A lot of people are commenting on the state of the watch industry at the moment. Currently it is experiencing the worst depression since the quartz revolution. Some thoughts suggest Apple’s watch has been an influencer but I feel there are many other factors. Essentially mechanical timepieces are a luxury item and not a necessity. In todays world so many other devices can tell the time more accurately. Nevertheless, there is something special about wearing a nice timepiece and this has encouraged brands to offer more competitive alternatives. A great example can be found in design based platform Lytt Labs.
A few weeks ago co founder Stefan Feltgen contacted me to introduce Lytt Labs. The team is based in Switzerland, France and Singapore. Rather than just being another watch company their primary objective is to deliver good design at an affordable price. Certainly the Inception Code Red is a brilliant looking watch that punches well above its weight. In fact, for $799 you really are getting a lot of bang for your buck.
A few days ago I had a Skype meeting with Stefan and we spoke about his employment history. Over the last 20 years he has worked for some really high end watchmakers and developed some Avant Garde creations. That is why it interesting that he is involved in a project like Lytt Labs, which produces exceptionally stylish watches for a reasonable price. Sure they are manufactured in China, but that doesn’t matter because the quality is very high.
Aesthetically the Inception Code Red is pretty striking and the case shape is inspired by Avant Garde brands like the Tag Heuer (V4) and Manufacture Contemporaine du Temps. However, this watch isn’t just reserved for the discerning collector but a much broader audience. I absolutely love the multi layered dial with three rotating discs. The central wheel displays seconds and markers at 2 and 10 o’clock indicate hours/minutes respectively. Other great features include a gun metal tinted 45mm x 45mm 316L stainless case with composite inlay and no visible screws. This fantastic feat of engineering (which took Lytt Labs 2 years to develop) houses a refined Seiko Japanese self-winding mechanical movement.
