Hodinkee to Release Toledano & Chan’s Brutalist-Inspired Debut Timepiece
Featuring an asymmetric case and lapis lazuli dial.
Hodinkee has recently presented an alluring and sculptural timepiece with a lapis lazuli dial. Going by the name of B/1, the piece is the debut piece of Toledano & Chan, a newly-founded watch brand between Alfred Chan and Phillip Toledano. The duo bonded over their mutual adoration of watches and architecture, specifically the Brutalist movement and timepieces from the ‘70s.
Structurally, the basis of B/1 references the Rolex Midas as well as early integrated bracelet watches such as the Piaget Polo. Aesthetically, its design cues derive from Brutalist architecture, particularly Marcel Breuer’s Whitney Museum building in Manhattan. The duo also fixated on an asymmetric window of the building, which is where the watch case borrows its shape from.
Measuring 33.5mm in width, the watch arrives in a stainless steel build with an integrated bracelet. Indices have been completely omitted, leaving just the angular steel hour and minute hands for the indication of time. Powering the reference for a continuous running time of 42 hours is the Swiss-made and automatic Sellita SW100 movement.
The essence of the Manhatten Marcel Breuer building is further iterated on the timepiece’s packaging, arriving in the form of a concrete box case that sports the same asymmetric shape as the watch.
Retailing for $4,000 USD, the B/1 watch will be available to order exclusively through Toledano & Chan’s official website as well as the Hodinkee Shop on May 16.
