Albishorn is a brand based on one of the most tantalizing concepts that we’ve come across: vintage watches that never existed. I’ve thought about this conceit quite a bit since the brand was launched a few years ago. In some ways, it’s not so different on the surface from any other “vintage inspired” watch. The vast majority of them, after all, never existed. The Black Bay, for instance, takes inspiration from a great many vintage Tudor and Rolex watches, but it’s not a one to one recreation of anything – it never actually existed. But Albishorn is different. They place their watches in an imagined reality. Each one is its own “sliding doors” moment brought to life in watch form – a thought experiment about how things might be if they had turned out just a little differently.
The Type 10 is pitched as an imaginary ancestry to the Type 20, a very real watch that just about everyone reading this will be at least somewhat familiar with. Imagining a predecessor to the Type 20 also means imagining the infrastructure to create it, the timeline on which it would have been made, and even design details that might have been improved or altered in the later (and real) watch.
Today, Albishorn releases a new variant of the Type 10, which they’re calling the Type 10 Officer. Like previous Type 10s, this is a monopusher chronograph designed in the language of military issued watches. This one has a white dial, which the brand explains makes more sense for an Officer in 1948 who might have more use for a watch in daylight operation. Dark dials can be harder to read in bright conditions due to glare, and the white dial mitigates that.
The color of the dial suggests a patinated white that has become creamy with age, and everything is very easy to read lume filled black numerals. The display is a unique Albishorn creation, with subdials at 4:30 and 7:30 providing a read on running seconds and elapsed minutes, respectively. At 12:00 you’ll find an aperture that gives a visual indicator of the chronograph’s running status (reset is black, start is red, stop is white). The chronograph pusher is an oversized red button on the caseband, designed to be easily actuated by the wearer with their thumb. The 10:30 crown adds another layer of imagined weirdness to the Type 10.
The movement (dubbed the ALB02 M) was created specifically for this watch and its unique layout, and is a great example of a way a new generation of small indies and microbrands are carving out unique identities for themselves through customization. The movement itself is part of the storytelling of the watch in a way that we just normally do not see in watches at this price point. In terms of its specs, it’s a manually wound caliber with 65 hours of power reserve, and it has also been COSC certified.
The case measures 39mm in stainless steel, and is a relatively slender 12mm tall. It has alternating polished and satin finished surfaces with tastefully chamfered edges.
The Type 10 Officer goes on sale tomorrow at the Albishorn website. It’s a limited edition of 99 pieces to be produced over a period of three years. The retail price is CHF 3,950. Albishorn
