This slick Japanese wristwatch is inspired by London’s Abbey Road Studio mixing desk

For the Beatles fan who has everything, the Otsuka Lotec No.8 might be the subtlest nod to the Fab Four you can get.

The boutique Japanese watchmakers have taken inspiration from the legendary Abbey Road Studio for this latest timepiece — specifically the many knobs and dials of the studio’s giant mixing desk. Look closely and you can even see what looks like a reel-to-reel tape in the top right corner.

The square case, made from stainless steel, has a face that sees the hour displayed on the left hand side, and minutes on the right. While the hours count up in a traditional clockwise rotation on the “hour channel”, the minutes creep up to 60 on the “minute fader” before snapping down to zero at the start of each fresh hour — a really unusual system for a mechanical watch. There’s also a seconds counter up top, with the watch running on a Miyota base movement packing more than 60 components.

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In terms of measurements, the No.8 stretches 31mm across, and is 47.8mm from lug to lug, with a height of 10.8mm tall.

Ultra-collectible

Thinking about buying one? Some bad news for you — it won’t come cheap, and it won’t be easy. Otsuka Lotec has the No. 8 priced at the equivalent of about £4,750 — not a bad price for a watch of this calibre and invention. But! Otsuka Lotec watches are made in very limited quantities, and are sold via a lottery system in Japan, making them very collectible, especially outside of Japan. Good luck then — and check the Otsuka Lotec website to stand a chance of nabbing one.

It may not be direct Beatles memorabilia, but with hype building for Sam Mendes’s Beatles biopic movie series, expect any item with even a hint of Merseyside around them to get snapped up in the coming months.

As for something you might actually be able to wear, check out our these 5 iconic watches (and the affordable alternatives everyone can enjoy).

• 5 watches under £500 that are guaranteed conversation-starters

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