent thousands of dollars on it. Later I did – of course – take the plunge myself and acquired a Submariner No Date, but still the idea of the price tag horrified me.

Years later, me and many WIS with me, have gotten used to ever increasing Rolex prices. The transparency in de the market is bigger than ever with sites like chrono24.com, and the sales corner of the German forum even showing charts with sales prices under the button “investor”. But all this information has done nothing in terms of creating heavy price competition. The public is simply too hungry for Sports Rolex.

Even more than the modern models, the prices of vintage Rolex are hitting the roof. They are praised for their uniqueness, character and their hour markers that turn from white to yellowish brown over time. No sapphire crystals that are so common nowadays on this pieces, but the characteristic plexi glass. A highly scratchable material, but still loved by many with the slogan “Plexi is Sexy”. The posts on the watch forums, countless watch-auctions and many unofficial Rolex information sites seem to put more oil to the fire every day. It supports the upward spiral of the Rolex Sports price tags.

In this madness, some opt out and don’t buy any vintage. I decided to participate just a little in the craze by buying a Submariner Date reference 1680 from the late ’70’s. Having done that, it is time for me to take a break from studying the hectic and complicated vintage market and take all the time necessary to contemplate the purchase of a modern Sports model again. Well, not really too much time: With the price increase adopted by Rolex just this March 2008 on almost all current models, also these are bound to go up again. If you love the Rolex brand, the spiral of price and praise is hard to escape!