Yes, you read that title right. The very timepiece you see here, the RNR Arkonik by REC Watches, has a dial that’s fashioned out of the right door of a Land Rover Defender.
This is something you don’t see every day. But it’s a concept that REC is very familiar with. All of its recycled dials are obtained from cars or aircraft, each one with a story behind it. This makes every watch unique, with the dials having the donor panel’s fair share of patina. You can even see elements inspired by the vehicle’s design on various parts of the watchmaker’s products.
For the RNR Arkonik, the story of this watch comes from a Stratos Blue 1984 Land Rover Defender 110 called “Ujo.”
Arkonik is the name of a UK-based Land Rover specialist. In 2006, founder Andy Hayes came home from the hospital only to find out that his wife had bought him a 1984 Defender. This gave him something to do while recuperating from his injuries following a motorcycle accident.
After making the SUV roadworthy, he drove it all around Europe. During the trip, he decided that restoring Defenders would become his life’s work. And thus, Arkonik was born. Ujo is the shop’s hero car, which Hayes uses to this day.
The 40mm stainless-steel square case is littered with tons of details found on Ujo. The crown guard is engraved in a similar way as the Defender’s grille. The caseback has the same pattern as the 18-inch EVO Corse DakarZero wheels. And the intricate case engravings mirror the decor on the vehicle’s chassis rails.
The dial is stamped out from the original right door of Ujo, with the paint and the primer removed to show the scratches and the dents on the bare metal. It’s a relatively simple affair, featuring the REC and Arkonik logos and with a date window and a 60-second dial found at nine o’clock. The Stratos Blue paint adorns the chapter ring, parts of the dial, and the rubber straps.
Keeping things ticking is a Sellita SW290-1 automatic movement with a relatively short power reserve of 38 hours, though we’re sure the watch would stay wound with how often one would wear this unique timepiece.
The RNR Arkonik is limited to 302 pieces, each coming in at $1,395 (P70,000) with free worldwide shipping. And while REC Watches is kind enough to let you pick your serial number, the first and last ones have already been taken.
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