This past week, German independent watchmaker Kudoke unveiled its latest model, a new variation of the Kudoke 2 dubbed the Grüner Wald Sonderedition (“Green Forest Special Edition,” in English). The new piece came about as a result of conversations between Stefan Kudoke, Founder of Kudoke, and Christopher Daaboul, founder of haute horlogerie boutique EsperLuxe at Baselworld 2019. In the course of their talks, the two conceived an idea for something unique that brought together the elegance of hand-worked independent watchmaking with the “luxury concierge” experience offered by boutique buying; the Kudoke 2 Grüner Wald Sonderedition was the ultimate result.
At first glance, the special edition is similar in its aesthetics to the original Kudoke 2, though a closer look reveals some obvious differences, most notably the forest green dial for which its named. The case of the watch is well proportioned, at 39 mm in polished steel and featuring angled lugs and an onion-style crown. Underneath the sapphire crystal lay the hand-worked, frosted green dial mentioned prior, bordered by an outer brushed metal minute ring accented with black dots and Roman numerals for the hours and minutes. This minute ring provides a nice parallel with the 12 o’clock subdial used as a day/night indicator, which has a similar brushed finishing and black accenting on its edges, though it opts for Arabic numerals rather than Roman.
The hour and minute hands used on the dial are unique to the Kudoke, and the noticeable lack of an additional seconds hands gives the watch a further nod toward casual elegance. The hands pass steadily over the simple, applied Kudoke logo, which is placed unconventionally toward the bottom of the dial.
Inside the Kudoke 2 Grüner Wald Sonderedition is the brand’s first in-house movement, the manually wound Kaliber1, which stores a 46-hour power reserve. It is on the surfaces of this mechanism that Kudoke’s hand-finishing work really shines: the colors and decorative patterns of the caliber instantly recall the gilding and engravings used on 19th-century English pocketwatches from which this timepiece takes inspiration. The caliber also includes the engraved word “Sonderedition” in addition to its various floral motifs, and a small, engraved “EL” representing it as an EsperLuxe collaborative model. The caseback protecting the movement has a sapphire crystal to exhibit the excellent work, and each one is numbered, out of only 10 total watches produced.
According to EsperLuxe, all the special-edition models are currently spoken for, though if you are interested in buying one it may be worth reaching out to their concierge for inquiry just in case any become unexpectedly available, which is somewhat common among haute horologerie boutiques. Before selling out, the model was listed at $12,000, somewhat higher than the regular-production Kudoke 2 watches, which are listed at $10,300.
To learn more and inquire for purchase, visit EsperLuxe, here.
To see other Kudoke watches, visit the brand’s website, here.
