eduardo souto de moura crafts a new lebond watch with tilted dial and hours

Lebond watch by Eduardo Souto de Moura

Lebond taps the 2011 Pritzker Prize honoree Eduardo Souto de Moura (the 2024 honoree is Riken Yamamoto) to design its new watch, and the architect tilts his timepiece at 30 degrees clockwise, including its dial, hours, movement, and crown. It’s Eduardo Souto de Moura’s take on a driver’s watch. As the wearer puts their hands on the wheel, they see the time on their line of vision rather than twisting their arm to properly check where the watch hands are pointing. ‘We rotate 30 degrees for optimal visibility on the wrist,’ says Eduardo Souto de Moura.

Minimal and clean lines replace the numbers

12 is the reference in Lebond’s watch designed by Pritzker Prize honoree Eduardo Souto de Moura. At that hour, a long straight line serves as 1 and a printed 2 stands beside it. For the rest of the hours, minimal and clean lines replace the numbers, recalling the architect’s own style in his oeuvre, and the lines at the three, six, and nine o’clock positions match to bring symmetry and distinct themselves from the minutes and their sibling hours. ‘I want the watch to be and feel as slim as possible,’ says Eduardo Souto de Moura.

grade 5 titanium for lebond’s watch

Pritzker Prize honoree Eduardo Souto de Moura prioritizes both form and function in his design. While pared down to its essentials, the watch still features a date function, placed at the three o’clock position. Lebond adopts grade 5 titanium for the watch as its primary material, and since the architect wants to make the watch as slim as possible, a 38.5mm large case was crafted. With the strap attached underneath it, the case thickness is a mere 7.6mm, and the total weight of the watch is only 46 grams.

Lebond applies a micro-sandblasted finish to the watch’s case, protecting the timepiece designed by Pritzker Prize honoree Eduardo Souto de Moura from fingerprints and dust. For specs buffs, an automatic, Swiss-made caliber named ETA 2892-A2 runs at 28,800 VpH/4Hz and offers a power reserve of 50 hours to the watch, decorated with blued screws, Geneva stripes, and circular graining. The final touches spring from Eduardo Souto de Moura’s autograph adorning the titanium grade 5 caseback with a sapphire insert. 

Each of the Lebond watches designed by Pritzker Prize honoree Eduardo Souto de Moura is individually numbered. The model comes in two different versions, both of which share the same 38.5mm-diameter titanium grade 5 case and ETA 2892-A2 movement. The ‘Original Edition’ showcases a matte beige dial paired with a navy blue Top Nappa leather strap. The ‘Dark Edition’ presents a matte gray dial with a matching black Top Nappa leather strap. Each model is priced at 2,700 EUR excluding taxes. The Lebond Souto Moura timepiece is the second Lebond watch designed by an architect, with the first one coming from Alvaro Siza.

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project info:

name: Lebond Souto Moura

architect: Eduardo Souto de Moura

brand: Lebond

photography: Fernando Guerra