Hands-On: the Apiar Gen1.0

The British brand Apiar has an intriguing slogan emblazoned across the front page of their website: Impossible Watches. Made Possible. If you spend enough time thinking about watches, collecting watches, and learning about watches, you begin to realize their limitations. Whether they’re chronometry related or have to do with the design and build of the watch itself, there are certain things that just can’t be done, or else stretch the limits of our current technology to the point where those things aren’t remotely feasible. The crazy idea you had for a watch case that defies the laws of physics might be something that only exists on paper. 

Additive manufacturing and 3D printing technologies have the potential to change that. When a metal object is formed by adding material to it rather than stripping it away, a manufacturer can create shapes, textures, and structures that would be impossible otherwise. Apiar’s Gen1.0 is a thrilling example of the possibilities of 3D printing in watch manufacturing. They’re by no means the first to create watches this way, of course, but they’re part of a new class of brands using the technology in an experimental way that seems to finally make the most of it, creating not just beautiful objects that defy watchmaking convention, but watches that redefine our expectations around durability, lightness, and other metrics by which all of us evaluate these things. Importantly, the use of additive manufacturing also democratizes watchmaking to a large extent, moving the manufacturing away from the usual supply chains and leveraging those with an expertise in precision engineering in fields like aerospace, automotive, and medicine. 

The Gen1.0 is a 39mm titanium watch (grade 23) that measures an extremely svelte 9.2mm tall and 43.75mm from lug to lug. At a glance, you might think that it’s just another avant-garde dial with a case that might be made in a conventional way, or perhaps makes use of injection molding near the lugs. But the architecture of the Gen1.0 is anything but conventional. It’s a three piece construction, with the caseback essentially acting as a cradle for the rest of the watch. This component is defined by the intricate lugs and case walls, which have an organic yet architectural quality to them. 

Sitting inside this cradle is the dial and midcase, a single piece of 3D printed titanium (the third piece of the three part case design is a rather run of the mill titanium bezel). The dial, I’m guessing, will be the main talking point for the Gen1.0. It resembles a metallic spider’s web, with subtle undulations throughout that give it shape and play with the light in unexpected ways. Those wave-like undulations very subtly divide the dial into twelve invisible sections that assist somewhat in helping you recognize the time at a glance. It’s backed by an anodized aluminum plate (a blue one on this “Dusk” sample) to give the piece some color. 

This dial is really quite cool, and aesthetically reminds me of the cover of Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures, one of the most iconic album art designs of all time. I’m not saying I’d consider buying a watch whose dial made me think of “Unknown Pleasures” every time I looked at it, but I’m not not saying that, either. More importantly (probably) it makes for an effective talking point for Apiar when getting the word out about the watch. The sample I was sent also included raw 3D printed examples of an unassembled midcase and caseback to drive the point of the unusual architecture home. This is clever, and while I’m guessing the production version of the Gen1.0 will not include these extras, I hope that Apiar is able to otherwise communicate how this watch is built in some innovative way. Because once you grasp that the dial is part of the case itself, it fundamentally changes how you view the watch, and even impacts the wearing experience in a way that’s tough to describe. It underscores that our brains are hardwired to understand that the dial of a watch is a component separate from the case, and acknowledging that in the Gen1.0 they are one in the same is a bit of a head trip. 

Apiar has a thorough explainer for how they use additive manufacturing on their website, but the concise version is that they use laser to sinter titanium powder into a solid metal one layer at a time. According to the brand, each layer is just 0.06mm thick. This level of precision, and the strength of the titanium alloy they use, allows Apiar to create the mesh-like design used for the case back and lugs, which they believe offers a similar level of rigidity and structural integrity as a traditionally machined case in a lighter form factor (the Gen1.0 weighs just 38 grams). The same principle, of course, applies to the dial: less material, but super strong and light. 

The finishing of the case (and dial) is defined by a rough texture that’s formed as a result of the additive manufacturing process, which involves multiple heating and cooling steps to achieve the end result. I imagine some people will really enjoy the look of this finishing, while others will not find it appealing at all. To me, it feels like something out of the mind of H.R. Giger – a watch truly fit for a Xenomorph. The raw metal look is often associated with 3D printed materials, and while it’s possible to finish material produced this way to more closely resemble what we think of as “high end” case finishing (precise brushing and mirror polished finishes, for example) Apiar has chosen to keep the industrial look in-tact for the Gen1.0, although they do apply a minimal amount of additional finishing to give the watch a cleaner look and improve their feel in the hand and on the wrist. Still, you don’t have to be a watch expert to hold the Gen1.0 in your hand and understand that it’s made in a non-traditional way, and I think that’s very much the point. 

Personally, I think that’s a smart decision, as it helps to remind you, always, of how the watch was made. More than most watches I’ve had in for review recently, the “how” of it all is really important. Not just because it’s a relatively novel way to make a watch, and offers designers and manufacturers opportunities to experiment wildly with complex case geometry, but because it’s a core component of Apiar’s mission as a brand.

Like many brands, Apiar highlights sustainability as a part of their ethos when it comes to watchmaking. Additive manufacturing, by its very nature, produces less material waste than traditional machining methods. It also allows Apiar to keep the manufacturing close to their homebase in London. They’ve partnered with Apex Additive Technologies out of Ebbw Vale in Wales for the 3D printing and nearby FN Manufacturing for additional CNC machining and prior to final assembly. Both of these firms have a history primarily in aerospace and other industries, making them part of a growing network of manufacturing companies applying expertise honed in other fields to watchmaking. 

This is an incredibly encouraging development, and something we’ve highlighted in the past when discussing American watchmaking, specifically the work of Zach Smith at Hour Precision. Additive manufacturing is another frontier on which brands can potentially grow with domestic manufacturing partners. Like the Cornell Lozier we’ve been talking about since it was announced earlier this year, Apiar’s Gen1.0 is almost entirely made in the brand’s UK home, with the exception of the movement (this watch runs on the La Joux Perret G101 automatic). For those of us who are largely movement agnostic on watches under a certain price point and are interested in seeing watch manufacturing expand beyond Switzerland, Japan, and China, it’s exciting to consider what might be possible when creative people like those behind the Gen1.0 start talking to experts in other types of precision manufacturing, who might have a workshop just down the road.

I’ve been very impressed with the Gen1.0 in my time with it, both as a statement on British watchmaking, the future of manufacturing, and as just as a watch to wear (imagine that). It has that futuristic, sci-fi look  – that I’ve become especially partial to in recent years – in spades. And because of its incredibly light weight, it’s very easy to wear. That said, it’s not perfect, and as the name of the watch suggests, it feels experimental, and like something that can be refined in future versions. My biggest gripe, which is still relatively small, is the uniform minute markers printed on the crystal. Against the complexity of the dial underneath, these markers become a bit of an eyechart, and it’s difficult to know the precise time to the minute at a glance. Of course, knowing the precise time to the minute at a glance is not particularly important to me, but I wonder if overall legibility and balance would be better with markers that stand out at five minute intervals, perhaps. Another option, and one that I’d probably vote for, would be to forgo minute markers entirely, let the dial speak for itself. Apiar is not allergic to that style of design, so it’s conceivable that future versions of this watch, or another watch entirely, could employ a similar aesthetic. 

The Apiar Gen1.0 in both Dawn and Dusk variants launches today at a retail price of $2,596. This is the most price sensitive era of watch enthusiasm I can personally recall, and makes the asking price of any watch a discussion prompt in a review like this. Normally, I’m less inclined to talk about the “value proposition” or lack thereof of any specific watch in this sort of context, as I try to take a position that these things can be appreciated for what they are outside a discussion of potential ownership. In other words, our reviews are not buying guides. They’re merely our assessments of how we feel about a watch for what it is outside the scope of the price tag. 

That said, I think around $2,500 is an objectively fair and appealing price point for a watch like this considering the work Apiar has done to keep manufacturing close to home (they include a detailed breakdown on their website of where everything is made, and besides the hands, crown, crystal and movement, everything is sourced from UK makers – one would expect they’re working on a solution to making the hands and crowns for future releases within the UK). It’s also a truly original design that will appeal to fans of the unusual. The type of collector that’s interested in having something at the watch meetup that no one else has, and maybe hasn’t even heard of, is going to understand that sometimes there’s a premium to be paid for designs like this with a niche appeal, where every component is bespoke. 

Watches like this are my favorite to write about, because they serve as regular reminders of the strength of the watch industry. This one in particular is a reminder that the industry is rapidly changing, and that a future version of it might be less Swiss, and less reliant on traditional methods of manufacturing that have been the standard for as long as anyone alive can remember. It goes without saying that those traditional ways of making watches should always be preserved, but there’s plenty of room for young, upstart brands like Apiar to think about these things a little differently. Apiar 

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