A long lived pet peeve of mine in the watch industry is people referring to watches as “Brutalist” without having a clue about what the term really means. How, I always wonder, can a brand refer to their watch as being inspired by Brutalist architecture without it even being made of concrete? Well, the debut watch from Toledano & Chan gets closer to a Brutalist aesthetic a lot of watches that lay claim to it in my opinion, living up to a very specific bit of inspiration in a key piece of New York architecture. And while the watch itself might not be made of concrete, the box is (really), and as someone who identifies Boston City Hall as one of his favorite buildings, that scores major points in my book.
The B/1 is the result of a collaboration between watch designer Alfred Chan and artist, watch collector, entrepreneur, and budding TikTok personality Phil Toledano. You may remember Phil from his appearance on the Worn & Wound podcast, and if you’ve spent any time looking at watches on Instagram or TikTok, you’ve likely seen him unboxing new (but actually old) Pateks, Cartiers, and Piagets with his pal Mike Nouveau. Phil (who goes my Mr. Enthusiast on social media) has long been one of my favorite collectors for his eccentric and adventurous taste, fully embracing the strangest and rarest designs by the aforementioned brands and many others. If the industry as a whole is currently moving toward smaller watches, shaped cases, stone dials, and the avant-garde, let it be said that Phil got there first. He’s been interested in this stuff for years, and banging the drum for anyone who would listen.