On the 10th anniversary of his first organic-style hexagonal-shaped wristwatch creation (the “Organic Time” series), Dietrich brand head Emmanuel Dietrich introduces a new timepiece model he describes as a manifestation of his “perfect watch.” I recall meeting Mr. Dietrich for the first time in 2012 and seeing his Snow watch meant for skiing. I thought to myself, “This guy has potential.” In 2014, Dietrich introduced the OT (Organic Time) series with the OTC. This began an interesting journey that inspired a whole collection of watches based around the elongated hexagon case shape, and organic-style design elements such as the hands.
The 2024 Dietrich ED-1 is a new watch meant to focus on daily comfort and casual elegance. Thematically, the best way to understand the conception of the Dietrich ED-1 is to compare it to the Bell & Ross BR-05 collection, when Bell & Ross created a new watch based on a design amalgamation of its existing watches. Rather than trying to do something entirely new, the ED-1 watch is about taking Dietrich’s greatest moments and incorporating them into a singular concept. This, according to the brand, is a watch the creator invented to suit his own specific current needs as a watch wearer.
The resulting watch is probably the smallest and most classic-looking Dietrich watch to date. Going along with the popular vintage watch design trend, the ED-1 imagines Dietrich’s truly futuristic design ideas as something a bit more timeless and classic, in a compact and very wearing wristwatch package that evokes interesting shapes while trying not to offend any sensibilities. This is both the most elegant, and the most safe-looking Dietrich watch to have been produced. That makes sense given not only what is popular in the timepiece market right now, but also because Dietrich as a brand has probably been frustrated that more of the collector community hasn’t been open-minded to Mr. Dietrich’s vision of futurism.
Perhaps I lament timid consumer tastes because I wanted to see Dietrich empowered to make wilder stuff over the years. His futuristic vision and bio-organic design preferences yielded some truly interesting and cool watches. Over the years, he has been forced to make designs that are more familiar as opposed to more original – given that he was in essence running a boutique watch brand with limited resources and needed to appeal to general consumer tastes. If consumer sentiment was more optimistic about the future and embracing new designs, then it is very possible that the Dietrich brand of today would look very different. That isn’t to say that Dietrich’s watches are not still special. I’ve enjoyed every single Dietrich watch I’ve worn and appreciate what Emmanuel has been able to accomplish given the constraints placed around a business owner like him. Now that the market has compelled him to make simple watches, he wanted to make simple watches as interesting as possible. For around $1,500 USD – you are getting something with a lot of value in the ED-1 given all that went into it.
At launch, Dietrich offers two dial colors for the ED-1 as well as two dial styles. Those styles include the dial with or without a date indicator. The collector community is really split on this preference, with half of the people wanting a date, and the other half not wanting a date. Since it isn’t all that difficult to offer a version of each (only the dial is different and the date wheel remains below the “no date” faces), Dietrich simply decided to offer both. The two dial colors include an olive/khaki green and a bold blue, which it refers to as “spruce green” and “crowberry blue.”
The steel case is petite by Dietrich standards, being 39mm wide, 11mm thick, and 46mm long (lug-to-lug distance). The highly curved shape of the case is meant to be smooth to the touch since it really doesn’t have any sharp edges. This is a very good feature, since people like wearing sharper watches much less. The curvy caseback pleasantly reminds me of older Ebel timepieces. Much of the case is brushed, with some polished elements to help emphasize the various shapes of the case including the frame around the six-sided bezel. Over the dial is an AR-coated sapphire crystal, and the case is water-resistant to 100 meters with a screw-down crown.
Inside the watches are Swiss Sellita SW200 automatic movements that operate at 4Hz with a minimum of 38 hours of power reserve. You can see the movements through the sapphire crystal window on the nicely designed caseback of the ED-1. Thankfully, Dietrich chose a more decorated version of the SW200 movement, so that it helps emphasize the “classy” nature of the ED-1 watch theme.
From a design perspective, the most interesting part of the ED-1 watches to me is the dials. Again, these are a mixture of classic design watch elements combined with Dietrich brand DNA, such as the font for the numerals and the design of the hands. Mixed in with those Dietrich design DNA elements are more generic watch industry dial themes. Those include the sector-style crosshair dial, the design of the minute marker track, and the use of polished lines and concentric circles within the dial. Even though the shape of the watch face is actually a hexagon, the circular elements on the dial really give you the impression that you are looking at a round watch. It is a very interesting visual effect. The hands and hour markers are further painted with Super-LumiNova luminant.
For a number of years, Dietrich has been trying to get this overall style of hexagonal center link bracelet design right. The visual design has always been effective, but building the bracelet and engineering it to be comfortable have been the challenges. Accordingly, this I believe is “round 3” for this bracelet, and the most comfortable and refined yet. The ends are 20mm wide, and the bracelet tapers a bit for comfort and style. It comes on quick-release spring bars, and Dietrich also includes a blue or green leather strap with the kit. The bracelet maintains the hex design on the outside, but on the inside has a more traditional style of construction. That is how Dietrich was able to make the bracelet so comfortable, but also achieve the visual design and decoration that it demanded.
The Dietrich ED-1 is a daily wear dress-style watch with sporty durability and a design that is as fresh as it is familiar. Like all Dietrich watches, this timepiece is not meant for everyone, but it shows how relevant and professional Emmanuel Dietrich continues to be as he asserts his design ethos into trendy products that collectors are bound to get excited about. After 10 years of “OT” Organic Time watches, Dietrich has a lot of visual cues to play with and incorporate into a compact gentleman’s watch that will no doubt be popular with fans today. I might miss Dietrich’s larger, sportier, and wilder designs, but I also appreciate that the market doesn’t per se need that from the brand right now. This is by no means the end of the Organic Time series and I look forward to what the future holds for it. For now, we can enjoy the refined and very pleasant ED-1 with its handsome looks and sensible features. Price for all versions of the Dietrich ED-1 watch is $1,710.88 USD. Learn more on the Dietrich website.
