Studio Underd0g Copy the Copycats with the Av0cado and Guacam0le

The latest drop from Studio Underd0g is here and, rather than their high-end experiment in floral guilloché they’re back where they belong: quirky colour and a cheek full of tongue. This time however, the one thing they can’t be accused of is originality. Say hello to the best homage pieces on the planet, the Studio Underdog Av0cado and Guacam0le.

The Copycats

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and it turns out that Studio Underd0g have cause to be very, very flattered. Like any hyped success story, it wasn’t long into their first clutch of colourful releases that the British brand started seeing some… uncomfortably similar designs on the cheap, white-label market. And in true Baudrillard fashion, they just weren’t right. In the same way the darkest parts of r/cooking just aren’t right.

Colours that didn’t work, attempts at the Big-Eye that would insult Quasimodo, the Underd0g imitators are a mess of quick cash-ins that just don’t get it. Nothing makes you realise how hard it is to design a watch than to see some of these ‘brands’ flailing. The thing is, one of them, the aptly-named Proxima, had an original idea in there somewhere: the humble, millennial-baiting avocado.

Their twist on the theme didn’t work of course. This isn’t some redemption story. But when Rich Benc of Studio Underd0g saw it, he decided to give the copycats a taste of their own smashed medicine on toast and made the Av0cado and, mashing things up even further (sorry), the Guacam0le.

The Av0cado

Let’s start with the ‘original’. The Av0cado takes Studio Underd0g’s classic big-eye chronograph and combines a yellow fume main dial, bright green chapter ring (with avocado markers, of course) and reddish brown segmented big eye subdial at 3 o’clock for the pit. The 9 o’clock subdial is also in yellow, but circular grained to stand out. Hands are in light green to finish the look.

Inside is Studio Underd0g’s new bespoke Seagull number, created when the Chinese manufacturer started limiting their third party movements. That means a handsome manual-wind number that’s been given the once-over by the British chronometrists at Horologium. Finishing it off is an equally British black grained leather strap from The Strap Tailor.

The Guacam0le

Here Studio Underd0g have taken a bit more of a monochrome look, at least by their standards. The main dial is lime green, as is the circular grained 9 o’clock subdial. The chapter ring is in dark green and the big eye is shaded in sections from mid green to near-black.

Like the Av0cado, it measures in at a wrist-pleasing 38.5mm across and 12.9mm thick, not ultra-slim but slim enough for the everyday wearer. It has the same Seagull movement and its Strap Tailor strap is a dark green. If you’ve been tempted by a Studio Underd0g before, this is all par for the course – as is the ultra-accessible price of £550 for either model.

The Verdict

Honestly, Studio Underd0g is the only brand in existence I could imagine not just taking this approach but nailing it. They turned what most brands would see as an affront into a money-making joke that just keeps giving.

Of the two, I much prefer the Guacam0le, which makes sense as the more originally Studio Underd0g of the two. I just feel like the colours gel a bit better and it’s the one I could more clearly see on my own wrist. That said, the mix of colours on the Av0cado definitely leans into its namesake and the story is too fun not to get invested in, emotionally if not financially. 

All this goes to show that you should be wary of trying to improve on Studio Underd0g’s quirky British formula. You might just end up in their rogue’s gallery of ‘things we made better’.

More details at Studio Underd0g.

​Oracle Time 

Read More