Kristian HaagenThere are no Alps, no Val de Joux nor a daily herd of watchmakers commuting to each their manufacturing company anywhere to be seen in Denmark. None the less a successful brand has appeared from the land of the Little Mermaid and other fairytales.
”Are we seated properly,” Morten Linde asked his partner, Jørn Werdelin - who had just returned from heli-skiing at the highest European mountain, 5600 meter high Elbrus, in Russia. The reason why he asked is due to his experience with medias. If Morten is positiond at the wrong side of Jørn, the picture texts will credit the seated duo Werdelin Linde.
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Morten and Jørn are obviously used to the press as the watch brand bearing their surnames enjoys great success all around the world, not least Spain, USA, Russia, England and of course the motherland, Denmark. Not only many well established watch medias has long time ago opened the eyes - and magazines - to the Danish watch brand. Even such highly appraised medias such as Monocle, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times have discovered the young up-and-coming watch brand. FT even went as far as to dedicate a whole paragraph in their watch and jewellery special, dubbing Linde Werdelin ”New kids on the block” in 2007, when reporting from the annual watch shows, Basel World and SIHH.
A true sports watch
The idea of creating a wristwatch extraordinaire arose in 2003, when the two friends looked into the market of true sports watches. Morten Linde had a long career as designer for i.e. Georg Jensen and TAG Heuer behind him and Jørn Werdelin was a banker based in London at the time. Both are avid skiers and in such a degree that they wanted a watch especially designed and produced to meet their needs on the snowy pistes around the world.
Morten designed the highly innovative Jesper Bank sailors watch for Georg Jensen in 2002. This particular watch offered a duo construction giving the owner the opportunity to wear the watch both as a dedicated nautical watch as well as a daily timepiece. Inspired by this novel idea the Danish duo created the “world's first professional sport swatch,” they tell Watch Tempus, while visiting their Danish authorized dealer, Franz Jaeger & Me, in central Copenhagen.
Founder's watch
In 2006 Linde Werdelin could introduce the first batch of the first mechanical watch, Biformeter. 222 units were produced with a dial and case back indicating ”founders watch”. These early Biformeters were produced to fulfil the interest from family and friends who had followed the highly motivated and ditto creative duo in their quest to create the perfect sports watch.
The Biformeter was however not the only horological product coming from the two friends. More importantly a complimentary attachable digital Instrument followed the intro of the Biformeter and the world press soon picked up on the innovative introduction on a market that is so hard to enter if not backed up by a obscene amount of money, creative PR-agencies and preferably with an expensive Hollywood star to boot as brand ambassador.
Instrumental
The Instrument series offers two models, each meeting professional needs: The Reef (for diving) and The Rock (for skiing/rock climbing). Both Instruments works as a separate clip-on construction with innovative software designed and produced in Denmark. It works with a rechargeable battery not unlike a mobile phone. Both Instruments are produced in lightweight aluminium and milled in a five-axed CNC machine to meet the duos extremely high demands for their product.
Wet
The Reef, formerly known as the Sea Instrument, is an essential tool for protection, guidance and re-experience during diving and under water activities. The Reef has been meticulously developed in conjunction with professional divers and is the first dive computer with a 55mm transflective colour screen offering superior legibility underwater and responding automatically to the environment and the conditions both on land and underwater giving a first class display even in the most awkward of light situations.
Dry
The Rock, an updated version of the Land Instrument, is an essential tool for protection, guidance and re-experience in the mountains or on the ski slopes. The only sports instrument with an external temperature sensor that can capture a whole day's experience graphically, with a main viewing screen that can be personalised to your needs. The Rock is continuously developed by professional athletes and tested in extreme conditions such as The Everest and the South Pole.
“I always carry my temperature measuring device on my ski boots,” Jørn Werdelin tells Worldtempus. “And I leave my temperature measuring device outside my hotel window at night. That way I can see how the weather has developed while I slept, hence getting a assumption of what to expect of the day to come,” says Morten Linde. “Yes, you become your own little weather man,” giggles Jørn, celebrating his and Morten's creation, which they have dubbed “the world's first real sports watch”.
Impressive collection
Today Linde Werdelin offers an impressive range of mechanical watches, besides from their – locally produced – digital Instruments. 2009 has introduced the exquisite SpidoLite with independent watch maker Svend Andersen modified movement, the dramatic diver's watch Oktopus, The One (which is a Version 2.0 of the Biformeter) as well as the traveller's cosmopolitan's favourite, the 3 Timer.
Visit “The Lab” to read Morten and Jørn's personal comments and follow the progress of this fascinating and highly innovative Danish watch brand: http://thelab.lindewerdelin.com/
