Worn & Wound
Toledano & Chan Introduces the Breutalist, a Limited Edition for the Horology Club
We’re about half a year removed from the release of Toledano & Chan’s b/1.3r, certainly the brand’s most ambitious release to date with a solid gold dial, subtly updated case construction, and their first “Swiss Made” designation. They’ve followed up that launch with their first collaboration with The Horologly Club, the Hong Kong based watch collecting community (which actually has members all over the world, including T&C; cofounder Alfred Chan), just announced this morning. The new limited edition, which they’ve called the Breutalist, takes on a familiar form with some very specific design codes that fans of the brand will likely welcome. The distinctive shape of Toledano & Chan’s watches have taken inspiration from the former Whitney Museum building, designed by Marcel Breuer, from the very beginning. The building is considered a masterpiece of Brutalism, an architectural discipline often cited as inspiration by watch designers, but rarely actually “getting it” in the way Toledano & Chan does (they ship their watches in concrete presentation boxes, which puts them miles ahead of other so-called Brutalist brands, in my opinion). The design of the iconic windows in that building, specifically, is what lends T&C;’s watches their distinctive, asymmetrical shape, and informs the shape of the crystal, which has become a T&C; calling card. The idea behind the Breutalist is to be far more straightforward and literal in what it takes from Brutalism and Breu...