Hasta La Ideas

Dezeen Watch Store: British industrial designer Benjamin Hubert has designed his first watch for Italian accessories brand NAVA. Plicate, named after its pleated surfaces, is now available for pre-order with free shipping from Dezeen Watch Store. 

This distinctive timepiece features a folded surface, inspired by the pleats of a paper fan, along the inside of the strap and around the face of the watch. “Each one of the folds represents a second and this is really contrary to most watches on the market which use graphics, numbers, or anything like that,” Hubert told Dezeen in an interview at our office.

The pleats on the underside of the strap allow air to flow between the watch strap and the wearer’s wrist: “Polyurethane straps normally cause a build up of sweat, but in this instance we reduced the surface area and therefore reduced the amount of sweat and discomfort for the user.”

Another prominent feature is the double-length second hand. “Our idea here is that if you have a second hand on a watch it’s really a decorative feature, particularly on an analogue watch – you’re really not counting the seconds,” Hubert explains. “So, why not make that more extreme, make that more decorative? And our idea was to make it double-length so you have a real piece of sculpture that’s moving around the watch. We chose to emphasise this with a really high-contrast colour as well.”

The polyurethane strap features a popper clasp, more commonly found on festival wrist bands. “The idea is that when you walk into a store, when you have 30 or 40 watches in front of you, that you really see this silhouette, and you can really see it from across the store as well. It was something that was really important when we pitched the idea to NAVA, to have this really distinctive language.”

We’ll be publishing the full movie interview with Hubert on Dezeen soon. Meanwhile you can pre-order the Plicate in three colours on Dezeen Watch Store and take advantage of free shipping on all UK and international orders.

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for NAVA appeared first on Dezeen.