One of the most compelling new designs to hit the independent brand space in years is gearing up for its first public launch next week. Kollokium made waves with their Projekt 01 watch when it was revealed late last year, and plans for a publicly available variation were announced. This Variation B, as it’s called, features a monochromatic design, and will be available to purchase on the 22nd of May. Just 199 examples will be produced, and with the amount of hype that this concept has received, I suspect they will go quickly.
The Kollokium Project 01 is an immediately distinctive design that sets a glassbox style crystal over an array of vertical cylinders set at 6 different heights. There are no numbers or hour markers in the traditional sense, but rather the peaks of the tubes designate 12 distinct regions. The concept is gripping, appearing in cyberpunk style while taking inspiration from brutalist retro-futurism. It’s a concept that Kollokium calls neobrutalist horology.
Each of the 468 cylinders on the dial is hand painted and hand applied, and this version gets a blue super luminova (opposed to the orange seen on the prototypes). A set of rounded hands get a lume outline to track the time, and a long seconds hand features an open triangle at its counterweight. The same shape is referenced in the crown of the watch.
Inside sits a La Joux-Perret G101 automatic movement, allowing for a total thickness of 10.6mm, which includes the quite tall crystal. The case itself is just as interesting as the dial, with carved out structures acting as the lugs and base. The inner portion of the case measures 38.5mm in diameter, while the wider base is 40mm in diameter. Overall the watch wears beautifully, and much of that is thanks to the elastic textile strap.
This watch represents the first project for Kollokium, and it seems that it will serve as a base for more to come. The idea comes from the minds of Manuel Emch (of Louis Erard), Barth Nussbaumer, and Amr Sindi, and it’s just the beginning. What kind of madness they will come up with to follow this watch remains to be seen, but it’s one of the most exciting groups at work in the industry today.
The sale of Variant B will commence on May 22nd, and just 199 watches will be available. Head over to Kollokium sign up for more updates, and keep an eye out for more hands-on impressions of this watch coming soon. Kollokium