Kollokium is not a traditional watch brand but rather a "project-based platform" founded in 2020 by three friends and veterans of the watchmaking industry: Manuel Emch, Amr Sindi, and Barth Nussbaumer. The trio's mission is to explore new possibilities in watchmaking from alternative perspectives, free from the constraints of an established brand or inherited design language. This philosophy of creation ex nihilo—creating from scratch—allows them to fully manifest their unique vision. Their aesthetic, which they term "neubrutalist horology," is a fusion of post-war brutalism, Kraftwerk-esque synth-pop, and the retrofuturism of Philip K. Dick, resulting in timepieces that are more like wearable art than conventional watches.
The brand's debut, Projekt 01, immediately established Kollokium's unconventional approach. Its most striking feature is a three-dimensional dial composed of 468 cylindrical pins of varying heights, each hand-lumed with Super-LumiNova, creating a pixelated, topographical effect. The case is made from die-cast steel, giving it a raw, industrial finish that eschews traditional polishing. This model has been released in several limited-edition variants, each with a different color of lume, and all have sold out quickly, attesting to the project's appeal among collectors.
Continuing their exploration of texture and depth, Kollokium's Projekt 02 features a dial constructed from 67 stacked plates, creating a topographic map-like landscape. While visually distinct from its predecessor, it shares the same core principles of industrial design and a unique visual language. Both "Projekts" are powered by the La Joux-Perret G101 automatic movement, a reliable Swiss caliber that the founders intentionally leave unadorned, as their focus is on the external design and aesthetic experience. Kollokium has successfully carved out a niche for itself, offering timepieces that are both conversation starters and examples of innovative design, or as they put it, if traditional watchmaking is a classical opera, Kollokium is an "indie, gritty sci-fi noir."