There are watches where Made in Italy is primarily a statement of intent, and others where it becomes something tangible, visible and even mechanical. The new Venezianico Redentore Levius belongs to the latter category.
It is a path we had already explored on the pages of Watch Insanity with the Redentore Utopia II, a project through which Venezianico continued to develop the idea of Italian watchmaking capable of going beyond design. With Levius, that pursuit continues, but from a different perspective: this time, the starting point is lightness.
The theme arrives just days after the latest September edition of VO Vintage, where we at Watch Insanity had the pleasure of hosting a talk with Andrea Menegazzo, Design Director of Venezianico, and Roberto Nespolo, Sales Director, retracing the history of the brand and, above all, the vision guiding its evolution.
The result of this new chapter is a dress watch measuring 38 mm in diameter and just 8.9 mm thick, where a hand-guilloché dial engraved in Milan meets the proprietary V5000 calibre and a Grade 5 titanium case. Three seemingly distant elements, united by the same pursuit: making the watch lighter without depriving it of character.
ZEFIRO: THE GUILLOCHÉ THAT TAKES SHAPE IN MILAN
The blue dial is inevitably the first element to catch the eye on the Venezianico Redentore Levius. The pattern is called Zefiro and takes inspiration from Zephyrus, the west wind of classical mythology. Rather than depicting it literally, the design seeks to translate its movement through a network of lines that radiate from the centre in an organic, irregular flow, continuously changing appearance depending on the light.
What makes it even more interesting, however, is the way it is created. Each dial is made at Renzetti 1909’s atelier in Milan, a family-run workshop that has preserved the art of guilloché for more than a century and still works with rare historic machinery dating back to the 19th century.
This is far from an ordinary detail. In watchmaking, traditional guilloché has historically been associated above all with the great Swiss school, and even today some of its best-known expressions are created in Swiss ateliers. Finding this technique performed entirely in Milan is therefore rather unusual, especially considering how few artisans today are still capable of operating authentic manual rose engines.
Zefiro is engraved by Linda Renzetti, the fourth generation of the family, who grew up within the workshop. For the Levius, she uses a rose engine dating back to the mid-19th century, entirely devoid of automation. Pressure, rhythm and progression are controlled by hand: line after line, the engraving takes shape directly on the metal, and every gesture becomes definitive.
This is precisely where the value of the technique becomes clear. The geometric precision of the machine does not replace the artisan’s hand; it amplifies it. The rose engine determines the movement, while sensitivity, experience and control shape the final result. The tiny variations that inevitably occur during the process thus become part of the identity of each dial.
Zefiro also introduces a different approach compared with the brand’s previous work: the entire surface is engraved, without the polished areas that traditionally interrupt the pattern. The design can therefore develop continuously, allowing light to travel along the engraved lines and enhancing their depth and movement.
On such a richly reflective blue surface, the hands also play an important role. Venezianico has chosen hands with a dual polished and sandblasted finish, designed to create contrast and preserve legibility under different lighting conditions.
In our view, the decision to do away with the date display altogether is equally successful. The dial remains clean and symmetrical, without interrupting Zefiro with windows or additional indications. Hours, minutes and seconds are all that is needed, leaving the guilloché enough space to become the true protagonist.
V5000: THE PROPRIETARY MADE-IN-ITALY CALIBRE
Turn the watch over and we find the other major protagonist of the Redentore Levius: the V5000 calibre, Venezianico’s first proprietary mechanical movement, designed and manufactured in Italy.
Introduced in 2025, the V5000 was born from the desire to develop a movement specifically conceived for the brand. The project involves Andrea Menegazzo and Fausto Berizzi, while production is entrusted to OISA, bringing one of the most complex components in the construction of a mechanical watch back to Italy.
Through the sapphire caseback, the eye is immediately drawn to the double-anchored balance bridge. More than a simple structural element, its elongated, sinuous form stretches across the balance wheel, creating an elegant line that gives personality to the entire architecture of the movement.
It is around this element that much of the V5000’s aesthetic balance is built. The curves of the bridge interact with the radial Côtes de Genève, while mirror-polished anglage highlights its profile and hand-executed micro-perlage adds depth to the surfaces. The bridges, machined from solid material and chemically nickel-plated, complete an architecture that avoids appearing overly technical despite its contemporary construction.
The choice of manual winding also makes it possible to admire the movement without the interference of a rotor, leaving its architecture and decorations fully visible through the caseback.
From a technical standpoint, the V5000 measures just 3.5 mm thick, operates at 25,200 vibrations per hour, and offers a 60-hour power reserve, with a stated accuracy of ±3 seconds per day. The variable-inertia copper-beryllium balance is produced by Atokalpa and regulated through four masselottes, while shock protection is provided by the KIF Elastor system.
The V5000 is therefore not simply hidden inside the watch, but becomes an integral part of its aesthetic identity. It marks an interesting step in Venezianico’s journey: what with Utopia represented primarily a technical achievement is progressively becoming a platform on which to build watches with different identities.
GRADE 5 TITANIUM: ELEGANCE WITH A SPORTIER CHARACTER
The name Levius derives from the Latin levis: light, gentle, delicate. A definition that finds its most tangible expression in the case. The proportions remain those of an elegant watch: 38 mm in diameter and 8.9 mm thick. What changes the perception, however, is the material, as the entire case is crafted from Grade 5 titanium.
It is a less obvious choice than it might seem. Titanium is primarily associated with technical and sports watches; bringing it into the Redentore collection means retaining its lightness and strength while working it according to a distinctly more classical aesthetic language.
Venezianico alternates brushed and polished surfaces, with polished bevels and bezel catching the light and further defining the profile of the case. This contrast allows titanium to shed some of its purely technical character without sacrificing the contemporary nature of the material.
The case alone weighs just 12.9 grams; the complete watch without the strap weighs 40 grams, while with the strap the total weight reaches just 48 grams. The crystal is sapphire with an anti-reflective coating, while the transparent caseback, also in sapphire and secured by six screws, leaves the V5000 fully visible. Water resistance is rated at 3 ATM, equivalent to 30 metres.
Completing the watch is a blue embossed leather strap, handcrafted and paired with a Grade 5 titanium buckle featuring polished and brushed surfaces.
And perhaps it is precisely in its colour palette that the Levius finds its best balance. The blue of the dial and strap reinforces the elegance of the Redentore without making it overly formal, while titanium introduces a more technical and sporty dimension, both visually and through the sensation of extreme lightness on the wrist.
VENEZIANICO REDENTORE LEVIUS: PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
Priced at €4,750, the Venezianico Redentore Levius brings together a rather unusual combination of elements within its price range: Grade 5 titanium, a hand-worked guilloché dial made in Milan and a proprietary Made-in-Italy mechanical movement.
The first 100 pieces will be individually numbered on the caseback. According to Venezianico’s current official product page, the first series is scheduled to become available on September 25 at 3:00 PM (GMT+1).
More than the sum of its specifications, however, what convinces us about the Redentore Levius is the balance between its two personalities. The guilloché, blue colour and proportions preserve the elegance typical of the collection; titanium and the V5000, meanwhile, add the technical and contemporary character that prevents it from becoming overly formal.
A simple contrast, but a well-resolved one. And perhaps this is precisely where the Levius best expresses the direction Venezianico is taking today.
By Jacopo Giudici