Hasta La Ideas

Dezeen Watch Store today launches The Bradley, becoming the only European retailer to sell the watch – originally designed for blind people – during the month of June.

Created by US design company E-one, The Bradley is a tactile timepiece that uses two ball bearings to indicate time.

A magnet rotates two ball bearings around the watch face allowing users to tell the time without needing to see – the titanium face has no cover meaning the wearer can touch the raised batons and use these in tandem with a ball on the front to tell the minutes and a side ball for marking the hours.

Although it was initially developed for blind people, the creators of The Bradley now suggest it could be used for business situations where a person needs to discretely check the time.

“We never would have hit on this idea of using ball bearings to tell time if we hadn’t been solving [the problem of designing a watch for the visually impaired],” said lead designer at Eone David Zacher in an interview with Dezeen.

“So I can see a broader application in products that follows that same approach, of inclusively designing something.”

The watch borrows its name from Bradley Snyder, an ex-naval officer who — despite losing his eyesight in the Afghanistan war — won gold and silver medals at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

It was launched after a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter and has since been nominated for Design Museum’s Design of the Year award.

The Bradley is available to pre-order exclusively in Europe through Dezeen Watch Store at a reduced price until its general release on 30 June, with shipping commencing on 14 July.

It has been designed with four different straps: three in different colours of fabric and one with a stainless-steel mesh bracelet.

Dezeen Watch Store is unable to take orders from Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Japan, Philippines or Taiwan due to an agreement with the manufacturer.

The post The Bradley tactile timepiece launches in Europe
with Dezeen Watch Store appeared first on Dezeen.