“U No Brando” What about it and how it started.

It all started somewhere in November 2022, with “Hi Seconde/seconde/ team! My name is Herman, I’ve been a huge fan of your work!”
It was not until September 2023 when we met in a Japanese restaurant in Marais, Paris, that we were finally able to shook hands and said, “let’s do it!”

The talk I had with Romaric — the brain and heart behind seconde/seconde/ — was nothing but fascinating. He’s an intricate guy, very enthusiastic and his extensive knowledge of watches, design, and business really blew my mind. I couldn’t believe it when he said that he studied business and never officially trained in design. If he’s not a genius, then who is?

He’s worked with legendary brands like Nivada Grenchen and Timex. His latest collab with Spinnaker was also a hit, probably the most discussed project before 2023 ended. I felt obviously inferior to his achievements, until he said, “I don’t care about the monetary value of our project, I love your brand, and I think your design languages are aligned with mine.”

We talked in detail about what we could do with Lima Meca Revolt and its interchangeable bezel. He came up with the idea based on this famous bezelless GMT Rolex Ref. No.:1675, once owned and worn by Marlon Brando in a film Apocalypse Now that was sold for US$ 5 million in an auction a couple months ago.
Then I was like, NICE! Let’s exploit this and replicate this iconic piece! And he said: No, this time I want to do it differently, something never made, never done before. I am not going to play around with the hands; let’s make this an anti-Brando watch. Instead of diminishing the presence of the bezel, let’s encourage the user to put on the bezel, just because they are not Marlon Brando.

“If you ain’t Marlon, put the damn bezel on!” That’s what’s written on the case around what supposedly where the bezel is on. Damn, catchy ain’t it?
I, on the other hand, created a totally new dial and hand set. The approach is to bring a vintage and a more traditional look to the watch. It is a black dial with a white outer. I even moved the LIMA logo from the bottom half to the top half where the logo ‘should be’. Not just that, the markers is colored with pumpkin color that also matches the lume on the hour and minute hand.
On the back, I simply engraved “seconde/seconde/ edition” rather roughly, like a vandal. We will still provide two interchangeable bezels for you to play around with.

So yes. this time we are launching 30 pcs of “U no Brando” Meca Revolt. After that we will be taking pre-order in case you missed the chance to get your hands on it.

Honestly this is the most exciting project of 2023 for me, and I am very thrilled that we can finally bring this collaboration to life. I hope you are too.