Linde Werdelin SpidoLite Summit

Linde Werdelin has a unique position in the watch market, originally producing avant-garde watches for skiers and climbers and later expanding into the dive watch world, they produce mechanical watches using both high-tech materials and modern design.

Founded by two Danes, Morten Linde and Jorn Werdelin, their vision was to create watches that seamlessly blended form and function, catering to explorers, adventurers, and outdoor enthusiasts. Linde Werdelin’s philosophy revolves around crafting timepieces that thrive in extreme conditions, whether scaling mountains or diving into the depths. While the founders are Danish, the watches are manufactured in Switzerland using independent artisans in both the Jura and Geneva, to create custom movements and parts.

When Linde Werdelin produced their first watches they also built a digital component - The Instrument. Two of these ‘Instruments’ were made, one for diving - ‘the Reef’ and one for climbing and skiing - ‘The Rock’. They both attached to the watch case, hence its specific design, and could be easily attached and removed. The Rock included a temperature and frostbite warning, a 3-axis compass with an inclination sensor, an altimeter, an isotherm, a barometer, and a logbook. It was water-resistant to 30 meters and weighs 44 grams. The Rock also included the Linde Werdelin Ski Guide data based on their books.

At the time of the Rock, digital watch brands like Casio, Suunto, and Garmin compared favourable in functionality but the watches themselves were throwaway plastic items.

The Rock was eventually surpassed in technology by a phone, not a watch. The introduction of Apple’s iPhone had integrated functions and eventually an endless library of sophisticated apps to a product you already had with you. The Instrument was retired in 2012 but the watches continue to climb mountains.

In 2016 Linde Werdelin introduced their lightest timepiece - the Spidolite 3DTP Carbon with its open-worked dial and outer carbon case that weighs 3.8 grams. 3-Dimensional Thin Ply or 3DTP involves a technique of layering thin sheets of carbon without delamination and making a strong and light case.

The carbon case has a microbille finish, with the inner and back cases made of DLC-treated titanium. The bezel is made of black ceramic with a satin finish on the top surface, polished facets, and microbille in the grooves. The sapphire crystal is anti-reflective on the inside, so the skeletonised dial and LW07 movement are visible. The Spidolite features a titanium crown and hexakey screws finished with a titanium nitride treatment. With 100 metres of water resistance, 75 of the watches were made. The watch was developed in conjunction with the British climber, adventurer, and pioneer of para-alpinism Leo Houlding. In 1998, Houlding etched his name in climbing history by becoming the first Briton to free climb El Capitan via the route known as The Prophet. For 16 years, Leo has been a Linde Werdelin Explorer, pushing the limits while wearing their timepieces including taking the Spidolite 3DTP Carbon to Mount Roraima in Guyana and the Spidospeed carbon to Mount Asgard on Baffin Island, Canada.