Leica Camera UK opened Leica Store London Mayfair, its new UK flagship, on 5 November at 14 Dover Street, London W1S 4LW. The opening takes the number of Leica-owned stores worldwide to 116.

The new store replaces Leica’s Duke Street premises, which are closing. Leica Store Harrods stays open as usual.

The 234-square-metre store and gallery is in a Mayfair townhouse, with customer space spread over four levels. Leica describes it as a one-off store concept. It’s the first UK location to carry every Leica product family in one place: cameras, sport optics, watches, home cinema, mobile and the Pre-Owned and Vintage range. There are also private areas on several floors for customers who want a quieter look at the kit.

On the lower ground floor is an integrated Leica Gallery, which will host a rotating programme of exhibitions by well-known photographers alongside other cultural events.

At the entrance, customers are greeted by a curated wall showing five photographs from Leica’s Hall of Fame. The ground floor is given over to the wider Leica brand experience. The building’s main architectural feature is an atrium running from the lower ground floor up to the first floor. It’s open to the sky and fills the space with natural light. Hanging inside it is an art installation made for the store, which Leica says is designed to express the optical quality of its products.

The building’s curved shape carries through the interior, from the fixtures and furniture to a curved seating area on the ground floor. The bars and the main product display cabinet also borrow details from Leitz Park in Wetzlar, Leica’s headquarters. On the second floor, window bays let customers look at Leica watches in daylight, or try telephoto lenses and sport optics on the views across Mayfair.

King Nerd Edition Leica M-A

To mark the opening, Leica is selling 14 special edition Leica M-A cameras made with British artist Johnny Dowell, better known as King Nerd. Dowell is a West London-born multidisciplinary artist, designer and engraver. He’s known for bringing traditional hand engraving into contemporary art and has worked with a number of luxury, fashion and lifestyle brands.

Each M-A is engraved with an English Rose, a Scottish Thistle, a Welsh Daffodil and a Northern Irish Blue Flax to represent the four nations of the UK.

They’re sold with a Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH lens. It has a red distance scale and a fully blacked-out front, painted to match the King Nerd Edition’s colour scheme.

The M-A is Leica’s purely mechanical 35mm film rangefinder, with no battery and no built-in light meter. That makes it a natural fit for engraving work like this.

Price and availability

The 14 King Nerd Edition Leica M-A cameras went on sale on opening day, 5 November, at an RRP of £15,800.

Leica Store London Mayfair is open 10am–6pm, Monday to Saturday, at 14 Dover Street, London W1S 4LW. The phone number is 020 7629 1351. You can find more details on the Leica Store London Mayfair page.