Leica strikes a pose with the ZM 11

Today we take a closer look at the Leica ZM 11. Right now, in the watch industry, there are two almost diametrically opposed movements. The first is that we’re seeing a Renaissance for independent watchmaking. The industry has been completely disrupted by small independent brands, from plucky and affordable Kickstarter microbrands to auteur watchmakers rivalling established players for value, quality and storytelling. The second trend is that we’ve also seen luxury brands who aren’t typically known for their watchmaking really step up and invest in making horologically credible timepieces. We’re not just talking about fashion houses like Louis Vuitton or Bulgari, either: We’re also talking about brands like Porsche Design, for instance.
It’s in the middle of these two trends that we find Leica. The renowned German brand - which is not a part of any luxury conglomerate - has long been a byword for quality when it comes to cameras, but in recent years, Leica has also become a watchmaker. They made their debut with the ZM 1 and 2, which were elevated, manual-winding pieces with complications and designs inspired by photography - including a novel push-in crown and second-stop mechanism, innovations that are unusual to see out the gate from an independent. Leica has now followed up with the ZM 11, an integrated luxury sports watch that nods to the Leica brand more specifically while also aiming for a broader watch audience.
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leica-camera.c...
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Brand - Leica
Model - ZM 11
Case Dimensions - 41mm (D) x 13mm (T)
Case Material - Stainless steel, grade 5 titanium
Water Resistance - 100 metres, screw-down crown
Crystal(s) - Sapphire front and back
Dial - Black and red, golden brown, sunburst blue
Lug Width - Integrated
Bracelet and strap - Case-matching bracelet, butterfly clasp; rubber or Cordura strap, case-matching pin buckle
Movement - Leica LA-3001, Chronode C102 base, automatic
Power Reserve - 60 hours
Functions - Hours, minutes, seconds, date
Availability - Now
Price - Starting from US$6,775 (Midnight Blue), starting from US$7,275 (Launch Edition, Coffee Black)
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[@BrotherClint-eg7vf]

It was unbelievably expensive for a sports watch from an unknown watch brand.

[@marcusflack1523]

I think the pedigre of the camera brand does massive favours for the credibilty of venturring into the watch world. They have carved such a following with thier approach to quality. So to me this kinda makes sense.

[@Ghostina1]

Well they can handle glass. I have Full frame and Middle Format lenses worth 80k from Leica

[@TheBrah808]

@marcusflack1523 no it doesn't, cameras and watches are completely different. 7K is madness. Where do you send this for service? Directly to the french brand or leica? Who does the service in 5, 10, or 15 years? Will leica still be in the watch business or will they go back to cameras? To much to gamble on a French movement maker and a random name brand. Throw a Ferrari label while we are at it for a leather strap and charge 2K extra! Perhaps a grey pupon label? Enjoy wasting your money!

[@BrotherClint-eg7vf]

@TheBrah808 agreed 100%

[@criose]

The black dial with red sub dial highlights looks truly sublime.

[@marcusflack1523]

yeah that def is a very nice tough. Unexpected

[@watcheswithabdullah]

What surprised me was when Kiyotaka Sakai (Grand Seiko watch designer that designed the Evo 9 Collection) mentioned Leica cameras by name as one of the modern-day influences during a GS event. I think they're still relatively lesser known in the watch game, but they definitely have a big enough following and potential to get far ahead.

[@marcusflack1523]

Yeah I think you nail it here. I thnk brand recognition is stacking the cards way in thier favor. Lets all hope they continue to progress with there design approach (pretty safe to say they are fine in this department) but also thier movement approach. Lets see

[@taterporkchop]

Love these Leica's; but $6k US? At $3k US they'd sell more, for sure. $6k is a big ask.

[@marcusflack1523]

For sure you would move more if its more afordable. But Lieca is by no means an everyday camera to the camera world. Seems appropriate that thier approach is similar here in the watch world

[@The_RealStarkIndustries]

Leicas…not Leica’s *Trying to save one improper apostrophe user at a time😂 ✌️

[@the_sun_rise]

Price is as crazy as their camera 😅..very bad value for what you have with this watch in my opinion.

[@MrMessageWaiting]

Not even a certified chronometer from what I can see either. A joke at this price.

[@koolpep]

Hmmm, Chronode movement and the same bracelet maker as Moser Steamliner, I think you get very decent value for money with the ZM.

[@JamieWeissWatches]

@@koolpep I think this is the point people are missing... and the bracelet in particular is just sublime. ~Jamie

[@LRSTGS]

41mm is an appropriate size for a watch with a dive/functional bezel. All dial at 41mm will look like a dinner plate on most average sized wrists.

[@jamieferrato]

39mm would be such a sweet spot for this watch. 41 tends to look good on camera, but in person feels huge on most wrists.

[@marcusflack1523]

All depends on the wrist I think

[@millersciencesms762]

You lost me at 41mm diameter and 13mm thick. 😮

[@Lima6400]

I truly love this watch. It sits and wears extremely well. The dial is absolute stunnig. The dial play so well with the light. That’s why I bought the blue first and than the coffee brown version. Well done Leica!

[@frogsplorer]

Are you into photography as well?

[@marcusflack1523]

YOU BOUGHT 2 of them. WOW heavy hitter. Congrats

[@johnmonachelli5256]

Think of it as a moser for 6k

[@marcusflack1523]

HA

[@tonylee-UK]

"...let us know by Leicing and commenting..." I see what you did there.

[@marcusflack1523]

That was a freeby to be fair

[@Milochung]

Love the watch tray used in the video. Can you please share the brand/product?

[@UnlikelyReply]

Im seeing alot of hate on the price tag, and for myself it is too expensive. But if you compare the overall look and build quality of the straps and dial it is within its right to ask this price. Lets not forget, there are some big boy brands that sometimes fit a quartz movement and still charge £4k upwards for pieces that dont look half as good as this watch. I think its stunning, especially the coffee dial.

[@koolpep]

Totally agree, bracelet is amazing, movement made by Chronode, it’s very good value for money. But it’s not cheap.

[@marcusflack1523]

Nailed it

[@barryvercueil2346]

Not a Leica camera guy. But the watch is phenomenal

[@marcusflack1523]

Yeah at least they seem to true to thier design approach even in teh watch world hey. Very refined and there is something very Liecable about it.....Did you like what I did there?

[@Spectrecontrol]

Leica is developing a brand image with a focus on a niche audience looking through the lens of an established frame within the perspective of a respected manufacturer. 📷 😉

[@marcusflack1523]

That was such an INCEPTION comment you get all the points on teh comment scale today!

[@MrMessageWaiting]

Ask yourself, would you buy a 6K camera from Rolex? Nope, me neither.

[@marcusflack1523]

The pedigre of Lieca entering the watch world is pretty unique. This makes sense to me I think

[@WatchesBeAwesome]

Love the design of their pieces, but the prices are off-putting.

[@tonylee-UK]

Definitely a piece to buy in the sales or pre owned.

[@feisty8]

"Coffe Black" is totally up my ally .. Loved it ❤

[@marcusflack1523]

Yeah me too. And on that fabric strap wow

[@derekacorah5516]

Nice watch. Crazy price. Would imagine they'll depreciate significantly so will hold out for pre-owned prices

[@WristwatchWorkshop]

Visually they're nice. Unfussy, but without looking plain. I love the bracelet, but I love the Streamliner's too, so that's not surprising. It's interesting to see them bucking the trend of slightly smaller watches. The finishing looks good, as does the movement. The big sticking point (as other comments have said) is the price. At 6k we're into the territory of stuff like Seamasters, but they have an in-house co-axial movement, dive chops, and perhaps most importantly provenance. Maybe a Rolex Explorer 1 on the secondary at a little over 6k, if you can get one. For a relatively unproven camera equipment company, its a big swing.

[@marcusflack1523]

True but I would get way more excited meeting someone on the street wearing this than any bnig box brand. This has way more design flex and character. I get it. its the newcommer. But just making a point

[@WristwatchWorkshop]

@marcusflack1523 Don't get me wrong, I'm all for them making that swing, it's a tough benchmark though (and I agree, it's a more interesting choice)

[@benhinds57]

*checks prices* and for that reason, I'm out

[@marcusflack1523]

Hahahahahahaha I love your comedic line "checks prices".....bahahahahaha youre funny genuinly made me laugh

[@morgan97475]

This case design reminds me of Havid Nagan. You ought to check him out.

[@herodmchughyou]

It’s a lovely looking watch, but what did you have a guy jumping through your video?

[@marcusflack1523]

Was a fun little nod to the RED that Lieca uses in thier cameras. The guy in the video has these red shorts and its felt like a photo shoot lets say. So with a little creative stretching to me it made sense.

[@herodmchughyou]

@ it would have made sense to see him with the watch or taking photos. But it was just too disconnected I felt

[@alexwatchberg]

Even though they look amazing as they are, but I cannot get out of this feeling of buying watch from camera brand. Yes, manufacture is there, but just cant get rid of it. Even if they know what are they doing. Like with the Montblanc (except they high horlogerie Minerva pieces). Just saying :) Still look great tho!

[@marcusflack1523]

Yeah lets see how they go. I for one think this is a great move from them and could spell some pretty desirable pieces down the track that sit in that designer sweet spot and a little stealth

[@frogsplorer]

I agree. I feel I would need to be a camera enthusiast as well as a watch nerd. They haven’t lost a sale as I’m kind of priced out. I think the price is right for the quality of the product.

[@jameshoward9700]

They've done a very good job here - I'd like to see a bit more classic Leica design cues like a cursive logo or a red dot on the crown. And maybe finishes more similar to the cameras, at least for the core models, so a black chrome and silver chrome seem obvious, but maybe a black paint to get the faithful drooling! But a very good start!

[@marcusflack1523]

Some very nice ideas you articulate here. Yes that would be fun to see. Will be very interrested to see where they take thier design from this point

[@ZackHalverson]

movement looks sleek and unique

[@AlanLee-dy8sx]

Wow, Marcus replied to all the reply. Big shout out to him.

[@marcusflack1523]

And you get a very special response. Hows it going? Whats omn your wrist hey? welcome to the chat

[@AlanLee-dy8sx]

@ 🤣Big fans of the channel. Doing good, I will usually put on my BB58 if I can’t decide what to wear.

[@wisamal-hakim5531]

Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Bulgari. They make luxury goods like jewellery handbags luggage clothes etc The luxury mechanical watchmaking pedigree wasn’t necessarily there until recently. Leica’s founder is a watchmaker. They make some of the most solidly engineered cameras on the planet. They are the epitome of quality assurance when it comes to luxury mechanical engineering. Yes they’re expensive. So are their cameras relative to Sony, Nikon, canon etc. I’ve handled these and they’re fantastically well made watches. Beautifully designed case, dials, straps and bracelet and strap change system. Beautiful robust in house German aesthetic movement. shine up some bridge bevels call it a German streamliner call it moser and charge over £20k.

[@EdwardViaTomato]

Very nicely finished. Low profile but nuanced.

[@marcusflack1523]

agreed

[@Frank-qs3pe]

I like the watch box , is it a Wolf ?

[@marcusflack1523]

Noooo

[@marcbrunengraber3507]

Really cool watches - at a top end price of $5k. At their price point, I would never choose one over other competing options.

[@PaddyMcMe]

The bracelet design on the ZM 11 is amazing, it's up there with the H. Moser and Cartier De Santos. Proper bracelet.

[@danny77670000]

Really have a soft spot for the ZM but price is steep

[@marcusflack1523]

Not for the everyday person I guess . But to thouse out there with an iffinity to the brand. This would be right up thier alley

[@frogsplorer]

That hacking on the ZM…

[@Mark-P]

Three snappy watches!

[@marcusflack1523]

Now they need to make it so you can remote trigger your camera shutter with the crown on the watch. Then WOW you have a true TOOL watch

[@RichDunn51]

The off centre text at 12 compared to the dial design cheapens this so much! Looks like a horse dial! The text is not centre between the indents

[@BrianNovak-gk5rb]

I REALLY like this watch

[@marcusflack1523]

Yeah I feel something special towards this design approach also. Clean and robust.

[@weezkidtube]

Reminds me of the Porsche IWC

[@marcusflack1523]

Yep I can see where youre going with that assesment.

[@JamieWeissWatches]

100%, It's definitely evocative of those Porsche Design By IWC Ocean 2000s ~Jamie

[@scottlawrenceplus]

Coffee dial all day every day please!

[@marcusflack1523]

100 percent

[@trafiak8]

I’m not a fan of the case shape in respect to the bracelet. I get they’re an expensive and luxury camera brand, but for what you get, the watch seems far too expensive. I could name several other watches at this price point that I would get before I would ever think of getting this watch. I do like the dial design though, the black and red looks pretty interesting

[@marcusflack1523]

I think the brand name itself holds value for many out there. I think for the right person particularly Leica fans of the camera world this could be a show stopper

[@EarlyNai]

very nice clean look👌

[@javiercandia3823]

6k???? nope

[@robbieedwardes1615]

I like the watch but as a person into photography I can't get past the Leica brand. They have a great name in general and you nailed it with Leica and general public but most photographers would rather buy a Leica for 7k then a watch

[@skieur9723]

The internship trivia is a far stretch really. When I was 16 I washed city buses for 2 weeks to make some pocket money during the summer. I think that qualifies me as a legit specialist industrial sized vehicles maker.

[@almeladze]

Bvlgari isnt a fashion brand like LV (or Hermes), it's a jewelry brand like Cartier, Chopard, Piaget. There's a lot closer relationship to the watchmaking there...

[@combolife]

They actually look cool

[@marcusflack1523]

Yeah stunning!

[@WatchWithMike]

Leica has always been the Hasselblad of cameras. Maybe someday they will become the Rolex of watches. 😁

[@BobbyDazzler888]

Amazing!! But i wouldn’t put $1 of my own money to buy it.

[@Greysprunkiyay]

Broke boi

[@marcusflack1523]

hmmmm okay

[@ZackHalverson]

Launch edition is clean

[@kevinhan721]

For camera they can position themselves unique with that crazy price tags because no one has that heritage etc. But for watches, Leica isn't any better than any major horology or independent horology. They will fail. Mark my word

[@marcusflack1523]

Its very early days so I would hold your horses for a bit. Many succesful companies diversify very well. And thier heritage is very establised. I could see them gaining a great foothold in teh future with the watch world. DOes not seem like a stretch in my eyes.

[@adrianjackson200]

Love them all

[@jarlanbarrosobotelho8354]

O relógio é muito bonito e bem construído, com um ótimo movimento. Só que a falta de tradição da Leica na relojoaria e o preço, são dois pontos negativos.

[@vinceliardi1662]

There's a lot to 'Leica' here... though the $7,000 USD price tag is truly absurd. I expected this watch to be in the $3,600 - $4,300 range and was aghast when the price was mentioned right near the end. Literally more expensive than a Rolex OP, and more or less on par with the prices of Omega, Grand Seiko, etc... truly shocking.

[@TheBrah808]

7K is crazy, who does the maintenance? How about parts in 15 years? Yeah, no thanks. All these small brands will be impossible to get parts. This commercial of a channel sucks.

[@koolpep]

@@TheBrah808Leica still repairs your 70 year (or older) old camera, no other manufacturer does that. Movement is done by Chronode, quite an established manufacturer which produces for much higher end brands usually.

[@marcusflack1523]

@@koolpep Thankls for this comment. makes sense

[@잡았다요놈-y9w]

lol these guys should just stick to making cameras.

[@marcusflack1523]

Nahhh If any brand can pivot to watches. I think Leica gets to be one of the forst in line in my eyes

[@csabah.6251]

looks cool

[@r3dsnow757]

Camera nerds confused reading the title

[@marcusflack1523]

hahahahaha maybe.

[@mdo5121]

HIGH END CAMERA AND LENSES YES...BUT THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND WATCH PRICING...THEY ARE A MICRO BRAND AS A WATCH BRAND.

[@marcusflack1523]

Lets see how it pans out.

[@jerdonsbabbler3515]

This is going to tank in the secondary. It already looks dated.

[@Johnny641]

The price is quite frankly ridiculous but the unfortunate reality is this watch is no worse in value to any other "luxury'' branded watch , they are all egregiously overpriced tat at this point.

[@zoidberg1437]

Oh man I hope time and tide got some good money for this, I thought Leica looked ugly only in pictures then I saw them in person this summer and they suck even more, idk who is this watch targeting

[@marcusflack1523]

Hmm strange how watches evoke different responses to different people. I really dig this approach. Very clean simple but resonates stromngly with the Leica approach to what they do.

[@The_RealStarkIndustries]

This is really just overpriced Leica-fanboy ‘merch.’ Wouldn’t buy one, for the same reason I don’t buy modern Porsche Design or Montblanc watches. Leica should stick to cameras, Porsche-cars, and Montblanc-pens. *Although, Montblanc’s Minerva-equipped pieces are certainly respectable.

[@arturs3047]

No thanks

[@TheBrah808]

Absolute waste of money. Who does the servicing in 15 years? Who keeps the part? Hard pass 😂.

[@marcusflack1523]

Quote from @koolpep "Leica still repairs your 70 year (or older) old camera, no other manufacturer does that. Movement is done by Chronode, quite an established manufacturer which produces for much higher end brands usually.

[@The_RealStarkIndustries]

Appears movement-maker Chronode’s been around for nearly 20 years, but I’d have the same concerns.

[@TheBrah808]

@The_RealStarkIndustries yeah that's a flash in the pan and custom order means less parts. Just go with Omega or Rolex, stick to cameras Leica. 7K can get you a lot of watch compared to just a name. Wild stuff.

[@kezzatube45]

Just like their cameras, overpriced 😆

[@Phoboni]

Looks like a cheap timex

[@marcusflack1523]

Wow I think you musist be talking about another watch this is way higher build quality and design approach.

[@The_RealStarkIndustries]

Spoken like a true wristwatch connoisseur. NOT 😂

[@GMC2001]

coffee black

[@marcusflack1523]

Yesssss