Legendary camera maker Leica can trace its history back to 1869, when it was created under the name of its founder, Ernst Leitz, in Wetzlar, Germany. The company changed its name to Leica Camera in 1986 because its best-selling products had made Leica a household name.
That brand recognition, history and reputation for exceptional engineering and design have prompted Leica to move into watches, an industry with many shared values.
Today marks the launch of the first two Leica timepieces, the L1 and L2, both of which were influenced by Professor Achim Heine.
His team has designed numerous subtle references to signature features from Leica’s lineage.
These include the design of the watch hands and applied indices, the shape of the 41mm stainless steel case, the special knurling on the crowns, and the domed watch glass that recalls the front elements of a camera lens.
Professor Heine is particularly proud of the Leica L1 and L2 crown design and functionality, which can be used to start and stop the small seconds hand with a single push — a little like a camera shutter.
“We expanded and fine-tuned the idea of the push crown. In contrast to conventional designs — whereby the crown must be pulled out to stop the movement and adjust the time — we wanted the crown to be pressed down, like the release button of a camera. The moment you push the crown, the watch stops and the small second hand jumps to zero. Another click releases the movement again. This is an unusual detail that perfectly fits in with Leica,” he explains.
Both models are powered by a newly developed hand wound mechanical movement, which can be seen through a crystal case back.
Leica wants the watch to be known for its German engineering and manufacturing so the movement and most of the watches’ components were developed and produced in the Lehmann factory in Germany’s Black Forest region.
Markus Lehmann, managing director of Lehmann Präzision, says: “We have previously built precision machines for Leica, independently of this project. It has, of course, been very interesting to work with Leica in two such different areas – whereby the watch project was, and is, a project very close to my heart.”
The Leica L1 displays hours, minutes, small seconds, date and pwer reserve while the L2 has an additional 12 hour second time zone bezel, plus a day/night indicator.
The LEICA L1 is on sale now at select Leica stores for €9,500 and the LEICA L2 for €13,500.
The company says it will widen distribution of the watches over time.
