The label ‘elegant tool watch? is a bit of an oxymoron when you think about it. Objects we?d traditionally refer to as tools are generally far removed from any context under which they could possibly qualify as elegant. A few bar tools come to mind, a restored felling axe perhaps, but definitely not that wrench set you got on sale at Wal-Mart. Yet, it?s a description we find ourselves faced with in regards to many watches that walk a fine line between tool and jewel. The Rolex Explorer immediately comes to mind as just such an example, the Monta Noble another. A new brand hailing from Berlin called Ten Eleven Nine is aiming to enter these ranks with three new watches being funded through Kickstarter. We got our hands on a prototype of the Researcher model to see just how close they get.
Leif Henrik Osthoff

Ten Eleven Nine is the brainchild of designer and photographer Leif Henrik Osthoff, who began work on this collection back in 2019 after being unsatisfied with the current offerings on the market. With studios in Berlin, Leif formed Ten Eleven Nine, named for the zip code of Berlin Mitte, 10119, and is meant to reflect the city?s ?attitude towards life involving cosmopolitanism, tolerance, diversity, creativity and respectful coexistence of different life plans.? The name might not roll off the tongue with ease but it?s a sentiment we can get behind. To emphasize that ethos, the caseback is engraved with a ?Truth Beauty Love? motif applied tastefully abo...