If you find yourself looking around you at the latest offerings from everyone’s favourite prestigious watch brands and scratching your head as you try to puzzle out the question “Wow, is that it?”, I’d say it’s about time for something new. With even the most luxurious names in the industry choosing to present us with seemingly endless variations of older models that have simply been decorated with a new colour or material, it can feel at times as if we’ve seen it all. I can assure you though, we’re not there yet.
Like a breath of fresh air Lebond are disrupting this, at times, stagnant industry with a touch of something a little more distinctive. Having presented their debut watch model for the first time just last year in 2023, the team behind Lebond recently treated us to a second helping of what has more than enough potential to become something great.
Minimalism with an architect’s touch.
Lebond Watches describe themselves as an exclusive watch editor created with fans of watches and architecture in mind. Each of their models sees them collaborate with prestigious architects on designs that reflect their work, and their aim is to work with a winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize each year. Lebond are right on schedule, having already secured collaborations with prestigious world-renowned architects Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura who were recipients of the prize, akin to the Nobel Prize in the world of architecture, in 1992 and 2011 respectively.
Lebond Siza
Lebond x Álvaro Siza. Credit: Lebond.
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The first of Lebond’s two models was created in partnership with 89-year-old architect Álvaro Siza, who won the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1992. Inspiration for the watch was derived from the Leça Swimming Pool, which was designed by Siza when he was just 28 years old. Presented in an eccentric diamond-shaped 41.5mm Grade 5 Titanium case, thanks to Siza’s desire to create something different from typically ‘beautiful round watches’, the design was inspired largely by the square main pool.
Leça Swimming Pool. Credit: Lebond.
The watches hands were adapted from the minimalistic restroom signs used by Siza across several projects and the model is equipped with automatic winding Swiss mechanical movement ETA 2892-A2. Showcasing Siza’s talent for creating designs that are at once minimalistic and elegant, the Lebond Siza offers its wearer an exceptional combination of style and functionality.
Lebond Souto Moura
Lebond x Eduardo Souto de Moura. Credit: Lebond.
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The second of Lebond’s current line-up is of course their collaboration with 2011 Pritzker prize winner Eduardo Souto de Moura who this time brought a more traditional round dial into the collection. Naturally, there is a literal twist, as the dial has been rotated into the perfect position for readability whilst driving at a 30-degree angle. The crown has also followed suit, having been adjusted to align with the new 3 o’clock position. Again, the 38.5mm Lebond x Souto de Moura watch is equipped with the precise Swiss-made ETA289-A2 movement and, unlike the Siza edition, a date function.
CEO of the Spanish microbrand Asier Mateo is an architect by trade himself and he now proudly curates Lebond’s refreshing collection, acting as a coordinator between the Pritzker prize-winning architects and the Swiss watchmakers who bring their designs to life. Operating out of Barcelona, even Lebond House which acts as the Spanish watchmaker’s headquarters, was fully designed by Lebond Watches in-house design team.
Each of Lebond’s collaborative timepieces can be found at their online store here. We don’t yet know which prize-winning architect Lebond will nab for their next release, but I for one will be eagerly waiting to see what heights the up and coming brand will take minimalistic design to next.
LEBOND SIZA TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
- Case: Titanium grade 5, micro-sanded matte finish with anti-fingerprint coating. Case thickness 8.8mm. Case length 41.5mm. Lug to lug length 49.5mm. 50m water resistance.
- Movement: Swiss mechanical movement with automatic winding ETA 2892-A2 modified without seconds hand and date. 28.800 vibrations per hour / 21 jewels / 50 hours power reserve.
- Dial: Lacquered matte.
- Hands: Lacquered matte.
- Crystal: Front sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating. Back sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating with Alvaro Siza’s signature.
- Strap: 18mm wide, matte black FKM rubber.
- Deployant clasp: Titanium grade 5, micro-sanded matte finish with anti-fingerprint coating. 316L stainless steel blades with anti-fingerprint coating.
LEBOND SOUTO MOURA TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
- Case: Titanium grade 5, micro-sanded matte finish with anti-fingerprint coating. Individually numbered. Case thickness 7.6mm. Case diameter 38.5mm. Lug to lug length 38.5mm. 50m water resistance.
- Caliber: ETA 2892-A2, Swiss mechanical movement with automatic winding. 28.800 vibrations per hour / 21 jewels / 50 hours power reserve.
- Dial: Lacquered matte light beige (Original Edition) / Lacquered matte grey (Dark Edition)
- Hands: Lacquered matte black
- Crystal: Front domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating. Back sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating with Eduardo Souto de Moura’s signature.
- Strap: 18mm wide, Navy blue Top Nappa leather strap (Original Edition) / Black Top Nappa leather strap (Dark Edition)
- Deployant clasp: Titanium grade 5 clasp, micro-sanded matte finish with anti-fingerprint coating. 316L stainless steel blades, micro-sanded matte finish with anti-fingerprint coating.
