leica’s new watch assortment strikes its well-known pink dot to your wrist
legendary camera maker leica debuts L1 and L2
for more than 150 years, leica has been at the forefront of camera design guided by quality, functionality and engineering excellence. the same principles are now leading the design of its first-ever watch collection, including the L1 and L2 timepieces. it marks the move of the brand’s famous red dot to your wrist but at a cost of €9,500 euros minimum.
all images courtesy of leica
camera-inspired watch design
the leica L1 and L2 watches feature subtle references to signature design elements of the german brand. these include the delicateness of the watch hands and applied indices, the shape of the intricate stainless-steel case, and the special knurling on the crowns. even the domed watch glass recalls the front of a camera lens.
the influence of cameras on the watch collection does not stop there, though. the two timepieces debut a patented push crown finished as leica’s famous red dot. with a correlating status indicator on the dial, the feature has the ability to reset the small second hand to zero with a simple push like the release button when taking a photo.
‘together with markus lehmann, we expanded and fine-tuned the idea of the push crown. in contrast to conventional designs – whereby the crown must be pulled out to stop the movement and adjust the time – we wanted the crown to be pressed down, like the release button of a camera. the moment you push the crown, the watch stops and the small second hand jumps to zero. another click releases the movement again,‘ explains professor achim heine, who has designed numerous leica products in the past. ‘this is an unusual detail that perfectly fits in with leica.‘
both watches are powered by a newly developed mechanical movement with manual winding. this is visible through the transparent back made of resilient sapphire crystal. in a typical made in germany spirit, most of the components for leica are developed and produced in the lehmann präzision factory, led by managing director markus lehmann, in the black forest region.
