Toledano & Chan Introduces the B/1.2, a Follow-Up to One of Last Year’s Breakout Independent Hits
If 2024 was defined by the rise of shaped cases and stone dials, it appears that 2025 is starting off with more of the same. Last year, Toledano & Chan had an unexpected hit with their debut watch, the B/1, which was a contemporary riff on the classic Rolex King Midas and similar avant garde designs, with a Brutalist inspired case shape and on-trend lapis lazuil dial. Now, for the brand’s second serialized release (they produced a pair of one-offs for auction last year with cases crafted from carbon and meteorite) they’ve made a handful of subtle refinements to the original idea, added a mother-of-pearl dial, and introduced a dramatic, faceted crystal. It’s a more complex idea but shows in clear terms how the brand might grow with future releases, showing that they have plenty of tricks left up their sleeve and intend to keep their momentum going. The new watch, dubbed the B/1.2, prominently features an asymmetrical sapphire crystal that echoes the lines of the angular case. Faceted and asymmetrical crystals are rare in watchmaking. Production of crystals in unusual shapes, particularly when made from sapphire, is challenging and expensive. Perhaps even more importantly, a crystal with facets will distort, to some degree, whatever is viewed through it, which is not ideal for time telling. It’s perhaps especially not ideal for time telling on a watch with a dial that does not include markers or numerals of any kind, like the B/1.2. But that underscores the whole...
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