Considering how rich the history of the watch industry is, stretching back centuries, it’s little surprise that there is always more to learn about. Today’s focus is the revival brand Dennison who have released their debut A.L.D Collection inspired by their impressive heritage. The A.L.D Collection is split into two main sub-categories, the stone dial series and the sunray dial series, so naturally I have here one of each for a full review. Specifically, we have the A.L.D Collection Midnight Aventurine and Sunray Black.
The name A.L.D is an homage to Dennison’s original founder Aaron Lufkin Dennison, the man who, in 1850, also founded the Waltham Watch Company, one of the United States’ most significant watch brands. However, the Dennison name itself became recognised in its own right in the late 1800s when Aaron Lufkin Dennison began producing high quality watch cases for other brands and introduced what at the time were new techniques and materials to watch production such as gold plating.
Across the 20th century the reputation of Dennison continued to grow. Shakleton’s expedition watches, WWI military watches, Edmund Hillary’s Smiths Everest ascent watches and a range of Rolexes, Omegas and Longines can all trace at least part of their production to Dennison. Then, in 1967 the brand disappeared – just before the quartz crisis meant many other watch brands would also follow suit. However, in 2024 the Dennison name is back.
Strapping on the A.L.D Sunray Black my attention naturally slides to the case, as that’s what the brand is historically famous for. Its shape is a kind of hybrid between a cushion case and a rectangle, measuring 33.65mm in width with a lug-to-lug of 37mm and thickness of 6.05mm. It’s pretty svelte, giving it a great unisex appeal. I understand the argument that the smooth lines and polished surfaces gives it quite a feminine aspect but, on the wrist, I think the size works really well, especially given the current popularity of retro dimensions.
The Sunray Black dial with steel hands (also polished meaning they sometimes look black depending how the light hits them) is suitably minimalist, letting the shape language of the case really shine. It’s a quiet and refined design. Which is interesting because swapping to the A.L.D Collection Midnight Aventurine, the dial on this version is anything but quiet. As the name suggests, the dial is made from aventurine glass giving it a sparkling, shining appearance that dazzles in the sunlight. It reminds me of clear nights when you can see the Milky Way lighting up the sky.
In addition to the mineral dial, the Midnight Aventurine ups the luxe ante even further with a gold PVD finish on the case, hands, crown and strap pin buckle. Turning either watch over reveals a solid caseback decorated with the Dennison logo with a radial pattern emerging from it. Protected by said caseback is the Swiss Ronda Quartz 1032-1 movement. Admittedly this movement lacks the prestige of a mechanical movement but it’s an integral part of maintaining the watches’ slim profiles. Plus, we’ve seen many revival brands start with quartz before graduating to mechanical a few years down the line and that’s entirely possible with Dennison.
If you’re looking for a stylish, accessible timepiece with the reliability and ease of maintenance of quartz, both the A.L.D Collection Midnight Aventurine and Sunray Black are worth a consideration. Or one of their many alternatives such as the gorgeous green Malachite stone dial edition. The stone dial versions are priced at £549 while the sunray editions are £390.
Price and Specs:
More details at Dennison.
