Dennison Sunray Black in Stainless
Mid-Century Modernist: Dennison Makes a Comeback with the Retro A.L.D.
The contemporary cushion-shaped design traces its roots to cases in the firm’s 20th-century archives.
By Laurie Kahle
Contributor
With the launch of the stylish A.L.D. collection in October, Dennison Watch SA has officially revived the historic brand name best known for its cases with affordable watches exuding a retro mid-century vibe.
The new series of eleven pieces is named after Aaron Lufkin Dennison, the founder of the prestigious case maker established in 1874. In Dennison’s 20th-century heyday, it produced cases for the likes of Rolex, OMEGA, IWC, and Jaeger-LeCoultre. The firm closed in 1967, so the sixties inspiration of the A.L.D. is fitting for the brand’s monumental return as a watch company.
Past Presence
Historically, the Dennison Watch Case Co. was a British-American entity known for high quality and innovation in water and air-tight cases.
The brand supplied the British Military with watch cases and other instruments for more than 50 years. Its “Aquatite” cases housed thirteen Smiths watches that made the trek to the summit of Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Another Dennison case was strapped to the wrist of Lt. Commander Lithgow when he broke the world air speed record flying the Supermarine Swift.
Given this history, Dennison decided to play up its tool-watch roots for the brand’s soft launch in 2016 with the 50-piece DENCO53, a design modeled after a 1950s-era field watch. In a sharp pivot, the new A.L.D. puts the emphasis on chic and sleek style while still making the link back to vintage cases in the historic house’s archives.
Retro Chic
The A.L.D.’s cushion-shaped, lug-less design is the brainchild of Swiss watch designer Emmanuel Gueit, an industry legend best known for designing Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Offshore and Rolex’s Cellini as well as other models from Piaget, Harry Winston, and Hermès.
“The difference between Dennison and the other brands is the shape,” says Gueit in a video about the launch. “It’s bringing an old shape back alive, back up front again. It’s something different.”
Evocative of vintage TVs, the cushion cases are available in stainless steel as well as steel with a gold PVD treatment. Gueit pairs them with minimalist dials bearing only the insignia of the brand.
Black, blue, and green sunray finished dials play beautifully with the light, but the real showstoppers are natural stone dials in tiger eye, malachite, lapis lazuli, and aventurine. Each is fitted with a complementary-colored, croc-style leather strap fastened with a buckle that echoes the case profile.
Stone Cool
From the striated green malachite to the reflective stripes of golden-brown tiger eye, each stone dial is unique given its organic nature. Stone dials were notably in vogue during the sixties, when Piaget famously pioneered the trend, and lately, they’ve been having a major resurgence.
The svelte 37mm case is only 6.05mm thick thanks to its slim Swiss-Made Ronda Quartz 1032-1 movement, which – along with production in Hong Kong – allows the brand to offer natural stone dials at an affordable price.
Pricing & Availability
Dennison’s new A.L.D. collection is available today. The sunray finished dials are priced at $490 while the natural stone dials are priced at $690. For more information and to purchase, visit Dennison’s website.