Truly novel ideas are few and far between when it comes to releasing a new watch, especially these days. The crowded landscape is largely homogeneous, separated by small details that create contrast between different flavors of dive watch or dress watch. A well understood design code has emerged, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s a rare moment when a watch comes along that pushes the boundaries of that code a bit further, but that’s exactly what we’re witnessing with a new brand called Kollokium, and their initial watch, the Projekt 01, or K,P–n°01. This watch will challenge your comfort zone, and hopefully lay a foundation for further exploration within this wholly original neo brutal context.
Founded in 2020 by Manuel Emch (@emchtagram), Barth Nussbaumer (@barth.studio), and Amr Sindi (@thehorophile), Kollokium is the exploration of a conceptual framework that takes inspiration things like “post-war brutalism, some Kraftwerk synth-pop and a Philip K. Dick retro-futuristic backdrop”. It’s more about capturing and visualizing a mode or state of mind than it is a specific design style. They’ve managed to successfully materialize this into a watch in a manner that goes beyond a slick case or dial detail, but rather as a fully 3 dimensional cohesive experience.
The watch itself begins with a 40mm steel frame that consists of a base and midcase component that stops about waist high. The shape of the base has an industrial vibe but doesn’t overpower the rest of the watch, and somehow manages to fit the contour of a wrist with ease. The case and strap choice make this a truly comfortable watch on the wrist, but that feels besides the point here.
Rising from that midcase component is a towering sapphire box crystal containing the structures that comprise the dial itself. In truth, there isn’t anything here that would traditionally be called a dial, rather it’s a three dimensional landscape of vertical structures (468 to be exact) that rise and fall, each with a different amount of lume applied to its tip. The result is a dial that looks other-wordly, but changes at every angle. The hours are marked by the higher altitude structures creating localized focal points.
Turning the watch on its side allows a view across the dial, where you can see the height of the structures fluctuate under the crystal. It’s a truly unnerving experience, but somehow exciting. The watch does have ‘floating’ hands that track the time, but the practical components take a back seat here. This is a watch that elicits an emotional reaction in a similar manner to that of a piece of art or set of music.
This initial project watch, rendered in black and white, is a friends and family run of 99 pieces, however a commercial version is coming early next year that gets an orange and black colorway. Inside you’ll find a La Joux-Perret G101 automatic movement with 68 hours of reserve, and a surprisingly approachable price point of CHF 2,666. Hopefully this will open the door to future explorations of what they call neubrutalist horology, something the very serious world of watches could use a bit more of from my point of view.
Learn more about the project and its founders, and sign up for their mailing list at Kollokium.