The mildly refreshed Oktopus II Titanium Double Date collection now comes in a flashy new color of lipstick red. The color is not limited to just the dial and the thick rubber strap but also decorates the gaskets between eight steel screws and the black ceramic bezel. And if you get tired of so much red on your wrist, the rubber band can be easily swapped for a more discrete black textile strap that comes free of charge.
Like it was the case with the original model, the big date indicator on the Oktopus II Titanium Double Date Red is still located at its usual position at 12 o’clock. However, unlike Richard Mille’s recent RM 030 model with a normal date indicator, the display is almost (like, absolutely, but not really) unreadable.
This happened because, for some unfathomable reason, LW’s designer decided that simply skeletonizing the dial would be too trivial, and we can’t have that, can we? So, they went all the way and decided to also skeletonize the calendar wheel. The result was less trivial, but you could still be able to see the current date, and we can’t have that, can we?
So, they decided to paint both skeletonized disks in the same “lipstick red” color as the other parts of the dial. And they looked upon their creation and it was good.
Of course, if you are ready to take your time and spend several seconds trying to discern one numeral from another, that’s absolutely okay, but if you are filling in the blanks in a hurry and just want to remember what date is today, this could become really annoying really quick.
Still, if you ignore the messed-up Double Date display (I mean, it’s only the main selling point of the watch, not that big of a deal, right?), the dial looks almost perfect.
The hour markers are painted in white lume, which is in contrast to the red background of the chapter ring, and the wide, thick hour and minute hands are, too, generously covered with white Superluminova that makes reading time a super-easy task whether deep underwater or in some dark place on the surface.
Like the original, the new limited edition model is powered by the same self-winding Dubois Depraz caliber 14580.
Based on the ETA 2824-2 work-horse that now sports a DD add-on module, it was further modified by Linde Werdelin for that “skeletonized” feel that, to my taste, doesn’t fit a diving tool, which is supposed to be an example of readability in all sorts of ways.
According to the brand’s official press release, LW limits this new Linde Werdelin Oktopus II Titanium Double Date Red to just 88 pieces that are already available at their partners’ numerous stores, so there is a chance that they will be sold out fairly soon.
As usual, the watch can be easily partnered with their proprietary electronic diving computers.
As for pricing, at this time you can order one of these beauties at $11,500, which is fairly reasonable for a watch with such an unusual design.
Photos: Linde Werdelin
Linde Werdelin Oktopus II Titanium Double Date Red specification
Price: $11,500 (Retail)
Movement: Automatic, Dubois Depraz caliber 14580, base ETA 2824-2, modified by Linde Werdelin, Swiss Made
Number of jewels: 26
Movement frequency: 28,800 vph
Power reserve: 42 hours
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, big date
Case: Titanium
Bezel: Black ceramic
Crown: Steel
Shape: Tonneau
Bezel shape: Round
Dimensions: 44.00 mm x 46.00 mm
Case height: 15.25 mm
Dial: Skeletonized
Numerals: Arabic, red, luminous
Hour markers: White, luminous
Hands: Luminous, polished steel
Water resistance: 300 meters
Strap: Black textile strap or red rubber band
Crystal: Sapphire, antireflective
Back: Solid, engraved