When it comes to German watches, their designs are always outstanding and the watches themselves are always solid in very way. In our last post, we were lucky to have an interview with the founder of Lilienthal Berlin founder, and this time we are going to review one of their watches, the L1 All Blue.

L1 All Blue Features

First Impression

The watch has a simple minimalistic look. It follows the Bauhaus design from the 1930’s. Its large open dials stands out very much and the colour goes really well with the watch. Another feature which will grab your attention is the crown. The crown is hidden and its design has been really thought of. So far so good. Let’s go into more details.

Dial

The dial has a matte blue finish and the index has a white colour to contrast against it. It terms of legibility, it is great. The large dial makes it very easy to read the time and the numerals are large enough.

There are two index, one outer and one inner. The outer index have 5 minutes interval up to 60 and white batons in between the intervals. The outer index purpose is to help read the minutes. The inner index only have three numerals; 3, 6 and 9, which are much smaller. This index is to read the hour.

The dials also has a sub dial for the second. It is just above the 6 o’clock position and is large enough. The hand on the sub dial has a light blue finish and it has a circular background design.

In terms of the hands, they are thin and have a sword design to them. The width of the hands are of a decent size and does not cover much of the dial.

The hands along with the inner index numerals have been given a lumed finish. The lume is bright and legibility at night is good. The logo has also been lumed, which is great to see as we have always wanted to see this.

Case

The L1 All Blue casing diameter is quite large. It is 42.5mm and does take much of the wrist space. However the watch is not too thick. It is 7.5mm in width and it is pretty thin. The lugs are curved which helps to push the watch on the wrist and it does not stick out. In terms of comfort, the watch sits well on the wrist and does not get in the way.

The case has been given a polish finish and it the back has been engraved with Lilienthal Berlin’s logo and other information.

The lens has been given anti reflective coating which helps a lot. Reflection is at is minimal and this helps with reading the time clearly.

The crown is push and pull but an interesting feature is that it is hidden. The crown, when the watch movement is in motion, is pushed inside the crown guard, out of sight. You may think it will be hard to pull it out, however this is not the case. The back case near the crown has been designed to easily pull out the crown. The crown itself is also interesting. It has been cut 24 times, which represents the 24 main time zones.

Movement

The movement inside the watch is a Ronda, Quartz Slimtech Caliber 1069. This is a widely used movement and its accuracy is spot on. Depending on usage, the standard battery life is 25 months but can be 34 months.

Strap

The strap is made from natural leather and has stitching on the side. The length of the strap from the lug to its end is around 20mm. The strap is is soft, supple and does not need breaking into.

In terms of comfort, the strap moulds well around the wrist and is comfortable. There are also enough holes on the strap to suits smaller wrist.

There are also quick release pins, which are always a bonus with watches. Lilienthal Berlin also have a strap programmes and there are currently 28 different styled straps available for purchase.

Buy, Shortlist or Avoid?

Today’s answer is pretty simple. The L1 All Blue is a buy. From the design of the watch to the price, we cannot find any fault to the watch. The RRP of the watch is £211/ €239/ $264. The watch also comes in two sizes if you find the 41.5mm dial a bit too large. There is also a smaller dial of 37.5mm.

Another reason for watch is a buy is the mission of Lilienthal Berlin to produce more sustainably made watches. They have won the 2017 Green Product Award and from our interview with the founder, they want to be even more sustainable. The watch production and assembly is based in Germany, Pforzheim and Ruhla, and it is great to see that they are not lying about their ‘Made in Germany’ text on the dial.

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