Watches are to men as diamonds are to women; both count as the number one fashion accessory and are timeless. Innovation is of essence and creative ways of telling time is a novelty factor. Beyond doubt, complications and mechanical watches are the epitome of technicalities, however due credit has to be given to path-breaking manufactures like the T-Block Watch. Designed to dress the wrist, the most challenging part is to resist the linear display of time!
The watch is inspired by the ‘less is more’ styling and is made using a tough polyurethane case and seamless matching strap. There is a very unique way to read the time, which is showcased via the embedded LEDs on the watch face. The dial houses an array of attractive lights that dim in sleep mode. However, if you want to know the date or time, simply hit one of the buttons and the lights appear, revealing it.
Ask a watch designer and they will tell you that designing it is not as easy as drawing a strap and affixing a dial; there is a scientific and holistic approach to it. Research and development are the backbone of this endeavor and only once everything is in sync, can it be manufactured. The same process applies to the T-Block Watch, which stems from the lineage of the Classic, Zero A and Zero B watches from TIME-IT. After the successful invention of the ‘linear time reading system’, the process was integrated in this iconic watch.
The TIME-IT folks say that it took several years of R&D by a devoted team of technicians, engineers and designers to realize this studio. Founders Ramon Groen and Michaël Mourgue laid the groundwork of creating a watch never seen before: An LED display with linear time reading system that could change perception of time!
– Yanko Design Timeless Designs – Explore wonderful concepts from around the world! Shop CKIE – We are more than just concepts. See what’s hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design! (The T-Block Effect was originally posted on Yanko Design)
During a trip to Detroit’s Shinola headquarters, we got a first-hand look at its recently opened leather factory and design studio—another step in their continued quest to revive American manufacturing. The brand has commenced operations…
Bravur is a watch company formed by two friends—Magnus Svensson and Johan Sahlin—in 2011. The brand exists today purely because the duo couldn’t find what they were looking for in the market as it existed; so…
Swiss watch brand Mondaine has introduced two new colours in its Stop2Go range that pay homage to its home country’s iconic Railway Clock (+ buy now from Dezeen Watch Store).
The new Mondaine Stop2Go watches come in two colour ways: a black case with black silicone strap, and another variant with a silver case and red strap.
Both of the watches have a unique time-keeping feature that was first seen in the Swiss Railway clocks that have kept time on the country’s train network since the 1950s.
Designed by Zurich-born engineer Hans Hilfiker, the Swiss Railway clock has a red second hand ticker that completes a full minute revolution in just 58 seconds.
When the second hand reaches the 12 o’clock mark, it pauses for two seconds. As it does so, the minute hand ticks forward, starting the second hand again.
This feature was designed to help trains leave exactly on schedule, as railway timetables in Switzerland are timed to full minutes. The same red second hand and movement is incorporated into the Stop2Go watches.
The design also features a unique crown. Instead of a circle, the Stop2Go has a switch that allows easy adjustment of the electronically controlled hands. When the crown is pulled out, the second hand moves to the 12 o’clock dial, and a twist to the left or right moves the minute hand incrementally.
The all black variant of the watch features a 41mm stainless steel case framed with matching steel braces. The black silicone strap has a clasp that can be adjusted for size by sliding the pins up and down pre-cut holes.
The red model is encased in a 41mm stainless steel case matte-brushed to reduce glare. The red leather strap features a standard buckle and prong fastener.
It’s difficult for children suffering from congenital heart defects to fully understand the seriousness of their condition as well as how they can prevent the onset of serious symptoms. To heighten kid’s awareness and help educate them on ways to take control of the problem, the Koen smartwatch detects abnormal changes in heart rate and distracts the wearer by automatically presenting a game to slow their heart rate. Games include breathing and calming exercises so little ones can learn how to control their condition and get back to being kids!
Designers: Thomas Beernink, Tjerk Alewijn, Charlotte Schreuder, Khoa Nguyen, Tom Koppenol, Thomas den Heeten
I remember being a kid and watching the original Power Rangers talk into their wrist watch to communicate and do all sorts of cool stuff. That was 20 years ago, making me kinda old and whoever thought of that really smart, because 2014 is the dawn of the smartwatch! Jumping on the smartwatch wagon is the Braun S concept- it packs power in the form of notifications, fitness monitoring, calling assist, messaging, music and more. It syncs wirelessly with your smartphone to give you instant access with a simplified, user-friendly homescreen that you can even control with voice commands!
Berlin-based product designer Mark Braun has created his first watch, with the Metro for fine watchmakers Nomos Glashütte (+ interview).
The Metro is manually-wound and bucks the trend for luxury watches that feature large faces and show all their internal workings, said Braun.
“The big brands like Patek Philippe and Omega and so on, they really look for big diameters and show really a lot of the inside of the chronograph,” said Braun. “These super large diameters and this show off of technique – it’s not what I really like.”
The workings of the timepiece include Nomos’ new assortiment – the combination of the balance, balance spring, escape wheel and pallet that powers a mechanical watch – called the Nomos Swing System.
This has freed the brand from using an assortiment by the Swatch Group that many manufacturers are forced to rely on, and makes this watch the first to have all of its elements built in-house at Nomos.
Braun was approached directly by Nomos on the strength of the work he has generated from his own studio over the past 8 years, including furniture, lighting and homeware.
Part of Nomos’ appeal for Braun was its use of manual workings, as battery watches are convenient but do not have longevity, he said.
“Battery watches are like fashion and you just need it for one year,” said Braun. “[Metro is] a long term design, a slow design and that’s something I really like. It’s a bit dangerous to be too conservative but I don’t think that this is a conservative design.”
The timepiece he has created features a white face, with mint and red details including a small circle which indicates the amount of time remaining before the mechanism needs to be re-wound. “Because it’s an expensive watch you can’t be too fashion coloured but I think this [mint] colour has a very strong character,” said Braun.
He has chosen to express the precision of the inner functions of the watch in the hands, which are unusually thin and highlight the “craft of making”, according to Braun.
At the bottom of the face is a new calendar function with a dial and a date display which has been patented by Nomos.
Mark Braun by Guido Mieth
Nomos was established in the town of Glashütte in Saxony, Germany, in 1990 by Roland Schwertner. Its first collection of hand-wound watches, designed by Susanne Günther and inspired by Bauhaus and the German Werkstätte, set the tone for its future ranges.
“The expensive watches are very much about showing the technique, showing value by using diamonds and gold or something like that,” said Braun.
“Metro is still proud of what it is and it shows more in a delicate way what it is, not so loud. I think that’s also very much Nomos, they like this approach.”
Read an edited transcript of Dezeen’s conversation with Mark Braun:
Amy Frearson: Could you begin by telling me a bit more about where you come from and what you do?
Mark Braun: Actually I’m not a watch designer. I’ve designed furniture, lighting and accessories since 2006, so eight years. I think my projects were interesting, so Nomos asked me to do a watch. We worked for almost two years on this project and now it’s ready and I’m very happy about it. It’s really a great brand and a cool project.
Amy Frearson: Could tell me a little bit about the watch you’ve designed, and explain the concept behind it?
Mark Braun: The idea was to play with archetypes, so to research where these original shapes come from. The pocket watch has a very nice archetype or shape. They are very pure but they have lots of character.
With the dial there was the goal to translate the precision of the inside of the watch into a dial which is highlighting this craft of making. So when you see the hands they are very thin at the end and this is something I like very much, like the Empire State Building spires they point to the time. And then we have this mint-coloured circle – this is showing when you have to recharge the watch, and I like this colour very much. Somehow because it’s an expensive watch you can’t be too fashion coloured but I think this colour has a very strong character. You can imagine that the [Metro] watch would have also a textile look which we are working on to show in 2015.
Amy Frearson: One of the main features of the watch is that it’s like a classic watch, you have to wind it at regular intervals. Can you tell me why you decided to have this?
Mark Braun: That’s something really related to the manufacturers in Glashütte because they have produced watches for 400 years. They have this production still in Germany and they are very proud of the perfect and precise technique inside. So how to translate the tradition into a good and timeless design?
[The design] is still related to the brand identity but it’s still very much Mark Braun I think, because it has this translation of archetypes into a contemporary design. And to have this old technique in a new design, because the battery watches they are really a completely different game. Battery watches are like fashion and you just need it for one year, and these kind of watches you can probably give to your son. He likes it and I hope he likes it because it’s a long-term design, a slow design and that’s something I really like. Working with manufacturers which have high quality and which are open to design. It’s a bit dangerous to be too conservative but I don’t think that this is a conservative design.
Amy Frearson: Are there any big trends in watch design at the moment that you find interesting?
Mark Braun: I’ve just been at [watch trade fair] Baselworld, and I think the big brands like Patek Philippe and Omega and so on, they really look for big diameters and show really a lot of the inside of the chronograph. And what I think with these super large diameters and this show off of technique, it’s not what I really like.
Metro is still proud of what it is and it shows more in a delicate way what it is, not so loud. I think that’s also very much Nomos, they like this approach. The trend is a bit different, I think it’s more to show the technique as much as possible and to make big diameters. And the battery watches, are a completely different thing. I love Dezeen Watch Store and there you see what is going on with these kind of more fashion-related watches. But I love Daniel Wellington, I think he is a doing a great job and building a bridge to maybe do the chronograph watches. But that’s a bit different price so maybe there are two different trends. The expensive watches are very much about showing the technique, showing value by using diamonds and gold or something like that. A bit classic and conservative.
Amy Frearson: We interviewed Daniel Wellington really recently and he said that he felt there was something missing, a kind of a gap in the market, for a classic watch that is within this price range. Is that something you felt as well?
Mark Braun: Yeah I think Daniel has a bit of the same approach design-wise as I have but he has a different market. His watches have great design, but I think the technique is different.
Amy Frearson: And who do you see as your market for this watch?
Mark Braun: I think it’s one of the youngest watches for Nomos, but the buyers were around at the age of 30 and the name of the watch is a bit related to the group who might like it. They’re people living in large cities and have a good job and who have meetings and they need a watch beside their iPhone maybe to have the time with them, but of course also like showing their identity with this watch.
L’Omega Speedmaster X-33 è stato un celebre modello, lanciato intorno agli anni ’90 usato da astronauti e viaggiatori di mezzo mondo. Con questa versione denominata Skywalker si arricchisce di nuove funzionalità e punta a definire il suo ruolo di punta di riferimento della categoria. Non si sa mai, qualora ci proponessimo di farci un tour lunare, tenetevelo bene a mente.
Scandinavia-inspired watch brand VOID has introduced two new watches featuring automatic movements that never need winding (+ buy now from Dezeen Watch Store).
Founded in 2008 by Hong Kong-based Swedish designer David Ericsson, VOID produces watches with a Scandianvian design aesthetic and aims to create “an almost architectural expression” with its timepieces.
These two automatic watches created by Ericsson pay homage to the simple designs of the 1950s and 60s.
The VOID V03M, available in silver and black or black and black, features an automatic movement that will run perpetually – as long as the user moves. Built by Japanese watch manufacturer Miyota, the movement uses kinetic energy to wind the main spring that keeps the watch ticking.
Aesthetically, the timepiece draws on the Ericsson’s Scandinavian roots by using simple geometries to reinterpret features common to diving watches, creating a streamlined dress watch.
Waterproof to a depth of 50 metres, it features oversized luminescent hour indexes and bright white hands that sit on top of a matte black face to help the wearer read the time even in murky conditions.
Measuring 36 millimetres across and 12 millimetres thick, the case is made from solid stainless steel. On the rear, a circular window reveals the automatic watch movement inside.
Il classico cronografo di Nixon esce ora in questa versione edizione limitata con nuovo movimento cronografico giapponese Miyota al quarzo a sei lancette, cassa e cinturino a maglie in acciaio inox. Ce ne sono in giro solo 500 pezzi, il più veloce lo trova qui.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
