Hands-On With The Wafer-Thin And Ultra-Purple Behrens Ultra-Light 11G

Featherlight and wafer-thin can still be too much, as evidenced by the famous scene from the 1983 Monty Python movie The Meaning of Life in which Mr. Creosote explodes after eating a wafer-thin after-dinner mint. One thing did indeed explode when I first looked at the ultra-purple Behrens Ultra-Light 11G — my mind. How can something so odd look and feel so good? And is this thin, light, and colorful watch too much?

Until now, the Behrens Ultra-Light 11G has existed in black, white, and red. There was also a green iteration,  “The Timeless Bamboo” Juice Community Channel special-edition watch, a run of 48 bamboo-inspired watches. Purple is the latest colorway, and it’s a limited edition exclusive to Blue Lake Watches. It might be the quirkiest and most surprising color, but it’s also my favorite. That’s weird in itself because purple isn’t a color. That’s what Sir Isaac Newton’s Theory of Light proved. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet are in the color spectrum. Purple is nowhere to be found. That’s because purple is non-spectral, meaning you can use the term “purple” to describe any shade of color between red and blue. At Fratello HQ, “purple” is indeed the word to describe this version of the Behrens Ultra-Light 11G, an edition made especially for Blue Lake Watches.

Getting a taste of the ultra-purple Behrens Ultra-Light 11G

The Ultra-Light 11G (BHR030) is part of the Behrens Inventor series, in which we also find the Ultra-Light 20G. That titanium creation is not exactly a “porker,” but the innovative Chinese watch brand from Shenzhen wanted to push the boundaries of lightness even further. That’s why the folks there ditched titanium in favor of SPSCF. This material, which makes up the case, is a diamond-coated carbon fiber developed exclusively by Behrens. The material is not just light but, thanks to the coating, also hard — an essential quality for a watch this thin and this light. The weight didn’t suffer too much under the coating, though, as the weight of the watch without the strap is a mere 11 grams.

The nonexistent color purple looks sweet and soft, and because it won’t color-match anything you wear, it will look like the cherry — or, should I say, blackberry — on the cake. In other words, the ultra-purple Ultra-Light 11G will look ultra-special when you wear it. That’s how I felt, anyway. I didn’t feel the watch on my wrist, but my eye certainly spotted it very regularly, after which my brain approved. And so did my fellow Fratelli. Even the ones with a soft spot for vintage stuff and/or classic designs noticed it with a look of approval.

Inside the hu-inspired trapezoidal case

The 11G’s asymmetrical trapezoidal purple carbon case has a 42mm span on the longest side. Its 38mm diameter means it’s not too wide, and with its slim 5.2mm profile, it’s anything but thick. Another number I should mention is the 3 ATM water resistance. In other words, you can do almost anything with this featherweight except aquatic activities. A bit of water or rain won’t hurt it, but you probably won’t want to wear it for diving or waterskiing, for instance. Anyway, the shape is interesting. The trapezoid is inspired by an ancient Chinese historical tool, the hu, a narrow tablet worn on the belt during the Tang dynasty and used by Chinese ministers of culture and martial arts to record notes and orders.

The Ultra-Light 11G’s case is curved and thin, just like the hu. Because the movement and the case are integrated (more on that a little later), the watch is thin. Because it’s curved, the watch follows the shape of the wrist. The purpose of the curved form is to create a watch that fits gracefully and comfortably. Behrens has passed that test with flying colors.

Like the 20G, the movement inside the 11G is the in-house caliber BM02, consisting of quite a few titanium movement parts. Though I wrote “inside,” that is not quite accurate. The hand-wound movement is the watch. The curved back of the watch also functions as the movement’s base plate, so what you see is not just a very thin and delicate movement. If you observe closely, you will also notice that the BM02 caliber is curved. Each connecting gear has a slight angle difference of 15 degrees.

Wearing the purple Behrens Ultra-Light 11G

Before I strapped the Behrens Ultra-Light 11G to my wrist, the watch had already achieved something significant. It put a big smile on my face and captured my attention. It kind of looks like a toy, but I have nothing but good memories of toys. I must admit that the carbon-based SPSCF material also feels like it could be used to create toys, but it doesn’t feel cheap or fragile. It just takes a bit of getting used to.

It does make you feel that you’re wearing something special on your wrist. The combination of color and lightness does that, as does the face of the watch. Under the curved sapphire crystal, the watch/movement, with its skeletonized gear-train bridges, shows itself in all its delicate mechanical glory.

Reading the time, like wearing the watch, takes a bit of getting used to. The watch shows retrograde hours on the bottom left and retrograde minutes on the bottom right. Maybe it’s hard to concentrate on the timekeeping functions with all those exposed gears. Regarding those gears, they all received a special clear coating for durability. To determine when to top up the movement’s 38-hour power reserve, look at the top-left corner where the power reserve indicator sits. The three red-tipped hands providing helpful information are a neat little sprinkle of extra color in an already vibrant timepiece.

Final thoughts on the Behrens Ultra-Light 11G

Two questions need answering. First, did the ultra-light and ultra-bright 11G convince me it’s a serious watch? Second, would I pay US$11,800 for a watch like this? The first question is very easy to answer. Yes, the Behrens Ultra-Light 11G is a very serious watch. The design, the concept, the construction, and the execution are excellent. Behrens created a fascinating, fun, and technically captivating timepiece. At the same time, it also entertains with its bold and original design.

The US$11,800 price tag on a watch that’s among the world’s lightest mechanical timepieces isn’t overly heavy. Does this mean the Behrens Ultra-Light 11G is a “poor man’s” Richard Mille? Well, based on weight, the lightest Richard Mille out there, the RM27-01, the first-ever watch the brand built for tennis star Rafael Nadal, has nothing on the Behrens. Why would you pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a watch weighing a “hefty” 18.3 grams?

I know luxury watches are not just about cold numbers, but still, based on looks, originality, and technical capabilities, the Ultra-Light 11G is a watch that deserves respect. This very purple, very light, and very thin Behrens needs an open mind to appreciate it, but I can promise you that once you open it, the watch will reward you. First, it will bring a huge smile to your face, and in my book, that’s an excellent start. You can find it for sale exclusively from Behren’s official EU dealer, Blue Lake Watches.