Thinking back at what horology is and what it invites us to do—to express ourselves artistically or emotionally—it makes sense that there are so many watch brands on the market today. As each one represents the personal vision of one or several persons for this niche part of mankind’s inventiveness and engineering, therefore there are many of them because there are many folks on earth who want to create something and many more who want to experience what they create by strapping these singular inventions to their wrists. We do often talk negatively about this phenomenon and of the fact that there are too many brands out there—and I agree in most parts because it has become too much—but we won’t stop people from being creative and from wanting to express themselves. These needs are deeply encoded in our DNA as it were. But looking globally at the horological market we mostly see the same same but different and more often than not, few models which truly are unique. 

Even though brands' founders are from all walks of lives and from various creative backgrounds, they rarely come from the architectural side of creativity but when they do, it shows. Brands such as Palmos infuse a particular aesthetic into their creations which showcase a unique balance of proportions and the perfect injection of the what is enough. And of course Lebond who is the subject of today’s review, a Spanish brand created by Asier Mateo in Barcelona, himself an architect who set out to create unique collections working hand-in-hand with famous colleagues of his. People such as the Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura who designed a unique version of the driver’s watch with a tilted dial—and more—adding a minimalist and brutalist aspect to this already rare type of timekeeping device. Beyond its design, the Souto Moura Original Edition is a proper daily driver (pun intended) complemented by a healthy spec list. This watch is therefore a unique creation. 

Specifications 

You and I might be similar on this: whenever I think of designer (read: architect’s or artist’s) watches, a preconceived idea in my mind formed many decades ago pictures boring dials with cases and tech not worth writing home about. In a sense, expensive fashion watches who only have a face to show for and nothing noteworthy roaring underneath the dial. And that is honestly what I thought the Lebond Souto Moura was before getting it in-hand: an overpriced daily watch designed by a famous person whose name justifies charging a higher price point for what is, actually, just a simple watch. But oh damn was I wrong and I felt so ashamed of myself the moment I actually saw the Souto Moura in the titanium: it is exquisitely designed and put together with some very neat tech and sold at the fair price of 2,700 €/$3,159 USD when all things are considered. Indeed a grade 5 (not 2) titanium case—6% aluminum and 4% vanadium were added to the titanium alloy to make it stronger and more resistant to heat and corrosion. 

This lightweight and durable case measures 38.5mm in diameter and lug-to-lug as the case has no lugs, and a mere 7.6mm thick which, together offered on an 18mm Navy Blue Nappa Leather strap, weighs a meager 47g. So already we find ourselves with a featherlight timepiece which is tough as nails but things get even better: an upper double-domed sapphire crystal with inner anti-reflective coating, a rear flat sapphire crystal also complemented with AR coating; a Swiss made ETA 2892-A2 which ticks at 4Hz and comes with 50 hours of power reserve; a tiny but easy-to-operate 3.7mm push/pull crown; 50 meters of water resistance; a strap equipped with a grade 5 titanium deployant clasp. By the way, the case and buckle are micro-sanded (blasted) and complemented by an anti-fingerprint coating. I know what you’re thinking and I agree: the Lebond Souto Moura defies our preconceived idea of a designer/architect’s watch as it looks like nothing else on the market and is solid as hell. $3,159 USD doesn’t seem that much to ask, does it? 

Design

Even though I might have thrown the Lebond into the minimalist/brutalist category earlier, and considering that for many folks out there this is a diminutive angle through which to see the design of something, I meant it with the greatest excitement and admiration. Because I see minimalism as being a visual, artistic, organizational, and emotional concept embodying the purest form of the idea of “less is more” and of being, as well, the three dimensional embodiment of essentialism: when an object is endowed with the essential visual characteristics which conform to its core function. In other words, where what is superfluous will never exist and never was a concept. But (or and) the Souto Moura goes beyond being minimalist/essentialist timepiece was it is indeed endowed with the architect’s brushstroke of playing with shapes and contrasts as if Mr. Moura attempted to translate complex architectural design principles into a two-dimensional plane on the dial and a three-dimensional work of art on the case. 

The dial does seem simplistic at first glance and one has to fix his or her eyeballs closely on each square micron of it to understand where its beauty lies. First, a creamy dial the color of béchamel sauce which has a super fine matte texture on which are printed hour markers and minute hash-marks in a haute-horologerie crispiness. Their black pearlescent sheen add a little bit of dimension to the dial and makes them pop from it—and I would even dare to say make them look subtly luxurious a la Vacheron Constantin Ultra Thin. While a perfectly cut and beveled date aperture lives at the three o’clock and showcases an elegant rendering of the black numerals printed on a white disc formula. At the six we find the brand and model names also finely printed in pearlescent black paint and above the dial, two thin rectangular hands, one tiny hour indicator and one very long minute one reaching the edges of the clean minute track. Both hands received a matte black treatment and the pinion was covered with a color-matched cap. 

Evidently, the elephant in the room is the dial rotated 30 degrees to the right for optimal legibility whilst driving a vintage convertible down Route 66. 

Actually, the case was also rotated 30 degrees in the same direction and the mechanics inside were as well, to get that full driver’s watch experience. This type of watch thoroughly never interested me before but the Lebond is changing my feelings about such timepiece because of how the case was designed: it looks like a flying saucer parked on a titanium base, endowed with the beautiful domed profile of the sapphire crystal and undersides which are sharply angled inward. The case-back is screwed-down onto the “case” where the angles end, giving out an air of concept car where the case-back is an entire machine that comes with the ETA movement embedded and which fits entirely into the “case.” (I don’t know where the mid-case is actually if there is one at all.) The strap, which is super comfy by the way, is attached north and south by way of screws into little titanium hooks which look like singular rabbit teeth. Lastly, the aforementioned tiny crown is located at the four o’clock and signed with the brand’s logo. 

The Heart of the Matter

I’m not an architecture person but I do have a favorite architect: Tadao Ando. For years I’ve dreamed of living in one of his minimalist houses made of wood, glass, and concrete, and to write articles sitting in an equally minimalist office overlooking a concrete pool of water. There is something truly special (and unique to me) in design which espouses the idea of less is more in the purest sense of the concept, and which also translates into practical daily wearing timepieces. So when I look at the Lebond Souto Moura not only do I find myself visually meandering over its dial and case, but I also am building up an admiration for how the brand went about manufacturing this model: with lightweight and sturdy alloy, a workhorse of a movement, a superb domed crystal, and a splendid strap which all come together symbiotically into one singular horological creation. In other words, the Souto Moura is the opposite of your typical designer’s watch designed to look special but made to feel common. 

More than that, this co-branded Lebond creation, based on its specs and design, can be anybody’s only and daily watch. An idea many of us watch enthusiasts come back to on a regular basis—and one I’m particularly obsessed with—as we romanticize the idea of owning a single watch like we should own a single unit of a good tool, and because we admire our parents and grandparents who only had one watch which they wore their entire life, day in and day out. Back then, back when computers and atomic clocks didn’t exist, folks needed one watch to wear for all matters of life and thus these timekeeping devices were, more often than not, aesthetically and mechanically versatile. However you personally feel about the design of the Lebond Souto Moura, on specs it is indeed a watch that can handle 99% of what we realistically do on a daily basis and a little more. And visually, if you do like it, then you’ll find yourself with a complete package for daily living. And this matters tremendously to many of us. 

Conclusion

What prompted me to write about the Lebond Souto Moura was a fascinating conversation I had with Asier Mateo a very long while ago about his brand, his life, and his passion for architecture and fine watchmaking. Even though Eduardo Souto de Moura designed this timepiece and that all collections Lebond has released thus far were designed by other architects, Asier is the creative mastermind behind all of them and the producer of these superb and unique collections. Indeed, I didn’t know what I was getting into when I said yes to reviewing the Souto Moura, as ashamed as I was to admit it, but I’m glad I signed up for it. Thanks to this experience I’ve gained a new appreciation for this type of watch—a high-tech and high-end everyday designer’s timepiece if I may say so—and I was reminded, once again, that we should never take anything at face value and never judge a watch on design alone. 

Check out Lebond’s website to discover more of their unique creations. 

Thanks for reading.