Lilienthal Berlin’s L1 – Subtle Elegance

I recently came across a watch that immediately caught my attention.

The L1 by Lilienthal Berlin. The watch was designed in Germany and has won awards for it’s minimalist styling.

The subtlety and elegance of the design drew my attention – there was something about this watch…I must have clicked the ad six times over five days.

As a watch aficionado, I have a large variety of watches that range from the simpleness of a Bucherer manual wind, to some of the more esoteric brands such as Acxent of Scandinavia. I will be reviewing that as well.

The details I pay attention to are:

• How easy it is to read?
• Does it look good and feel good on my wrist?
• Is it a good value?
• Is it stylish?

I don’t need another look-a-like watch. I do my best to make sure I don’t get another watch that mimics one I own. I would draw one exception: I would love multiple Rolex Submariners in black, green and gold. There are many watches that just get lost in the massive amount of watches being sold today. The L1 stands out.

Some watches are advertised all over Facebook and other social media sites, and if you search out the brand, it’s a $2.00 buck watch with a huge markup. There are tons of those. Most are rebranded from China.

This L1 was not one of those watches. That was apparent as soon as I clicked to the site. At the starting price point of $229.00, this was a very classy looking dress watch with an attractive looking dial and hands.

The watch is offered in six possible combinations, two different case sizes and ten band colors, each with the signature blue that is on the seconds sub-dial and the stitching on the band. I went with the larger case at 42.5mm.

The watch arrived shortly after I ordered it and I could not wait to get it in front of my camera, before I even put it on my wrist. Lilienthal Berlin has partnered with Amazon for order fulfillment here in the states so it was delivered within a week of my order.

The presentation box is well done with a cutout for the watch and the paperwork neatly inserted at the top, under the buckle of the band.

Yup, I am also a photographer and truly love doing watch photography. I can get up close and personal, the challenge is to get a good macro shot and still have good focus on the details.

I put on the white gloves and started taking shots. This watch was a real winner for close up photography.

Made in Germany, with the logo representing both sides of Berlin, the hands are double struts, a feature that was one of the reasons I was attracted to this. Many dress watches have very thin hands and depending on the dial design, it can be tough to easily read the time. Every try reading gold on gold?

The dial is a three part dial – the outer markings on the dial are in numbered in five minute increments and the four minute marks between the numbers are attractively grouped with a solid line connecting them. The inner dial has the Lilienthal Berlin company logo at the 12 position with the name of the company neatly tucked below. The seconds dial houses the number 6 at the bottom.

Overall the appearance is unique with the hours markings inside of the minutes, and the second hand inside of the hours.

It has a nice heft to it and feels solid but comfortable at approximately 63 grams.

The curved lugs hug my wrist perfectly and it is easy to keep on all day. The crown is nearly embedded and does not interfere with my wrist moving. I am a lefty – some crowns when worn on my right hand, are just not as comfortable. The L1 is a pleasure to wear.

I chose the black dial, gold tone case and the black leather bands as this fits into almost anything I wear, even when I have to wear a shirt and tie. I can see the time clearly even without glasses on since the larger case and the L1 hands are easy to read.

The L1 is powered with a Slimtech caliber 1069 Swiss Ronda movement. This lets the watch measure in at 7.5mm in thickness. Perfect for a dress watch. It will fit under the cuffs of a long sleeve shirt. The case is 316L surgical steel.

A sapphire hardened mineral crystal tops the watch and it’s water resistant to 5ATM or about 50 feet. I don’t plan on swimming with this watch, especially if I am wearing a suit. Three screws hold the case back.

The case is made from 316L surgical steel and features a sapphire hardened mineral crystal glass and . I can’t tell you how important that is to me. I wear my watch on my right hand as a lefty, and certain styles of stems can dig in and leave marks.

The stem is neatly tucked into the side of the case and is pulled out to set the watch without much effort.

Handling it, I noticed a certain weight and finesse to the case. It really has a good solid feel to it.

The band is German made and plant-tanned, giving it a breathable quality, and also making each strap unique. The stitching on the band near the lugs is the same color blue as the seconds sub-dial.

The straps are also interchangeable by the wearer with the slide of a pin on the band. If you want to change the look, get a different color band!

I can already tell that this leather band will break in quite well after the two weeks of on and off wear.

The L1 is available now and there is also a limited edition of the watch with only 999 available.

Lilienthal Berlin’s site: https://www.lilienthal-berlin.com/

Lilienthal Berlin's L1

10

Style

10.0/10

Comfort

10.0/10

Fit & Finish

10.0/10

Looks

10.0/10