Will German Luxury Camera Brand Leica Click With Its Luxury Watches?

Leica, the premium German camera brand, is shifting its emphasis to the watch market, where it claims it will apply the same "German-made" precise manufacturing standards to its new product line. The first versions are a time-plus-date Leica L1 and a GMT-equipped Leica L2, both of which include a patented crown mechanism that pushes in, similar to a camera button, rather than drawing out, as traditional crowns do. This movement was designed in collaboration with Lahmann Präzision, a Black Forest-based watchmaking and precision engineering business, with finishing and assembly taking place at Leica's state-of-the-art Leitz Park headquarters.

The watches, including the movements, are manufactured by Lehmann Präzision, a German mechanical engineering company that specialises in high-precision equipment for the watch industry as well as its own line of mechanical timepieces branded Lehmann. Although the movement and the majority of the watch's components were developed and are manufactured at Leica's Lehmann factory in Germany, the watches were designed by Leica in collaboration with longtime collaborator Achim Heine, a professor of experimental product design at Berlin's University of the Arts. They include subtle nods to Leica camera designs.

According to Leica, the L1 and L2 were developed with clean lines, smooth surfaces, and formal simplicity in mind. The dials are crafted from elegant matte-black metal and have minimal white indicators. A tiny curved power reserve window, a small seconds subdial, and a circular mode indication round out the design. The pencil-style rhodium-plated hands and indexes include little points at the ends of straight baton forms.

They are equipped with the specially developed L1 and L2 manual wound movements, which include hours, minutes, tiny seconds, and a power reserve indication. The L2 is all of that plus a GMT, indicated by a 12-hour track running down the inner bezel. Both movements have a 60-hour power reserve and a unique push crown for zeroing out the tiny seconds hand. In traditional designs, the crown must be taken out to pause the movement during adjustment, however the crown on Leica watches is pushed down, much like a camera's release button. When pressed, the watch comes to a halt and the little second hand resets to zero. At that time, the dot in the mode indication to the right of the centre changes colour to red—another nod to Leica's red dot sign. A second click cancels the movement once again, and the dot returns to white. The 41 mm x 14.5 mm stainless steel casings have polished and satin surfaces as well as bevelled corners. L1 and L2 are both water-resistant to a depth of 50 metres.

Leica cameras are known for being well-designed and constructed to last a lifetime, with an emphasis on precision and finish, which Leica claims it will apply to its watch collections. "They will embody the heart and soul of Leica Cameras," the firm claims in a statement, adding that they will be created on the business's guiding values of quality and design, utility and durability, technical excellence, and long-term vision. This is the brand's first timepiece range.

The Leica L1 is priced at USD 10,000, while the Leica L2 is priced at USD 14,000. Leica anticipates producing only a limited exclusive 500 of each model each year. They will be offered in the United States at certain Leica locations, starting with the brand's Los Angeles shop and gallery.