Hands-On With The Dutch Holthinrichs Signature Ornament Lab Series 1.24 Watch

There’s so much to say about the Holthinrichs Signature Ornament Lab Series 1.24, but when I see the patinated copper dial adorned with 24K gold leaf, I want to sing the famous Nat King Cole jazz standard “Autumn Leaves.” The melancholy song starts with the words “The falling leaves drift by the window” and ends with “When autumn leaves start to fall.” Now look at the 3D-printed watch with green patina and gold flakes on the dial, and tell me you’re not humming the song.

For those unfamiliar with the Dutch brand Holthinrichs, here’s a bit of insight. Michiel Holthinrichs, an architect turned watch manufacturer, made a name for himself and his brand by introducing the world’s first watch with a 3D-printed stainless steel case in 2016. State-of-the-art technology and machining processes created cases with swooping lines and sensual curves. All this innovation and originality come at a cost. To allow more people to enjoy his watches’ fascinating shapes, Michiel now uses CNC machining to create more affordable watches. The gateway to the brand is the Signature Ornament, the brand’s CNC-machined steel entry-level watch, which costs €3,500 before taxes. The Signature Ornament Lab Series 1.24 we got our hands on features a 3D-printed Grade 5 titanium case with skeletonized lugs, and everything about it shows the founder’s background as an architect.

Hands-on with the Holthinrichs Signature Ornament Lab Series 1.24

The Lab Series shows the brand’s experimental side. The first watch of its kind was a limited edition of just 30 now-sold-out pieces. The 3D-printed Signature Ornament Lab case has the exact dimensions as the CNC-machined Signature Ornament models, but it comes in industrial-looking Grade 5 titanium instead of steel. Manual finishing creates a stark contrast between the polished areas and the raw parts that result from the printing process.

The case has a 38.5mm diameter, a 46mm lug-to-lug, and a 9.85mm profile with the 2.05mm-thick crystal. It is fair to say the proportions are traditional, but the look is thoroughly contemporary. Because of the swooping lines and open-worked lugs, the lightweight case with its hand-finished front and raw back has a lot of presence.

Michiel Holthinrichs is a car nut, and the flowing silhouette is a direct link to his love for classic automobiles with flowing lines. The Lab Series has specific skeletonized lugs. They’re as thin as Holthinrichs dares to print them, and it almost seems they’re attached to thin air instead of the case. The unfinished curved case back wears very well and comfortably, and its finishing shows a connection to brutalist architecture.

It’s printing, yes, but not as you know it

Whenever I think of printers, I think of trouble — paper jams, empty cartridges right after you replace them, impossible connections, etc. Hopefully, 3D printing is less frustrating. It’s way more high-tech since it involves selective laser melting and precise milling. Interestingly, a print run is limited to 45 cases per build plate, and it takes up to 48 hours to print those 45 cases. After printing and milling, the case of the Signature Ornament receives extensive hand-finishing to make it look the way it does in our photographer Max’s pictures. The raw 3D-printed textures on the case back stand out, especially thanks to a few contrasting, hand-decorated details.

Finally, we can talk about that stunning dial

The originality doesn’t stop with the unusual case. It continues with the fascinating dial of the Signature Ornament Lab Series 1.24. As with the case, details are abundant, and the contrast of textures and finishes is a shared theme. The result is raw, expressive luxury in the form of a dial that begins its life in Delft, the brand’s hometown. A slice of brass receives a carving treatment to give it the optimal effect when it goes through a multi-stage, forced patina process. To create the vibrant color, the brand uses electrolysis and heat treatment to form a firm copper oxide layer. While the process may be forced, the result is a fascinating, deep, and even natural-looking green shade. But the dial isn’t finished yet.

The 79 patinated dials— more about that number later — then travel to Scotland, the place where Chris Alexander, The Dial Artist, works and lives. He applies gold leaf by hand using a special adhesion process. Just like every dial that leaves Delft is one of a kind, so is each gold layer applied in Scotland. In other words, the dial of the Signature Ornament Lab Series 1.24 is unique times two.

With the gold applied, the dials travel back to Delft, where final assembly awaits. A finished Signature Ornament Lab Series 1.24 shows beveled and brushed open-worked hands and an inner flange featuring floating hour markers.

Concessions on the inside

The Signature Ornament Lab Series 1.24 is more of an ornamental watch than a technical one. What I mean by that is that the brand chose a relatively simple movement in the shape of a robust and trustworthy Sellita SW300 over a more refined piece of Haute Horlogerie equipment. Nevertheless, the see-through case back reveals a rotor in the design spirit of the dial. Like the dial, the tungsten oscillating weight is an in-house component. It a solid layer of purple-blue patina, the result of proprietary heat and acid treatment.

The Holthinrichs Signature Ornament Lab Series 1.24 on the wrist

When you put the Signature Ornament Lab Series 1.24 with its cognac-colored 20mm rooster-leg leather strap on the wrist, you feel this is not an ordinary watch. The strap, for instance, is already an interesting and original choice. I had a soft spot for Jaeger-LeCoultre’s ostrich-leg leather straps from yesteryear, and now I’ve switched to rooster leather with its peculiar structure. It looks organic and wild yet stylish and different without trying too hard. It closes with an in-house 3D-printed titanium buckle that suits the style of the case and functions without hassle.

Because of its size and weight, the watch wears effortlessly, but you do need to like its visual presence. If you’re not up for an almost-hypnotic display of autumn colors, the Holthinrichs Signature Ornament Lab Series 1.24 might be too much for you. Not that there will be too many of them. The watch is a limited edition of 79 pieces, and that number corresponds to gold’s atomic number on the periodic table.

The Signature Ornament Lab Series 1.24 costs €5,900 excluding taxes, and the first deliveries should make their way to clients with a distinct taste for the adventurous, innovative, handmade exotic watch stuff before the end of 2025. Please let me know in the comments if this watch rocks your boat or if it is rocking a little too hard for you.