As a watch fan/addict and a long-time guitarist, I can tell you that there’s quite a lot of crossover between the two hobbies. Collecting for either is an endless pursuit. Just as there are acoustic guitars, hollow bodies, baritone, shredding guitars with 24 frets and whammy bars, jazz guitars and everything else, in watches you get divers, chronographs, dress, field and GMTs. You can easily talk yourself into buying a type you don’t have, just to flesh out the collection.
And when it comes to buying them, the budgets can vary wildly. Guitars are guitars: a neck, a body, a headstock, strings and frets. They all do the same job, and a guitarist with enough skill should be able to play anything that calls itself a guitar as long as those elements are in place. The same is true of watches: they tell the time.
Where an American-made, household name brand such as Fender, Gibson, Paul Reed-Smith or Gretsch can set you back thousands of pounds, numerous lesser-known brands can get you a guitar that plays just fine and looks either like the real thing or out there with bold colours, designs and finishes and for a fraction of the price.
The same is, of course, true of watches. A luxury watch can set you back a year’s worth of mortgage payments, or you can find something that is functionally the same, albeit made in a factory somewhere in the Far East and selling for a fraction of the price.
Also, if you go to a watch event or a guitar fair, the place is going to be absolutely crawling with bald or greying dudes who look like their best days happened back when Blur were battling Oasis at the top of the charts. Back before adult life sucked the souls out of them like a corporate Shang Tsung.
In terms of the two worlds crossing over, it happens occasionally but is rarely successful or affordable. Bulgari’s Fender limited edition will set you back an outrageous four grand, has a disgusting bezel and only has Fender’s logo on the caseback.
Gibson got in on this con too with Raymond Weil, producing a nicer-looking watch for about a grand less. However, that was a limited edition too and sold out long ago.
Meanwhile, there is a glut of guitar-themed watches on Amazon. Great if you want some sort of bullshit from famous brands such as WAGYTBN, BVKWNTSA and WRITWAA (we wish we were making that shit up) but not great if you want a nice watch instead of some plastic bollocks with guitar-based art vomited right onto the dial.
None of this worked for Ash, the owner of Luthier Watches. The clue to the brand’s guitar-inspired design ethos is right there in the name. A luthier being a craftsman who builds stringed instruments and, much like this reviewer, Ash always wore watches as a child, favouring the classic Casio F-91W, before eventually moving away from wearing them in his teens. However, ten years ago, he bought a watch to wear for his wedding and, as many of you will be able to relate to, he caught the watch bug. You know the feeling, not feeling dressed if you’re not wearing one, and scouring shop windows looking for that next watch to help soften the edges of a cold, confusing world where people are allowed to say that Prey is *shudder* the best Predator film and just get to live their lives without being punched in the face for it.
Tending to prefer clean, minimalist watch brands such as Skagen and looking for a guitar-inspired piece, Ash’s search proved to be fruitless, but as a Design Engineer in real life, he created this, the LP series watch. A simple timepiece with a logo based on the single cutaway body of the famous Gibson Les Paul (hence ‘LP’), a rock staple played by the likes of Slash (Guns ‘n’ Roses), Gary Moore (Thin Lizzy), Paul Kossoff (Free) and other famous rock guitarists.
Initially starting with just a watch for himself before realising that there’s a niche there for guitarists who want a watch that reflects their passion for guitars, while avoiding the expensive limited runs that seem to favour scalpers more than they favour true fans.
He scaled up production, and eventually the LP was released in 2025. Coming in black, blue or white, the brand was released online via Luthier’s website, and was then exhibited at the Bristol Watch Show last November. They are also for sale in two independent guitar shops in Bristol.
We linked up with the company earlier this year and picked up the white version of the watch a couple of weeks ago. Please note: We did pick up the watch at a discounted price in exchange for reviewing it. However, Luthier Watches will not be seeing this review prior to publication.
The watch arrived in a sleek black cardboard box, which suits the minimalist presentation of the watch itself and carries the brand’s logo. The unboxing was slightly ruined by the clear, sticky plastic that secures the box, as it damages the box when you peel it away. If you’re going to pick one of these up, use a blade to cut through that.
Inside the box, you’ll find a card with a QR code that’ll take you to the brand’s website, a branded black plectrum (a very nice touch) and the watch itself, sat on a black pillow. Thankfully, the pillow is well-sized, which stops the watch rolling about in the case, something that SO MANY OTHER BRANDS NEED TO LEARN FROM.
The watch itself quietly whispers with its Bauhaus-inspired minimalism, a theme that carries across the whole design, but, unlike so many clean dials, there’s just enough functionality and detail here.
Set on a pure white brass dial, you get a set of eleven stick marker indices, made of polished silver, with no numbered ones to break up the design. The only exception is at the 12 o’clock position, where Luthier’s guitar-shaped logo sits, the neck of the guitar acting as the first, or final, index. Of all the design elements on this watch, that’s my favourite, as you don’t really see watch branding used as an intrinsic, functional part of a watch’s design.
Matching the other indices, with the same sleek and silvery polish, are the hands, stretching pointers like a T-1000 that’s trying to accuse you of stealing its lunch from the Cyberdyne office fridge. And that’s it. No brand name, no model reference, no pointless text telling you how deep you can dive into the water with it, no brags about where the movement is from. But still functional with decent legibility despite those stick-thin markers.
With a case diameter of 40mm, you’d expect this to wear a little large, especially if your wrists are more Evil-Lyn than He-Man. No amount of wrist curls will ever get me beyond 6.25 inches, but this watch wears extremely well thanks to its skinny bezel and short lugs that drop down reasonably sharply, hugging your wrist. The lug-to-lug measures a mere 45mm.
From the side, the minimalist theme continues. Sporting a skinny 8mm thickness and high-polished finish, the watch looks just as clean from that view as it does from the front. However, it could be just a little too clean. An unbroken high-polish can sometimes look a little cheap and bland, and combined with the unsigned crown, the watch could seem too featureless for its own good. However, a single engraved line breaks up the side view of the watch, circling around the entire diameter of the case. It’s a small detail, but it makes a massive difference and adds subtle interest to what would have been a disappointing viewing angle.
Strangely, the back of the watch, often neglected at this price range, sports more design elements than you’d expect. Continuing the high-polish, it combines a nicely cushioned shape, a raised backplate and some tidy engraving, offering up the details that would have been printed across the dial of other, more cluttered watches.
It reveals the 316L Stainless Steel construction, a modest 5ATM (50 feet) water resistance (but why would you wear a dress watch in water, you monster!?) and ‘Japan Movement’ in reference to the watch’s quartz movement, the Seiko Instruments Inc. VJ21, a simple, but reliable, mechanism that gives a simple one beat per second tick and hacks (ceases ticking) when you pull the non-screwing crown out to set the time.
The VJ21 offers up to 36 months of life, is easily maintained, and a new R364/SR621SW battery will only set you back a fiver. It also keeps the cost down, allowing Luthier Watch Co. to sell the LP for £100, currently discounted to £80.
The LP can be ordered with a choice from either one of two leather straps (tan or black cowhide) or, the obviously best option, which is a simple silver mesh bracelet. I mean, just look at the photos, it’s a perfect match. And while it’s not quite up there with the Geckota mesh that we reviewed recently, it is comfortable with plenty of articulation to allow it to gently hug the curves of your stupid skinny little wrists (YMMV). It’s not reassuring in terms of its thickness, but the close-knit pattern of the mesh provides a darker tone than that of the watch’s case, offering the contrast that the uniform high-polish of the case doesn’t. As a combination, it works nicely.
The bracelet has an end-mounted clasp as opposed to a sliding one, which means you’ve got a little bit of a struggle each time you put it on, rather than a one-time, set-and-forget configuration. It’s okay, but it does require a little extra digit dexterity as you simultaneously squeeze the bracelet, feed it through and close the clasp with one hand. Still, you’re a guitarist, so you should be fine unless you’re Django Reinhardt. It’s maybe not the most convenient option, but mesh straps always come with a degree of challenge, being the divas of the strap world as they are.
On the plus side, the clasp is signed with that lovely guitar-shaped logo, and the bracelet has quick-release nubs if you want to try out a different look. Just bear in mind that you’ll need a narrower strap to match the watch’s slender 18mm lug width.
With all that said and done, the really interesting thing about the LP is that while it presents as the guitarists’ watch, after a few days of wearing it, I sort of forgot about the whole guitar thing. After all, this isn’t screaming ‘Hello, Cleveland!’ at you or dripping in heavy metal imagery. Instead, when you pick it up and look at it, it just feels like an ultra-clean, classy, minimal watch. It’s only when you glance at the logo that you remember the link. And that’s actually pretty cool. It gives the watch two identities: Bauhaus, as in the 1920s art movement and Bauhaus as in the sharp guitar riffs of that band’s lead guitarist on songs like Bela Lugosi’s Dead and Kick in the Eye. I’m old, so either works for me just fine.
It’s a great watch for the money, and it seems to have struck a chord (shut up, me) with others, prompting praise when we’ve shared images of it on social media and while brandishing it at friends and family. In this current era of bold dive watches and colourful stone dials, this simple watch stands out like an oasis of calm in a sea of microbrand noise. At least until we plug in our guitar, turn the distortion up to ten and start melting faces with our hot guitar licks. However, we’re really hoping that the brand puts out a Telecaster-inspired model next because that is, unquestionably, the best guitar shape in the world.
Pros:
+ Ultra-clean, elegant design that broadens the appeal to more than just guitarists
+ Nice logo that cleverly works as one of the indices
+ Slim case, cushioned back, light weight and angled lugs make it extremely comfortable to wear
+ Reliable materials and a sapphire crystal
+ Very affordable
Cons:
– While attractive, the mesh bracelet can be a minor faff when putting the watch on
– The uniform high-polish lacks contrast and visual interest
– Maybe not the watch for you if you mainly play Korn or Slipknot riffs
– No lume on the dial or AR coating on the crystal
Summary:
The wait for an attractive watch that marries the twin passions of blowing all your money on watches and guitars is finally here and it’s an understated-but-beautiful study in minimalist design from a brand that clearly cares about making a watch with a timeless appeal. With solid fundamentals, such as a Stainless Steel construction, a reliable movement, quick-release straps and a sapphire crystal, it offers a solid UK-based alternative to similarly-priced affordable watches and it looks cooler too.
JUST THE FACTS
Availability/Options: The LP is currently available from Luthier Watches’ own website. The default price for the white version (as reviewed here) and the blue are £100, while the black version (which comes on a very nice-looking black mesh bracelet) is £110. However, as of the time of writing, these are all on sale for £20 less. We’re not sure how often these sales occur. The watch is not stated to be a limited edition but presumably it won’t be available forever. You can also save yourself a tenner, even during sale periods, with the promo code WATCHCOUNTRY10.
Brand: Luthier Watches
Model: LP Series
Style: Dress
Case Size: 40mm
Movement: Seiko Instruments Inc. VJ21
Material: 316L Stainless Steel
Band Width: 18mm
Band Type: Mesh bracelet
Price: £100 (sometimes £80) – use promo code WATCHCOUNTRY10 to save £10.
Declaration: I received an exclusive discount on this watch in exchange for providing a review. However, this arrangement did not influence my opinions in any way, and the company has not seen, reviewed or approved this content prior to publication.