Leica opens new HQ and unveils products
LEICA is celebrating the opening of its brand new Leitz- Park complex in Wetzlar, Germany. Around 1,000 guests were invited to the formal opening of the complex, including AP’s own Deputy Editor, Geoff Harris.
The new site is home to four building complexes, one of which is the recently opened Living Ernst Leitz Hotel, which offers 129 rooms, apartments and suites, with interior design which reflects numerous aspects of photography. More than 250 works by more than 60 photographers can currently be seen in the hotel.
Immediately next to the hotel is the new Leica building, which contains the museum, the archives, a photo studio, a Leica store and the museum shop. The museum presents the entire history of Leica, with an anniversary exhibition, ‘Eyes wide open! 100 years of Leica photography’, currently on display.
The final two buildings are a new head office of Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH, and an office block, which offers space to local businesses.
During the launch of the complex, Leica also introduced three new products: the Leica M10 ‘Edition Zagato’ (as mentioned in last week’s ‘7days’ pages), the Leica C- Lux compact camera, and an entirely new product line for the company – the Leica Watch.
Professor Achim Heine, who has overseen the design of many Leica camera products and has an extensive knowledge of the company’s design principles, has designed the Leica Watch, available in two models. Pricing is expected to be in the region of t10,000.
Finally, the Leica C- Lux (pictured below) is essentially a rebadged Panasonic TZ200, featuring a Leica DC Vario- Elmar 15x (24-360mm equivalent) optical zoom lens, 20- megapixel one- inch sensor, 3in touchscreen, an inbuilt electronic viewfinder and 4K video recording. It will be available from mid-July this year, in Light Gold or Midnight Blue colours, and will have a retail price of £875.