Spotlight: Kudoke 3

Ever since I first saw Stefan Kudoke’s watches, I have counted myself a huge fan. A talented watchmaker who had completed his training by age 20, Stefan Kudoke is also incredibly talented when it comes to hand-engraving, with a catalogue of work split across two distinct collections.

You can read my previous interview with Stefan here.

The first of these, Kunstwerk (the German word meaning “work of art”), is where you will find pieces which have been skeletonised and engraved by hand. The Kunstwerk collection contains one of my favourite watches: Free KudOktopus features a meticulously detailed hand engraving of an octopus on the skeletonised dial, where the octopus engravings extend beyond the dial onto the case as though it is escaping the watch, as well as featuring two blued tentacles with suction cups forming the hour and minute hands.

Secondly, we have the Handwerk collection, which contains a more traditional style of watchmaking, and use Stefan Kudoke’s own Kaliber 1 hand-wound movement, which was developed with Habring2 and is based on their A11 movement.

As much as I enjoy the Kunstwerk watches, the more traditional style found within the Handwerk collection is more my cup of tea. The Kudoke 1 and Kudoke 2 have been very successful, and even more so after the Kudoke 2 won the GPHG Petite Aiguille Award in 2019 (with that in mind, it is understandable as to why it took a further 4 years before the Kudoke 3 joined the line-up!)

On a recent visit to my partners, UK-based independent watchmaking specialist retailer The Limited Edition, I was able to finally get hands on with the Kudoke 3 and enjoy it in person. So, let’s take a look!

Kudoke Watches, Kudoke 3

My first impression of this watch in person was that for a watch which has taken quite a different direction in terms of how time is displayed, especially next to the Kudoke 1 and Kudoke 2, it is amazing just how… “Kudoke” this watch is. When you look at the Kudoke 3 alongside the Kudoke 1 and Kudoke 2 watches, the lineage across all three watches is there for all to see, and I think Stefan Kudoke has done a great job in achieving this.

Where Kudoke 1 and Kudoke 2 are more traditional in their approach to displaying time, both two hand watches with either a small seconds complication in Kudoke 1, or a day-night indication in Kudoke 2, Kudoke 3 takes a somewhat radical step in comparison and introduces a novel way of displaying the hours, inspired by a circa 1695 pocket watch made by Joseph Windmills in London.

Is it a two hand watch with four hands? Or a three handed hour hand? Take your pick!

Whilst this type of display is not new in itself (Daniel Roth and Cartier come quickly to mind), it certainly isn’t something that you see very often. I think it is quite an elegant way of displaying time – almost like a layered version of a retrograde complication where the hand doesn’t need to flip back to the beginning of the scale. Normally it is used for either a minutes or seconds hand, so it is a welcome change to see it used on the hour hand.

The dial is effectively split into two halves, with the lower half of the dial sitting as a layer atop the rest of the dial. Within the upper half are three scales which look like three arc-shaped retrograde displays on top of one another, but these are in fact the basis of the hour indication. The bottom arc shows 2 to 6, the middle arc shows 6 to 10, and finally the top arc shows 10 to 2.

Where you would normally find a single hour hand which rotates about the dial once every 12 hours, pointing to an hour marker every 30 degrees around the dial, with the Kudoke 3 there are three pointers of different lengths which make up the same hour “hand”. These pointers are spaced 120 degrees apart, so that as the single “hour hand” rotates, the pointers indicate the passage of each hour, slowly working their way between the three layers of the display.

With the lower half of the dial sitting atop the rest of the dial, it conceals the hour hand and its pointers, when they are moving between 3 and 9 o’clock, such that you can only see one pointer at a time on the upper half of the dial (except for on the hour, when you can see two pointers which will point to the same number on opposite ends of two layers of the scale).

Suffice it to say, it sounds far more complicated than it actually is! (In the photos above, the time shown is 1:52, and the “third” hour hand will be pointing to 6 o’clock, and is therefore concealed from view).

With the rest of the watch, it very much speaks a similar design language to the Kudoke 1 and Kudoke 2 – the hands are blued, and we have the same 39mm and 10.7mm thick stainless steel case with 50m water resistance rating and well-sized fluted onion crown (the case is also available in rose gold as a special order).

Where we have previously found the infinity symbol used on the hour hand, this has been moved to the counterweight on the minute hand, discretely applied such that one of the infinity loops forms the centre axis of the minute hand. An additional infinity symbol has also been added as the 12 o’clock marker on the chapter ring, linking the symbol and its use back to the hour, as it was for the Kudoke 1 and Kudoke 2.

The upper and lower plates are both finished with a similar frosted or grained effect, which I thought contrasted really well against the chapter ring and hour scales, which are finished with a subtle and concentric brushing, and of course the hallmark Kudoke signature logo plate.

On the reverse side is a sapphire caseback which reveals the manual-wind Kaliber 1, which offers up to 46 hours power reserve when fully wound, and whilst the movements are not fully engraved by default this is an option available too, should you so wish!

(Can you spot the infinity symbol making a discrete  appearance on the balance cock?)

Finally, the watch is presented on either a leather (as seen in the photos) or Alcantara strap with pin buckle and quick release, but a deployant folding clasp is also available as an elective option.

In Summary

As with other Kudoke watches that I have tried previously, I really enjoyed this one on my wrist. The 39mm size works really well, and at 10.7mm thick it doesn’t feel too overbearing but also has a solid wrist presence which I enjoy.

It might not be a huge step away from the Kudoke 1 and 2 once you get into the details, but the novel way in which Stefan Kudoke has chosen to display the hours on this watch is, in my opinion, a welcome splash of creativity. I think that because it has been done in an elegant and restrained manner, it works really well despite standing out from the rest of the Handwerk collection.

With a UK retail price of £9575 the Kudoke 3 isn’t overly different in price from the Kudoke 1 and Kudoke 2; I think the introduction of the Kudoke 3 serves to expand the Handwerk collection and showcase more of Stefan Kudoke’s creativity and flare. Hopefully it isn’t as long again until the next Kudoke watch – maybe we will even be treated to a Kaliber 2! But it is great to see Kudoke watches going from strength to strength, and I am certain that they will continue to do so.

To learn more about Kudoke, visit Kudoke.eu or follow Kudoke Watches on Instagram. You can also visit our partners at The Limited Edition.

Be sure to mention “Watch Affinity” when speaking with the team at The Limited Edition to receive a small gift with any order!

If you have any questions, please get in touch via our Contact page, or via our Instagram.

You might also be interested in:

• Value for Money in Independent Watchmaking – Part 1
• In Conversation with Stefan Kudoke
• Spotlight: Kudoke 2 British Heritage
• Watch Stationery and Gift Ideas
• Watch Books, Watch Boxes and more at the Watch Affinity Shop on Amazon (commissions earned)

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