Kollokium - Projekt 01 Variant H
Every good story deserves a proper send-off. After nearly three years and a string of limited-edition variants that each sold out in short order, Kollokium releases the culmination of one of the most genuinely original watch designs of the decade. This new release represents a return to the source, now backed by a long period of introspection, refinement, and evolution.
Going Out with a Glow
Variant "H" brings the story full circle. It pairs the matte black dial of the very first Projekt 01 references with the more abstract, dotted dial architecture introduced by Variant "F", and then turns the lights down to reveal something truly extraordinary: the most lume ever fitted to a watch dial.
Consider the numbers. A single gram of Super-LumiNova pigment is typically enough for 200 to 300 conventional dials, each with a dozen pad-printed hour markers. The Variant "H" dial swallows two grams spread across 488 individually hand-applied cylindrical Lichtblock™ pins in six different diameters and heights, plus Lichtblock-filled hour and minute hands and a glowing blue seconds hand. It won't literally glow 500 times brighter, but the difference when the lights go out is impossible to miss.
Where Variant "F" charmed with a subtle violet glow, "H" goes all-in on Super-LumiNova BGW9, one of the brightest-glowing Swiss pigments available, emitting an intense cyan-blue for hours on end. There's solid science behind the choice: blue light is far more perceptible to the human eye in low-light (scotopic) conditions, making this not just a visual spectacle but a genuinely legible one.
Building that spectacle is painstaking work. Each dial takes roughly eight hours to assemble—pin by pin, in an unforgiving process where one faulty element or misalignment means starting over entirely.
Proudly Raw, Deliberately Different
If the dial is where Variant "H" burns brightest, the case is where Kollokium first made its name. Rather than milling and polishing like virtually everyone else, the brand casts its 316L stainless steel case the old-school industrial way: molten steel injected into a cast form. The result is a uniform, tool-like texture that's neither matte nor frosted: deliberately raw, yet unexpectedly soft to the touch. It remains one of the most distinctive case constructions in modern watchmaking.
The two-part architecture features a barrel-shaped caseback element with lugs inspired by cruciform screwdrivers, shaped as if chiseled down to what's structurally essential, and a case middle that carries the project's cryptic internal designation, K,P-n°01, cast directly into the left band. A triangular, valve-shaped crown completes the industrial character.
Variant "H" also features a reengineered case: to accommodate the added height of the Lichtblock hands without disproportionate bulk, the movement now sits slightly lower in the case, keeping the watch a very wearable 40mm across and under 12mm thick overall.
A Practical Kind of Rebellion
Underneath the neo-brutalist packaging beats the Swiss La Joux-Perret G101 automatic, a 4Hz calibre with a reliable 68-hour power reserve and 50 meters of water resistance.
The strap deserves mention too: an elastic, breathable hook-fastening design inspired by outdoor gear, developed by kollokium to sit securely without ever feeling tight. Variant "H" arrives on a creamy-white strap that echoes the Lichtblock pins (sans the glow) for maximum contrast, with a black alternative included for those who prefer to keep things understated.
Technical Specifications
Case
Two-part steel case topped by cylindrical sapphire glass box
Diameter: 40.0 mm
Height without sapphire crystal: 7.0 mm; Height with sapphire crystal: 11.95 mm
Solid case back
Valve-shaped crown
Water-resistant to 5ATM
Dial
Textured matte black dial base
488 hand-applied cylindrical markers in Lichtblock™ ceramic-hybrid infused with blue
emission Super-LumiNova.
Matte black hour and minute hands with violet emission Lichtblock™ elements and blue seconds hand
Movement
La Joux-Perret G101 automatic movement
Diameter: 26mm
Height: 4.45 mm
Frequency: 4Hz / 28’800vph
24 jewels
Uni-directional unsigned winding rotor
Power reserve: approximately 68 hours
Strap/bracelet
Cream-white elastic textile single-piece strap with “hook” buckle in die-cast steel, second strap in black included.
Warranty
3 year international warranty
Price: HK$38,888