I first mentioned these two new Linde Werdelin SpidoLite watches here (check there for basic specs as well). Lately I was able to check out these watches hands-on myself. Note that these are pre-production prototypes (that have obviously been handled heavily). Now, I first became personally acquainted with the SpidoLite watch here when I reviewed one. This was the standard titanium version with its highly skeletonized case and Svend Andersen refinished vintage 1970s automatic movement. I thought that was about all the collection had to offer in its concrete colored appeal, but then Linde Werdelin stepped in with these models.  Guess what? I’m going for gold here. Love that version – and it looks great with the high contrast black dial, again with gold hands on it. Actually the 18k rose gold version is being tested with two different types of polishes. One is entirely bead-blasted, and the other (my favorite) has polished edging. I think Linde Werdelin did a good job with the colors.

The black version has its appeals as well. The case is in titanium coated with black DLC (diamond like carbon). On that version the hands are in a rich blue and stand out nicely from the dark dial. One of my chief complaints about the gray version of the watch was the legibility of the hands as I felt that they blended in too much with the dial. These two new versions really address that issue, making the hands stand out really nicely. I finally totally sold on the viability of the SpidoLite model range.

Movements are all finished by Svend Andersen. They are NOS (new old stock) automatics (not sure exactly who made them). Svend’s workshop did a good job on these guys. Finishing really helped preserve a certain industrialism, but removed any of the roughness and lack of refinement that unfinished watches have. You then have the very special blued gold automatic rotor and engraving done by Svend for the Linde Werdelin.

These fancy versions of the SpidoLite watches have alligator straps – but done in the special SpidoLite manner with the rectangular “portholes” on the sides. They look pretty darn good with the watches. Linde Werdelin’s standard style case not only looks good but is also very comfortable to wear. You can see that the broad case is not very tall, making it very easy to wear. The style is incredibly diverse, which is why the same case has been used on pretty much every Linde Werdelin watch. In addition to looking like something out of a superhero’s arsenal, the case is meant to have one of Linde Werdelin’s Instruments (the Rock of the Reef) clip on to the top of it. Even though the case on the SpidoLite watches is richly skeletonized, it doesn’t really have sharp edges. The two watch models are each limited to 88 pieces. The SpidoLite All Black Titanium DLC is going to be about 9,800 euros and the gold version will be 15,800 euros soon. Glad I got to check these out. If the styles appeal to you, I think you’ll like what you find.