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The new Linde Werdelin Nord collection delivers hardcore tool watches loaded with arctic cool The new Linde Werdelin Nord collection delivers hardcore tool watches loaded with arctic cool

The new Linde Werdelin Nord collection delivers hardcore tool watches loaded with arctic cool

Thor Svaboe

Note: This is a rather momentous occasion for me as a writer and Independents Editor for Time+Tide.  July 10 is my one-year anniversary for the site with 294 stories to my name, a number that boggles my mind (and that of my very, very patient and beautiful wife). It has been a crazy, loving ride with star colleagues, even during the Aussie summer when I’m in the dark winter of the North, and editorial meetings run at 5am my time every Monday. As coincidences would have it, my debut story was on a Linde Werdelin Nord – now what are the chances of that?

Linde Werdelin Nord

Sentimental rambling aside, Linde Werdelin is always ready to deliver a highly distinctive tool watch that stands out from the crowd. The headquarters of LW may now be in London, but there’s no getting away from the clean-cut Nordic look of these two new models. I have nothing but respect for the brand’s ability to design a wristwatch that’s recognisable at 10 paces and is unashamedly bold, as if chiselled out of a massive block of Arctic granite. And if you didn’t think a multi-layered skeletonised dial could be manufactured with a deep fumé effect, well here you go.  Once again Morten Linde and Jørn Werdelin prove that their focus on integrity, large diameter ergonomics and a disdain for vintage makes for some damn cool wristwear.

Linde Werdelin Nord

Any Linde Werdelin feels solid enough to make you fill up with guilt should you dare wear it to the office. These are watches made for adventure, exploration and diving, and I’m not talking bathwater-warm Caribbean snorkelling here, more like chopping a hole in the ice and plunging in at -10 degrees C.

Linde Werdelin Nord

This is eminently reflected in the dials of these two tools, the Oktopus Nord and the complex Spidolite Nord, inspired by the ever-changing deep blues of the North Sea. The gradient abyss-like dials are in both cases framed by sandblasted grade 2 titanium, lending a silky tactility to the strong-arm looks.

Linde Werdelin Nord

They come on the blue comfort of the broad Linde Werdelin Kautschuk rubber straps, ready to give your wrist a bracing hug to psyche you up for the adventures ahead.

Appearing positively nuke-proof, the Oktopus looks like no other diving tool on the planet with its five-part case, and that’s why I’ve always been quietly enamored by it. It’s a proper 300m depth-rated diver with a strangely comfortable 44m case, the sides of which are reminiscent of the Nautilus porthole design on acid. And that’s a compliment. Blunt sword hands balance out the large numerals in ultramarine Super-Luminova to lend a serious pop to any evening, while the laser-cut layered fumé dial draws you into its depths. With its 46mm lug-lug length, even at a 15mm thickness I can testify to a surprising comfort, while the customized Dubois Dépraz 14580 calibre ensures accuracy with a cheeky double date window at 12 o’clock and a 44 hour power reserve.

Linde Werdelin Nord

The Spidolite Nord on the other hand, is reminiscent of a piece of alien weaponry, such is its futurist charm. There is a special pleasure in observing the intricate milled out sections, giving the grade 2 titanium an ever lighter weight for its hefty size, its intricate yet complex dial art made even better for its new blue tone.

My favourite detail is the delicate skeletonized dial, balanced out by a crisp small seconds register at 9 and, as with the Oktopus, easily recognisable from 10 paces. This is the icebreaker of icebreakers at any post-pandemic watch get together, I can assure you.

Linde Werdelin Nord

The Spidolite Nord comes equipped with the LW-04 custom made Concepto movement, a 300m depth rating  and a weirdly comfortable chunky case. Either of these watches will inspire you to get off your behind and explore, climb, abseil or dive off a rather high cliff. These are watches built for a life of action.

The Linde Werdelin Nord collection, price and availability:

The Linde Werdelin Oktopus Nord is $11,000USD on a natural Kautschuk rubber strap

The Linde Werdelin Spidolite Nord is $11,731USD on a natural Kautschuk rubber strap

 

For more details, visit Linde Werdelin.