The minds at Linde Werdelin are adding to their Oktopus Moon watch collection and, yes – before you can ask – there are only going to be 59 made, the number of days in two 29.5-day lunar cycles. The new Linde Werdelin Oktopus MoonLite White is the latest iteration of the series that started with Gold and Black, and continued with a funkier watch in the form of an engraved 18k rose gold version. Going in a sleeker direction, this Linde Werdelin Oktopus MoonLite White looks crisp and every bit as cool as its predecessors.
The color isn’t the only thing that is new with this watch: Linde Werdelin has redone the dial, which is made up of 5 layers, to have the top layer further skeletonized. This allows more phases of the moon to be seen by the wearer at the 10 and 11 o’clock positions. In addition, LW has gone and created an “aerospace material” that they’re calling Alloy Linde Werdelin (or “ALW”). And while that may sound a little gimmicky, according to Linde Werdelin it’s half the weight of titanium and a twice the strength of steel. The material has previously been used in a “colorless” form, but on the Linde Werdelin Oktopus MoonLite White, it’s intended to absorb light and mimic the way an octopus changes colors. We’ll have to see how well all this translates in person, but it is true that the trademark angular case of Linde Werdelin looks rather stunning in this cool, pale grey color.
The watch is 44mm in diameter and is going to come on a white rubber strap which looks fantastic – in my opinion, that is. A dive watch without a rotating bezel isn’t a dive watch for a lot of people, but this thing still has 300m of water resistance and it also has something else up its sleeve for when you want to take it diving – Linde Werdelin offers its dive computer, the “Reef” which can keep track of a diver in real time. Using sensors, a 3-axis compass, an MPU platform, and an alarm system, it provides a lot of utility for the serious diver and it’s been designed in a way that it can be quickly and easily popped on the cases of the brand’s dive watches. Note you’ll pay extra for it.
As far as the movement goes, you’ll find the in-house-developed moonphase complication on top of a base movement that supplies 42-hours of power reserve, and runs at a frequency of 28,800vph (4Hz). If you’re trying to read the moonphase, the blue “0” tells you the current moon phase and the orange numbers tell you past and future phases of the moon. While I’m on this topic, let me just add that I think those color choices are very cool, it almost feels like it’s tapping into a midcentury modern color scheme. In any case, the monochromatic design has definitely been enhanced by these added splashes of orange and blue on the dial.
As mentioned before, there will be 59 numbered pieces produced. In my opinion, this is a contender for one of the more attractive watches from a brand with an already strong aesthetic personality. Price for the Linde Werdelin Oktopus MoonLite White is $18,500. lindewerdelin.com
Irrespective of your ideas on the subject or whether you care about such Formula One kind tactics and technologies applied to your own watch, the successful result is a watch that is super light and comfortable at a mere 90 grams. This was easily the lightest and most comfortable watch I have ever put on for an elongated period, and also the lightest Linde Werdelin on record.Looking down at the dial, past the ceramic bezel, although the crisp and clear sapphire crystal, and then farther through the skeletonization of the dial, one can observe that the LW07 three-hand movement especially made for Linde Werdelin by Concepto. There’s no date aperture and this really works well, as the date wheel would divert from the perspective of the dial.The palms are typical of Linde Werdelin and will also be skeletonized. This may rub some the wrong way as it could make the watch more difficult to read, and that’s a valid complaint as far as legibility goes. This is actually exacerbated as a result of the fact that the hour and minutes hands don’t contrast much. They each have their suggestion filled with Super-LumiNova which works good at night, though not sufficient to qualify as a great night watch. Regions of the chapter ring suggesting five-minute increments have small applications of Super-LumiNova too, but like the hands, this helps only marginally at night.For me, these shortcomings are minor, as the watch shines with its light weight and unique modern design. The case back on this particular watch isn’t display, which at first bothered me a bit as one is not able to observe another side of the motion. First, the front facet is skeletonized enough which a transparent case back would perhaps become deflecting with a view of the wearer’s wrist.
