Toledano & Chan Goes Stealth Mode With First World War Ship Camouflage Inspired B/1

In 1917, navies started painting ships in clashing stripes and angles as a form of camouflage. It did help mask the boat against the waves when viewed from a plane, but it was even more effective at tricking the new weapon in World War I, the submarine. Ships carrying this dazzle camouflage were near impossible to tell which way they were heading or how fast. It worked wonders. The cammo has recently become increasingly popular, and appeared in the watch world as well, as seen on the patterns that the Grey Nato is using on their products. Now, the same pattern shows on the new variant of the Toledano & Chan B/1. This was already a very cool angular titanium watch, but now it gets a wild pattern on the case, bracelet and dial.

The Grade 5 titanium case is 32mm wide, 31.5mm long and 9.1mm to 10.4mm thick, with a faceted sapphire crystal and 50 meters of water resistance. A CNC machine cuts the pattern first, then it's frosted with diamond dust, and the cased is finished with a brushing on the proud parts. That leaves three textures, from smooth to coarse, each throwing light back differently, so the case seems to change shape when you tilt it. Like the dazzle camouflage should do in real life.

On the standard version, which will be made in 188 examples, the engraving continues straight onto the dial. The only other things there are two angular blades for hours and minutes. Reading the time means finding two hands in a surface designed to confuse the eye, which is just too fun. Toledano & Chan will also make a 12 piece series called the Double Dazzle, which gets 350 natural pavé diamonds on the dial instead of the cut pattern.

The Sellita SW100 inside is an automatic based on the ETA 2671, a calibre built for small cases, beating at 4Hz with a power reserve of 42 hours. The integrated titanium bracelet is fantastic, with each link a different size, narrowing toward a butterfly clasp perfectly hidden.

The Toledano & Chan B/1 Dazzle is limited to 200 pieces: 188 priced at $7,700 and 12 Double Dazzle at $9,700, both before tax. Sales open October 24. See more on the Toledano & Chan website.