Whenever I go to a watch event, whether that’s a local meetup, Watches & Wonders, or one of our own Windup fairs, my brain does that thing where upon leaving, I’m trying to figure out the MVP from that event. Not that the watches are in competition with one another – it’s just how I organize my thoughts, figuring out what I liked the most. Coming out of British Watchmakers’ Day last month, the clear MVP for me was the extremely limited Apiar Gen1.1 Underground. I reviewed an early version of this watch last year and was really impressed, and this limited edition (just three pieces!) had a London Underground inspired dial made by The Dial Artist himself that really won me over. I’m a bit of a public transportation nerd so this one called out to me in a strong way, and I admit that I left London last month with a twinge of regret that I didn’t pull the trigger on this watch when I had the chance.
Luckily for at least some of us (but not me, I’m tapped out, really) Apiar has followed up the Gen1.1 Underground with a predictable but very welcome sequel, the Gen1.1 Night Tube. As you can probably gather from the name of the watch and the photos, this is effectively a blacked out version of the Underground, because people, of course, ride the subway at all hours of the night in London. This marks the first time Apiar has used a DLC coating on one of their watch cases. Aesthetically, it really shifts the focus to the dial, which I think takes on a brighter quality given the darker frame. The dial is finished with rhodium plating as opposed to yellow gold seen on the Underground, which makes the design feel that much more integrated to the case.
Apiar is carving out a niche for themselves by making as much of their watches with additive manufacturing techniques as possible, and with local partners based in the UK. For the Night Tube, and the previous Underground LE, they’ve shifted to a more traditional CNC process with laser engraving for the dial. It’s finished by hand by Chris Alexander, who applies the enamel paint that makes this dial so distinctive and immediately recognizable as Tube inspired. There’s also lume applied to sections of the dial, allowing the craft to be visible in a new way in low light conditions.
It’s worth taking a moment, I think, to acknowledge that 3-D printing/additive manufacturing is having a real moment in the watch industry. Within the span of a week, we’ve brought you news from Holthinrichs about their latest 3-D printed watch, and now with this launch from Apiar I think it’s fair to say that two of the most interesting releases of the year (or three, if you count the Underground as a separate release) have been 3-D printed. Then there’s the Ming Polymesh bracelet, which is simply one of the coolest watch related products I’ve experienced in my time working in this industry. This is a technology that appears to be at an early stage of maturation, and it’s exciting to ponder what 3-D printing in the watch industry might look like five or ten years down the road given what’s already been accomplished.
The Gen1.1 Night Tube will be made in an edition of 33 pieces, a number chosen because 33 km/h is the average speed of the Northern Line train that Apiar’s founders use on a daily basis. Apiar notes that watches will be manufactured to order, which allows for some bespoke customization options. The retail price is set at £2500, not including VAT. Apiar
Zach Kazan
2026-04-02 14:00:00