The great paradox of many brands being so good at what they do is that they’re often so technically precise they lose a bit of personality in the process. Somehow, there’s a trade-off that many watch brands make in striving for the best, only to just miss the mark when it comes to anchoring their product to anything beyond technical specs, brand recognition, and the (oftentimes) half-hearted attempts to jump on a trend.
We have, in many ways, become accustomed to this middling way in which watchmakers (and the same can be said for fashion brands and penmakers, truth be told). We have grown used to a sanitized, diluted version of personality for the sake of quarterly targets and minimizing social media backlash. It has, in effect, caused a chilling effect in risk-taking, in humor, in anything new beyond a different dial color here or a new steel bracelet there.
It was with this sort of cynicism in mind that I was pleasantly surprised to see the latest release between Studio Underd0g and Massena LAB: the 03SERIES Champagne & Caviar. Finally!, I thought, scrolling through the photos, now this is a watch with personality. And then, of course, my second thought: if it isn’t actually made in the Champagne region of France, should it technically be called Sparkling Wine & Caviar?
I’ll leave the purists among us in the comments to weigh in.
The two collaborators couldn’t have been better suited for one another in partnering together on a release that’s as cheeky as it is well-crafted. Studio Underd0g has now proven itself to be a strong collaborator, bringing a sense of personality to its releases time and again (just think of their Manhattan watch with Fears last month). Couple this with Massena LAB’s strength in bringing a unique, often elevated, thematic approach to watch designs and it’s not hard to see how such a watch like Champagne & Caviar came to life.
The verisimilitude of the watch’s reference point is, first and foremost, its biggest strength. The oversized subdial at 3 o’clock has been designed to look unmistakably (and impressively) like a heaping pot of caviar. Couple this against the champagne-colored metallic radial sunray base dial and the bottle-shaped base of the chronograph hand and it’s easy to see how perfectly balanced this watch plays with its theme without veering into the obvious.
Looks aside, the monopusher chronograph runs on the hand-wound Sellita SW510 M caliber, offering a 63-hour power reserve and featuring a custom ruthenium-finished bridge. Measuring 38.5mm in diameter, it’s paired with a pebble-grain calfskin strap by The Strap Tailor. Limited to only 200 pieces, the Champagne & Caviar will be available exclusively through Studio Underd0g’s website beginning November 11 for $2,200. Studio Underd0g
