BaselWorld 2009 equitable finished, and while thinking about addition a new watch for my own collection/watchbox, I’ve chance very impressed by Linde Werdelin’s new watches.?Ǭ� Although their press releases are quite nationwide, nought beats a ‘real’ look & feel of a wrist watch. In Basel, I was eventually able to see all new models in the flesh. I must confess that their watches needed to grow on me a morsel, as they looked a bit too functional for me in the first place. This changed while I saw them on the wrists of Jorn Werdelin and Sky Sit when I met them in London a few months ago.

Now, as their Basel highlights, the Oktopus , Spidolite and 3-Timer,?Ǭ� I have to say namely these are impressive period pieces! Not merely as their target crowd (divers/sports), but likewise because the fellow (m/f) who wants to have a ‘good watch’ and do not want to detect himself purchasing something everyone else has yet. The chart 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 proficient to alteration canes like you can with Panerai watches and you can multiplication the Reef or Rock module that will appropriate your needs as a (vocational) 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 costs can be base on the LindeWerdelin website.

The chilly entity about the Spidolite with frame 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, that 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 know the needs and hopes by the modern watch fanatic (scoops on forums, blogs and creature able to mandate directly from their website). This, combined with the large quality watches is a peerless 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 afterward time piece, as I adore the extra timezone as a complication on a wrist watch. This watch is available in stainless steel, gold/steel and gold. I truly like this particular model in stainless steel:

The pattern on the dial is superb! You can also see that the cap 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 agreeable sample of this is with the Omega Seamaster Professional or sometime Rolex Sea-Dweller. The crown on these watches is only protected half-way.

In Basel, Aphrodite (the Linde Werdelin PR matron) showed me the Oktopus, 3-Timer and SpidoLite models and I was able to try them on, have a closer see on all the details and inquire answers approximately 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 many depth in the official reception photos) like the bezels of the Rolex Yacht-Master or Blancpain diver. I favor this over a ‘printed’ bezel whenever. In the picture below, you’ll see a wrist shot made by Frank (of Monochrome.nl) who joined me on the tumble to Basel. You can see the bezel with heaved 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 general market for this grade of titanium is aerospace.

The same titanium is also accustomed for the SpidoLite for all of its versions. The eye-catcher of this collection is of course the SpidoLite SA, with its skeletonized turntable. However, the ‘regular’ titanium edition and the dark DLC version (either with titanium dial) are impressive as well. The latter one has a yellow coated crystal. I really don’t know if this suits a special purpose, but I have never looked this ahead on a watch. I can’t say that I like it for myself, but I suppose 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 individually, the SpidoLite SA was one of the tall lights of the BaselWorld show this year. This light heaviness watch with A.S caliber 1876 movement, achieved by Svend Andersen is very comfortable on the wrist and the skeletonized dial reveals portions of the movement. Although I gave up on watches bigger than 44mm, all Linde Werdelin watches amount 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 customary titanium (with ditto dial) version is limited to 222 time pieces. The DLC and titanium (non skeletonized) watches have one ETA 2892-A2 movement ticking inside.

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

Rumours go that some of the personas in the advertizing matter represent the people who work at Linde Werdelin. This couldn’t be accustomed although.

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

Do not hesitate apt quit a annotate above these wacthes, for I am strange to understand what you muse of them…

Big thanks to Frank for catching pictures during our visit and Martin Issing (Linde Werdelin) for the additional message on the SpidoLite activity.