KOLLOKIUM PROJEKT 01 VARIANTE “D”

KOLLOKIUM (RE)LOADED: PRESENTATION OF THE PROJEKT 01 VARIANT ‘D


After surprising the watchmaking world at the end of 2023 with its initial 99-piece ‘friends, family & fools’ pre-series, and following the unexpected exhaustion of the 199-piece ‘b’ variant in May 2024, Kollokium presents its long-awaited sequel: the ‘d’ variant. In less than a year of existence (but almost four years of development), it’s fair to say that Kollokium has already made some noise. Coming out of nowhere, its first pre-series ‘friends, family & fools’ was greeted like a quiet storm. Variant ‘b’, a 199-piece series launched in May 2024 as the brand’s first public model, confirmed that Kollokium is no mere flash in the pan. Sold out in less than two minutes, the adventure couldn’t stop there.

And now, Kollokium is ready to unveil the third iteration of its inaugural neo-Brutalist creation: the Projekt 01 variant ‘d’ – a limited edition of 299 pieces featuring one of the brightest, longest-lasting luminescent pigments on the market, enhanced by a touch of fluorescent green. Soberly named K,P-n°01 (Kollokium Projekt 01), Kollokium’s first creation lays the foundations for future projects. Not necessarily in terms of design continuity, but rather in establishing the atmosphere we want to convey and the creative avenues we wish to explore.

A work of transhumanism. Lo-fi but three-dimensional. Is it one of those studded paintings from the 80s? A miniature work of art by Gunther Uecker? A minimalist tribute to Enrico Castellani, pioneer of the ZERO movement? Or a graphic representation of a wave? The dial is in fact a 3D reconstruction of a pixelated image intentionally rendered using Adobe Illustrator. If you squint, you can clearly make out 12 ‘maxi’ time markers, with sticks for the cardinal hours and circles for the others. From a distance, it may look like a slightly blurred ‘utility’ dial. And that’s exactly what we’re aiming for: a discreet intrigue to be discovered up close.

The dial, while appearing monolithic, is a subtle textured element. It features 468 cylindrical hour markers, each applied by hand and divided into six different diameters and heights. Each cylinder is sandblasted and then filled with hand-applied white Super-LumiNova X1, which emits a brilliant green glow. With so many elements on the dial, legibility was taken into account from the outset of the project. The oblong hour and minute hands, black with a white Super-LumiNova X1 outline, appear to float above the dial.

With no visible branding on the dial, there is nevertheless a small signature in the form of a green fluorescent seconds hand, with a counterweight in the shape of an open triangle, like a folded strip of metal. It’s a raw beauty, a deliberate imperfection, and that’s what we wanted to express with the Projekt 01, starting with the case.

Without trying to be eccentric for the sake of it, the case is designed like no other. Forged from 316L stainless steel, it is not manufactured using conventional milling and machining processes, but by die-casting, an ancient industrial process. The result? A case with no finish or embellishment, with a uniform, rough texture that is unique to this technique. It’s neither matt nor frosted, but somewhere in between. As rough as it looks, it’s surprisingly soft to the touch.

The two-part construction includes a barrel-shaped case back element and lugs inspired by Phillips screwdrivers, with the movement protected in a steel container. A cylinder, an integral part of the casting, bears the project’s internal name: K,P-n°01. The triangular valve-shaped crown completes the model’s industrial aesthetic.

To maximise the visual experience, the sapphire crystal is flat and flush with the base of the dial, with an anti-reflective coating on both sides, offering a panoramic view of the dial. Comfort and ergonomics have been carefully studied. With a diameter of 40 mm and a height of 11 mm (including the sapphire crystal), the case fits perfectly on the wrist thanks to its short, integrated lugs. The strap, inspired by outdoor equipment, offers optimum elasticity and breathability for comfortable, safe wear.

Kollokium does not claim to be a watchmaker. For the Projekt 01, we chose the G101 automatic movement from Swiss manufacturer La Joux-Perret, offering a 68-hour power reserve. Without any intervention on the movement, it remains undecorated and unmarked, true to our philosophy of functional minimalism.

The Kollokium Projekt 01 variant ‘d’ will be available in a limited edition of 299 pieces on kollokium.com from 1 October 2024 at 14:00 CEST. But that’s not all…