Since my review on the Linde Werdelin 3-Timer, a number of people asked me how the size of the 3-Timer compares to an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore. Although I answered them that the Linde Werdelin is a bit more flat on the wrist and less ‘in your face’, last weekend I had borrowed an AP ROO Safari for a review and decided to take a side-by-side picture with the Linde Werdelin. As you can see, the dimensions of the Linde Werdelin are comparable to the AP ROO Safari when it comes to width and length, but the height is quite different. The Linde Werdelin is a bit less ‘in your face’ than the Royal Oak Offshore. As Kristian Haagen wrote on my Facebook photo album (where I put this picture as well): “Great pair! They should marry instantly. They will have beautiful children.” I wholeheartedly agree.

Of course, you can expect a review of the AP ROO Safari here soon

After a week of fun in the snow (wearing my Linde Werdelin 3-Timer), it is time to get back to work and back to blogging about watches. During my vacation, the invitations for BaselWorld and press releases are flooding my mailbox. So beware of some frequent updates here at Fratellowatches. Furthermore, an Orient review is coming up. Although I never took a serious look at Orient watches before, it seems to be a lot of bang for the buck. More this week!

As you can see above, I shot some pictures of my Linde Werdelin timepiece during the holiday. Although I am not particularly careful with this watch, it seems to be hard to get any scratches on this baby. Just recently, a reader of my blog asked me about the Linde Werdelin and if it was a scratch magnet…  Well, it is not. After owning it for several months now, the scratches on my Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and IWC Ingenieur are far more present (and visible). I don’t think there is even one scratch on the LW. Nice eh?

Back to answering a lot of unread e-mail on my Mac.

Since I got back from my honeymoon on the 13th of November, I am proudly wearing my Linde Werdelin 3-Timer with brown dial, no.13/22 (my birthday is on the 13th of April). Ofcourse, I already wrote an article on the prototype that Linde Werdelin sent me, but I thought it would be nice to do a small write-up on the final version as well.

The picture above shows three of my watches, all – in my opinion – similar in design and wear. My review doesn’t compare these three watches, since they each have their own pros and cons (and prices), but I included the photograph to show that a relative new brand can create such a great design that approaches the classic ‘Genta’ lines of the AP RO and IWC Ingenieur, without being a copy cat of these models.

Click here for the review on my Linde Werdelin 3-Timer

Linde Werdelin’s 3-Timer is almost ready for production. Since the introduction during BaselWorld last March, the 3-Timer probably has become – together with the SpidoLite – their most popular model of the collection.

With only a limited run of 22 timepieces for the brown dial version, this is probably going to be an instant hit. I have ordered one after seeing it during BaselWorld 2009, and opted for the brown dial version right a way. About a week ago, I received Linde Werdelin’s prototype brown dial watch and will share some of my experiences and opinions with you.

Since this is a prototype watch, I don’t want to write a full review yet. Anyhows, below you’ll find some of the things that (I believe) really sets this watch apart.

The eye for detail by Linde Werdelin is superb. As you can see on the photo above, the numerals in the bezel are in the same brown color as the dial. At first I couldn’t believe that this was true, and had to do a double check with a loupe. The photograph clearly shows the brown color, but when there is little or no good light around, it is quite hard to detect.

The same goes for the date wheel. A matching color has been used for this part as well. I cannot understand that there are still watch brands who use the standard white date wheel with black printing. Another cool detail is that the brown squares (which aren’t really squares) are not evenly brown. The sides of the ‘nobs’ are a few shades lighter, this creates a very impressive dial, that reminded me of a tortoise-shell.

The strap of this watch is a so-called Tracked Calf strap. I have seen similar straps before, for Panerai watches, and they were called Riva straps because the pattern is reminding us of the famous mahogany Riva decks. So, I will stick to Riva strap as well I have to admit that I never got so much comments on a watch before, and especially on the strap. It really makes the watch stand out.

The prototype watch that I have came on a LW signed buckle. Folding clasps are also available, but I do not fancy folding clasps as they appear to either stick into the back of your wrist or make the strap a bit too ‘thick’ on the back of your wrist.

One of the other cool things about this watch is the design of the case. First of all, the edges of the case are really sharp. The polished and brushed parts really play with the (sun)light, as similar case designs do as well (think AP Royal Oak). The large hexagonal decorative screws give the watch a bit of an industrial look, which I happen to like Same goes for the bezel, besides the brown numerals, the bezel consists of a polished and brushed part, as you can see above.

The Linde Werdelin case design reminds us of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak series, but what I only discovered after wearing the watch for a day or so….  the watch case also reminds me of the Patek Philippe Nautilus. Look at the ‘ears’ of the watch, not entirely Nautilus, but it does remind me of one. The sides of the watch also have a function, namely that of clamping The Reef or The Rock instruments to the watch. Now, I am not an avid rock climber or diver, but at least I know it is possible to attach one of these neat little computers to the watch. Just in case.

As for how it wears… it is certainly bigger than any of the other watches I currently have in my collection, including an IWC Ingenieur 3227 (42.5mm). However, as you can see two pictures up, it still fits under my cuffs. It actually wears quite comfortable, even with the stiff Riva strap. The case back of the watch is quite flat, and the lugs are positioned under a slight angle, to fit your wrist better.The luminous stuff on the dial (I assume it is Luminova) really works well in the dark, also even after a short moment of exposure to the sunlight.

I didn’t check the watch for its accuracy, but will do so with my own brown 3-Timer of course. I think it is a bit unfair to put a prototype watch on a Witschi device, as I don’t think this watch is about the movement. Although the mechanical automatic movement has an extra timezone, the movement is not the most important factor of this watch. However, I am confident that the used ETA 2893-A2 (derived from the famous 2892-A2) is able to do the job right, as it does for a number of other models and brands as well.

Any negative points? So far so good I think… the design is very specific and will not be to everyone’s liking (one can see this as a plus!), perhaps the price of 4800 Euro is a bit on the edge for an ETA powered watch, but then again.. it is not only about the movement..  I think 4800 Euro (4080 Euro for the black dial model, limited to 222 pieces and without Tracked Calf strap) gives you a watch with a unique case design that really stands out and which makes it possible to upgrade it with one of their neat little wrist computers (The Reef and The Rock). And again, I was really amazed by the fact that this watch is so comfortable on the wrist despite the size of the case. To me, it is also important that I can wear the same watch either in my spare time or at the office (with a suit). This watch easily can do both.

As they say in German, this watch is ‘Der Hammer’. This prototype makes me want my number ‘13′ brown dial watch even more….

BaselWorld 2009 just ended, and when thinking about adding a new watch for my own collection/watchbox, I’ve become very impressed by Linde Werdelin’s new watches.  Although their press releases are quite extensive, nothing beats a ‘real’ look & feel of a wrist watch. In Basel, I was finally able to see all new models in the flesh. I have to admit that their watches needed to grow on me a bit, as they looked a bit too functional for me in the first place. This changed when I saw them on the wrists of Jorn Werdelin and Sky Sit when I met them in London a few months ago.

Now, for their Basel highlights, the Oktopus , Spidolite and 3-Timer,  I must say that these are impressive time pieces! Not only for their target audience (divers/sports), but also for the fellow (m/f) who wants to have a ‘good watch’ and do not want to find himself buying something everyone else has already. The design of the watch is out of the ordinary (it IS a Linde Werdelin watch, and not a timepiece that you could recognize as another brand), you are able to change straps like you can with Panerai watches and you can add the Reef or Rock module that will fit your needs as a (professional) climber/diver/ski-er.

LW 3-Timer in gold

The Oktopus will be available for 5900 euro (for the stainless steel model, including 19% VAT), the 3-Timer for 4050 Euro (incl. 19% VAT) and the Spidolite will be available from 6550 (incl. 19% VAT) to 9520 Euro for the skeletonized version. Actual prices can be found on the LindeWerdelin website.

The cool thing about the Spidolite with skeleton dial is that its movement has been optically finished by Svend Andersen. The movement used by the SpidoLite Svend Andersen (SA) is a vintage A. Schild caliber 1876. As written before, the Oktopus uses a modified ETA 2892-A2 movement. A movement that has proven itself over time. The The 3-Timer uses a follow-up version of the ETA 2892-A2, namely caliber ETA 2893-A2. This movement is basically the same as the 2892-A2, but with an extra hour hand for the extra timezone. We have seen this movement before in (a.o.) the Omega Seamaster GMT.

SpidoLite (vintage A. Schild) movement, finished by Svend Anderson

During my conversations with the people over at Linde Werdelin, I found that they have been very cooperative and understand the needs and wishes by the modern watch fanatic (scoops on forums, blogs and being able to order directly from their website). This, combined with the great quality watches is a unique selling point in my opinion. I have become very enthusiastic about the brand and their watches. Especially the 3-Timer is a watch that fits my ‘need’ for a next time piece, as I love the extra timezone as a complication on a wrist watch. This watch is available in stainless steel, gold/steel and gold. I really like this particular model in stainless steel:

The pattern on the dial is superb! You can also see that the crown guard on Linde Werdelin’s watches has a real function, with most other brand’s watches, it doesn’t cover the whole crown and loses functionality. A good example of this is with the Omega Seamaster Professional or former Rolex Sea-Dweller. The crown on these watches is only protected half-way.

In Basel, Aphrodite (the Linde Werdelin PR lady) showed me the Oktopus, 3-Timer and SpidoLite models and I was able to try them on, have a closer look on all the details and ask questions about the watches. The Oktopus has been covered here already in detail (click here for the Oktopus coverage), but in the flesh, the watch is even nicer than I thought it would be.

The bezel amazed me, the numerals are raised (I didn’t see that much depth in the official press photos) like the bezels of the Rolex Yacht-Master or Blancpain diver. I prefer this over a ‘printed’ bezel anytime. In the picture below, you’ll see a wrist shot made by Frank (of Monochrome.nl) who joined me on the trip to Basel. You can see the bezel with raised numerals, but unfortunately it is still hard to see the ‘depth’.

The Oktopus is available in stainless steel, gold and titanium. Linde Werdelin uses Grade 5 titanium, which is considered to be the workhorse of all the titanium grades. The most common market for this grade of titanium is aerospace.

The same titanium is also used for the SpidoLite for all of its versions. The eye-catcher of this collection is of course the SpidoLite SA, with its skeletonized dial. However, the ‘regular’ titanium version and the black DLC version (both with titanium dial) are impressive as well. The latter one has a yellow coated crystal. I actually don’t know if this suits a special purpose, but I have never seen this before on a watch. I can’t say that I like it for myself, but I assume that there will be people who will (I am also not in for DLC’ed watches ). Below, you see the wrist shots of the skeletonized version, the titanium version and the DLC version with yellow coated sapphire crystal.

To me personally, the SpidoLite SA was one of the high lights of the BaselWorld show this year. This light weight watch with A.S caliber 1876 movement, finished by Svend Andersen is very comfortable on the wrist and the skeletonized dial reveals parts of the movement. Although I gave up on watches bigger than 44mm, all Linde Werdelin watches measure 46mm x 49mm, and they actually wear very well on the wrist. There will be only 44 watches of this version and the yellow coated sapphire crystal version. The normal titanium (with ditto dial) version is limited to 222 time pieces. The DLC and titanium (non skeletonized) watches have an ETA 2892-A2 movement ticking inside.

Linde Werdelin also presented their advertizing campaign in Basel, using comics by Bertail (also known for his art in comic Shandy and l’Enfre des Pelgram). These drawings made for Linde Werdelin are very refreshing and I haven’t seen watch manufacturers using material like this before.

Rumours go that some of the characters in the advertizing material represent the people who work at Linde Werdelin. This couldn’t be confirmed though.

Click on the video below for Linde Werdelin’s new collection, reveiled during BaselWorld 2009.

Do not hesitate to leave a comment on these wacthes, as I am curious to know what you think of them…

Big thanks to Frank for taking pictures during our visit and Martin Issing (Linde Werdelin) for the additional information on the SpidoLite movement.