Description
The Dennison × Collectability Edition Oblique Collection is the second act of one of the more curatorially interesting indie collabs of the past two years. Dennison Watch Co. — the modern revival of the 1874-founded Birmingham case-making house — and Collectability — John Reardon's New York-based platform and the most-cited vintage Patek Philippe authority in print — return after their 2024 inaugural release with a four-piece collection designed by Emmanuel Gueit, the man who at 22 drew the 1993 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore. The collection opened a one-week pre-order window on Wednesday 27 May 2026, closing Wednesday 3 June 2026, with shipping in Q4 2026.
The brief is unusually specific: a sub-USD 800 asymmetric dress watch, in an oblique-vertical case shape from the 1960s asymmetric school, with two distinct dial concepts in two case finishes — four configurations in total, all at USD 790. The collection is sized at the natural orders received in the one-week window; there will not be a re-issue, but it is not numbered.
For a watch in this price tier the editorial story is unusual: a working Royal-Oak-Offshore-credited designer at a quartz-dress-watch price point, with a Patek-authority's curatorial signal-boost attached. That combination is what makes this one worth paying attention to.
Design
The case is the headline. At 35 × 33.6 mm and only 6.05 mm thick, it is an oblique-vertical asymmetric profile in stainless steel — explicitly drawn from the 1960s asymmetric school (think Hamilton Pacer family, Patek Ref. 3422 cushion, Omega 196.0149 "Stardust", Vacheron 6440 asymmetric series), not the more obvious Royal Oak Offshore lineage of Gueit's later work. The side flanks are polished, the brushed bezel rim wraps tightly around the domed sapphire crystal, and the signed crown sits at 3 o'clock. Two case-finish options: natural stainless steel, or stainless steel with full gold PVD.
Two dial concepts. Oblique Enigma is a stepped two-tone: a sunburst blue inner centre framed by a diamond-cut metallic chapter ring, with a sunburst green outer surround — the cocktail-inspired conversation Reardon and Gueit had over drinks in Geneva in autumn 2025, sketched on a single sheet of paper. Oblique Vector is a single-tone sunburst dial with twelve radiating printed lines that resolve the asymmetric case optically: either warm gilt-sunray with black radii, or silvered sunray with blue radii. Each dial sits in either case finish, producing the four configurations.
Specifications
- References (4 configurations): Oblique Enigma — Steel; Oblique Enigma — Gold PVD; Oblique Vector Gilt — Steel; Oblique Vector Silvered — Gold PVD
- Case: 35 mm × 33.6 mm asymmetric oblique-vertical, 6.05 mm thick, stainless steel (natural or full gold PVD)
- Crystal: Domed sapphire, anti-reflective
- Caseback: Closed stainless steel
- Water resistance: 30 m
- Dial: Oblique Enigma — stepped two-tone (inner blue sunburst + diamond-cut chapter + green outer surround); Oblique Vector — single-tone sunburst (warm gilt or silvered) with 12 contrasting radiating printed lines
- Movement: Ronda Cal. 1062 Swiss quartz, three-hand
- Battery life: ~5 years
- Strap: Embossed leather, 18 mm lug width, case-matching pin buckle (steel or gold PVD)
- Designer: Emmanuel Gueit (Royal Oak Offshore, 1993)
- Curator: John Reardon (Collectability)
- Edition: Limited to the one-week pre-order intake; not numbered, no re-issue
- Price: USD 790 per configuration (taxes included)
- Availability: Pre-order 27 May → 3 June 2026; shipping Q4 2026
What's Exciting
Two reasons this one matters more than its USD 790 sticker would suggest. First, the Emmanuel Gueit ownership story: the cheapest Royal Oak Offshore Gueit has lent his name to is north of USD 30,000, his MAD Paris customs run into the low five figures, and his signature has been on six-figure Hublots and Vacherons for years. A 35 mm asymmetric case-and-dial both authored by Gueit at sub-USD 800 is, in straightforward terms, the most accessible Gueit-designed watch ever issued. Second, the asymmetric dress watch has been the slow-burn micro-trend of the past 18 months across the indie scene (TAG Heuer Carrera Twin Time Asymmetric, Cartier Crash Tigrée, the renewed conversation around the Patek 3422 and Vacheron 6440). The Edition Oblique drops into that conversation as the first genuinely recommendable sub-USD 800 entry — the previous answer was "buy a vintage Hamilton Pacer", which is no answer at all for a buyer who wants a new-watch warranty.
What it is not is a horological inflection point: this is a Ronda quartz at the heart of it. The editorial substance lives in the case shape and the dial-and-print work, both of which photograph well above their price tier. For a buyer who wants asymmetric dress geometry, a designed-dial story, and a price under a thousand dollars, there is presently nothing else on the market.
History
Dennison Watch Case Company was founded in Birmingham in 1874 by Aaron Lufkin Dennison, the American watchmaker who industrialised case manufacturing in the US in the 1850s via the Waltham Watch Company. The Birmingham works supplied cases for Omega, Longines, Rolex (the pre-Oyster Wilsdorf-era small Rolexes), Tudor and IWC into the 1960s, closing for good in 1967. Mike France — co-founder of Christopher Ward — revived the Dennison brand in the 2010s as a sister-brand-adjacent British dress-watch label focused on accessible vintage-flavoured cases. Collectability was founded in 2018 by John Reardon, the former International Head of Watches at Christie's, and is now the leading platform globally for vintage Patek Philippe; Reardon's Patek Philippe Collector's Handbook series and the On Patek podcast are the standard references for the segment. Emmanuel Gueit drew the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 at age 22 and has worked since for Vacheron Constantin, Harry Winston, Hublot, MAD Paris and his own studio. The first Dennison × Collectability collab in 2024 was a 1970s-flavoured cushion-case dress watch; the 2026 Edition Oblique is the asymmetric follow-up.
Sources
- WatchPro USA — Dennison and Collectability Return for Second Collaboration
- Time+Tide — Dennison × Collectability Oblique Enigma & Vector | INTRO
- Fratello — A Hands-On Introduction to the Limited-Edition Oblique Collection
- Worn & Wound — Dennison × Collectability's Second Collab Gives Us Four Funky Twists
- Acquire — Dennison and Collectability's Second Collaboration Inspired by 1960s Asymmetric Design
- Dennison Watch — Edition Oblique Collectability 2026 (product page)
