Hands-On: The Brand-New Lesablier LS-04 Travelgraph — An Affordable, Compact, And Feature-Packed Worldtimer

It’s not often that we get to review a watch from a brand that is completely new to us. This week, though, I had the honor to get up close and personal with a new watch from a young brand called Lesablier. It was the LS-04 Travelgraph, and, in short, I’d describe it as a compact and affordable worldtimer. It runs on the Miyota 9075 caliber, which means that it has an independently adjustable hour hand. The Constellation version I went hands-on with also features a blue aventurine dial. Keep reading to find out what I thought of it in person.

But first, let me tell you a little bit more about Lesablier (le sablier means “hourglass” in French). The brand was founded by a guy named Akbar from the Washington, DC area in the US in 2017. He aims to build innovative, distinctive watches, each with an identity of its own. That’s why he chose an hourglass as his company’s logo: it has a very distinctive design and is always recognizable as an hourglass. That’s also what he would like to achieve with his watches. The LS-04 Travelgraph is Lesablier’s fourth watch. The brand’s first release was a quartz pilot’s watch. Then came two sports watches with integrated bracelets — one automatic time-only, the other a meca-quartz chronograph. The prices of the watches range from $195 for the pilot’s watch to $885 for the LS-04 Travelgraph I’m checking out today. Let’s see what you’re getting for that money.

The Lesablier LS-04 Travelgraph

The Lesablier LS-04 Travelgraph is a 40mm stainless steel worldtimer with, once again, a rather sporty design. It’s also quite compact for a worldtimer, with a 44mm lug-to-lug distance. Including its double-domed sapphire crystal, it’s 14mm thick. Both the case and its 12-sided bezel have been lightly brushed and polished. The bezel and honeycomb-inspired bracelet are similar to the ones featured on the brand’s previous Chronosport model. However, the Travelgraph has a more classic design with standard lugs instead of an integrated bracelet.

The grippy and signed screw-down crown sits slightly recessed into the case. With it, you can operate the Miyota 9075 automatic movement inside, which is visible through the exhibition case back and fitted with a custom rotor. This is originally a GMT movement, but the GMT complication has been modified to fit a 24-hour disc, which turns the Travelgraph into a worldtimer. Pulling the crown out to its first position, you can set the independent hour hand. In the second position, you can set your home time, and that will simultaneously move the blue and white 24-hour disc that sits below the main dial. This movement runs at a 28,800vph frequency, features 24 jewels, and holds a power reserve of 42 hours.

The aventurine worldtimer dial

The Travelgraph comes in three versions. The only difference between the three is the dial color and finish. The Constellation model on my wrist features a glossy and glittery blue aventurine dial. It also has a few yellow accents on the city ring and the tip of the seconds hand (not yet featured on the prototype in the pictures). Then, there’s the Midnight version, which features a black sunburst dial with red accents. Finally, there’s the Azzuro version with a trendy ice-blue sunburst dial. Other than the color and finish, the dials are the same.

On the edge of the dial is a sloping city ring in a color that corresponds with the center of the dial.  In between that ring and the center, there’s a window through which you can take a look at the recessed two-tone 24-hour disc. The main dial sits on an “island” in the middle and features applied indexes, matching hour and minute hands, and a double-lollipop seconds hand. Both the hands and the indexes are filled with Super-LumiNova. Together with the 24-hour disc, they will light up in the dark for better visibility. At 12 o’clock, there’s a small applied plaque with the brand name. That font will be changed, and the corresponding limited edition number will be moved to the case back on the production models.

On the wrist

On paper or when you look at it from the side (off the wrist), the Travelgraph seems like quite a thick watch. However, when you put it on your wrist, it hides its bulkiness very well. I think that’s thanks to the slimmer mid-case and the fact that the bezel takes up quite a chunk of the thickness. The fairly short lug-to-lug distance makes it wear nicely on my 17cm wrist. The links on the bracelet don’t fully articulate, though, so it will wear a bit bigger than the 44mm lug-to-lug measurement indicates.

The quick-release bracelet does hug the wrist nicely, and although it wasn’t present on the prototype’s butterfly clasp, Akbar assured me that the production model will feature a micro-adjustment possibility.

The lume on the 24-hour disc of the production model will be improved

Although I like how the 24-hour disc peeks through, I do think it sits a bit too low. The shadows from the dial above it sometimes make it hard to read. The fact that it’s lumed, though, is a nice touch. I also like how the city disc takes into account the cities that are affected by Daylight Saving Time. The little arrow next to some city names helps read the time and prevents you from having to reset the watch. It’s also good to know that the Travelgraph is water resistant to 100 meters, which makes it very safe to jump into the pool with.

Available for pre-order soon

I’m not completely sure whether the Lesablier LS-04 Travelgraph is the distinctive watch Akbar is aiming for yet. For me, the 12-sided bezel, the case shape, and the honeycomb-inspired bracelet are a bit of a random mix of different shapes. I feel this could be refined a bit. But when you take into account the retail price of US$885 (or US$755 during the pre-order period) for this Constellation version, maybe I’m expecting too much. The Midnight and Azzuro models will cost even less at US$795 (or US$675 pre-order). With the worldtimer complication and 100m water resistance, this is a very capable watch for a nice price. On top of that, it even comes with a not-often-seen aventurine dial.

The Lesablier LS-04 Travelgraph will be available soon for pre-order. It’s limited to 50 pieces per color. For more information, check out Lesablier’s official website.

What do you think of the Lesablier LS-04 Travelgraph? Let me know in the comments below.