All Entries Tagged With: "cool watches"
HM4 Thunderbolt, A Really Elaborate “Horological Machine”
Let’s get it out of the way. The HM4 Thunderbolt is not a watch, it’s a “horological machine.” Which just happens to be a fancy name for a watch. A really, really elaborate watch.
Created by high-end purveyors of wrist candy, MB&F, it’s claimed to be the result of three intense years of development. While that would sound too much for an ordinary watch, this stunning timepiece is certainly anything but ordinary.
The HM4 Thunderbolt sports a 54 x 52 x 24 mm aviation-inspired case that looks like the unholy union of miniature jet turbines and some weird steampunk aesthetic. With a mechanism consisting of 50 jewels and 311 individual components, I’m almost ready to forgive them for calling the internals an “engine.” But I won’t, because that’s just silly. The case is made from grade 5 titanium, with see-through sapphire glass sections that let you see all the mechanical wizardry that [...]
EOS Mixtape Watch Straps A Cassette Tape To Your Wrist
Miss cassette tapes? Neither do we. Those things were cumbersome. Still, many folks have beloved memories of the olden recording medium, from the first albums they bought to traded mixtapes of all sorts and inclinations. EOS brings the retro recording medium back, but wisely keeps it away from music, with the EOS Mixtape Watch, a timepiece that features a steel case clad in a cassette tape design.
When I first saw it, I seriously thought the ribbon wound from one side to the other and that’s how it told time. Which would have been awesome. Well, it does, but only for the seconds (it turns one pace per second). For the hour and minute, it’s got two luminous hands on the right side, feintly hidden underneath the tape mechanism, and that’s how you’ll really know you’re late for work. Again.
The EOS Mixtape Watch uses an anodized stainless steel body, paired with [...]
Kenneth Cole Touchscreen Watch Puts Finger-Tapping On Your Wrist
Soon, our mirrors, toilets and clothes will be covered with touchscreen displays too. I know because I came from the future (it’s true). Until then, make your touch sensitive universe even bigger with the Kenneth Cole Touchscreen Watch, a digital timepiece with a touch-enabled dial.
Overkill? Not really. Lest we forget so soon, we had a touch sensor Casio watch back in the 80s, so it’s really nothing new. Except it’s more fitting now, since we’ll have touchscreens on everything in the coming years. Might as well get used to it while the kids still think you’re moderately cool.
Because of the touch controls, the Kenneth Cole Touchscreen Watch achieves a cleaner, more clutter-free design. Instead of having four buttons like most digital wristwatches, it has just one – right at the two o’clock position for turning the watch on and off. Features include [...]
Tokyoflash Kisai Broke USB Watch Tells Time With Stained Glass Design
I’ve never been a huge fan of the Tokyoflash philosophy of making time as difficult to read as possible. While they retained the same unusual timetelling on the new Kisai Broke USB watch, I have to give my hats off to the fact that it look absolutely gorgeous.
Sporting a face that looks like stained glass, the timepiece brings a unique aesthetic that sets it apart from the design commonly found in funky digital watches. Reading the time actually seems easier too, since the mechanism has more to do with analog clocks than some strange mathematical combination.
The Kisai Broke USB digital watch sports a 33 x 48 x 9 mm brushed stainless steel case, paired with a conventional fold-over clasp that can fit wrists between 130 to 200 mm. It’s the first timepiece in the Kisai series to be rechargeable by USB, saving you from the hassle of [...]
Romain Jerome Eyjafjallajökull DNA Watch Uses Volcanic Ash From Last Week’s Explosion
How fast can you eke out a profit from a natural calamity? Probably not any faster than the Romain Jerome Eyjafjallajökull DNA watch, which integrates ash collected from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano that happened to erupt just last week.
Overall design, from the dial to the strap to the accents on the case, looks burnt to a crisp. The face inspires the image of an active volcano, covered with stark-black burnt ashes, with molten lava seeping out of the crater. Yep, just like having a mini-eruption on your wrist.
The Romain Jerome Eyjafjallajökull DNA watch features a stainless steel case, adorned by tiles made from the gathered volcanic ash. The style clash between the stylish watch case and the dark tone work well, turning out a timepiece that manages to look both classy and rugged.
Only one piece of the model will be made, with a certificate of authenticity confirming [...]
Digital Watches Made Easier: ODM Reverse Double Digital
When I first laid eyes on the ODM Reverse Double Digital (RDD), I thought it was a wacky but fun reimagining of the digital timepiece. Upon closer inspection, though, it turns out the radical layout change leaves it even more functional then conventional watches too.
Essentially reversing the familiar watch layout, it removes the LCD from the face and replaces it with four large buttons. How about the time? You can catch it on the dual single-row displays at the top and bottom sides of the case, where the mode and programming buttons traditionally go.
How does it help functionality? Because one of the tilted displays will always be facing you (regardless if you wear it on the left or right wrist), you don’t have to turn your arm to look at the time, making it visible with just one glance (a feature they claim renders it especially usable [...]
Get Your Colors On With The ODM JC/DC UFO Watch
We’re not sure what inspired Jean-Charles de Castelbajac with the design of the ODM JC/DC UFO Watch, but it’s definitely the kind of timepiece both young (as in children) and the young-at-heart can appreciate. Bold and colorful, it brings up memories of Saturday morning cartoons – on your wrist.
Last year’s JC/DC Lego was quite the looker and I have a feeling this follows up on the theme. Not only does it bring similar blocky characteristics, but it embraces the same playful use of colors too. In fact, Castelbajac could have called this JC/DC Lego 2 and it would have made a proper fit.
The JC/DC UFO Bloc Collection is a collaboration between the famed French designer and ODM Watches, which has carved a reputation as a manufacturer of highly-technical timepieces with a unique style to go with them. It sports four porthole digital displays, each one with colorful backlighting (yellow, blue, [...]
Seiko “Future Now” Brings E-Ink Watches Up To Speed
I’ve seen e-ink watches and they are just bad. Quite bad. Seiko was the first company to bring EPD technology back in 2005, so it’s only appropriate that they also come out with the best one we’ve seen so far: the Seiko “Future Now” EPD watch.
Introduced at Basel World 2010, the watch retains all the legibility benefits of electronic ink, all while ably displaying a wider range of imagery and data onscreen. How did they do it? It uses an “active matrix” electronic ink display, which boasts much higher visibility, even from angles up to 180 degrees. Yep, just like an LCD panel.
The Seiko “Future Now” sports an all-black body and strap (with super slim 1mm bezel), with an electrophoretic display that crams a full 80,000 pixels (300 dpi) in four different shades of gray. Based on the photos, it looks near-LCD in quality, [...]
Hamilton Time Player Watch Gives You Four Dials, One Sliding Puzzle
No matter the brand nor the model, watches pretty much do the same thing: they tell time. So please excuse if I refuse to buy another one. Oh wait, the Hamilton Time Player is designed like a sliding puzzle. Oooohh…I want one.
Based on a clock that Hamilton originally created for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, the watch features eight different displays tiled across a square surface. Just like an actual sliding puzzle, you can move each one around, allowing you to scramble everything and leave yourself confused. Which one’s the local time again?
The Time Player comes with a flat 48 x 42 mm titanium case that is split into nine squares. Eight of them come filled with movable tiles, with one block empty, so you can move the different panels around. Four of the squares come with actual analog watch dials (Quartz [...]
Wood Shock: A G-Shock Made From Trees
Mama was right, G-Shocks don’t grow on trees. Which is why I never got one when I was a kid, boohoo. That same excuse won’t fly when it comes to the Wood Shock, though, which houses the classic digital watch inside a bezel that actually comes from trees.
Despite never having been a fan of the original iconic timepiece, it’s tough not to admire this collaborative effort between Saint 48 and PRPLMNT. Yep, they left out Casio in the deal, along with the plastic and rubber watch cases that’s been the brand’s calling card all these years.
The W-Shock features hand- and laser-crafted wooden bodies, which have been made to mirror the bulky and sporty profile of actual G-Shock cases. They replicate everything, including the engravings around the dial. From what we can tell, they used a stock Casio module 1289 watch everywhere else (including the strap), which means it’s got most [...]
Hublot Liberty Bullet Is Armed To Tell Time
Why put a watch on a bullet? I have no idea. Before that thing hits you between the eyes, you already know what time it is anyway. It’s time to die, sucka. The Hublot Liberty Bullet, however, thinks knowing the exact hour before you bite the dust is a luxury you deserve to enjoy.
Created by the company’s highly-specialized watchmaking division, Confrérie Horlogère, the timepiece is basically a pocket watch in the form of a slug. We’re not sure if you can actually load it into a real weapon, but it sure sounds like a good way to (warning: bad pun oncoming) kill time.
The Hublot Liberty Bullet houses a tourbillion mechanism inside a gun cartridge, with the time shown off in a roller display panel along the side and a more conventional dial right down the bottom. Designed to sit on a pocket or hang [...]
Kenneth Cole Gives The Digital Watch Some Much Needed Style
Digital timepieces and class are two things that are rarely paired together. Seriously, how awkward would it be to wear a Casio to a fancy dinner? The Kenneth Cole Rubber Strap Digital Watch makes a strong statement marrying both, however, making it perfect for cats who want a LED panel watch with a little more flair than your regular G-Shock piece.
Managing to keep the geek factor away despite a pure digital display and a rubber strap, it’s as stylish a wrist candy as I’ve seen in a while. Even the fonts used to display the time and dates are downright sexy. It’s really one of the rare digital watches that you can picture on a suave but practical gentleman, who just happened to grow up on a steady diet of computer terminals and 8-bit gaming.
The Kenneth Cole Rubber Strap Digital Watch sports a stainless steel case, holding a stark-black LED [...]
Xetum Watches Bring Swiss Quality And Understated Class At A Reasonable Price
I can appreciate a complex timepiece just as much as the next guy. Given the choice, though, I’d just as quickly go for classy and sophisticated. Those two qualities are exactly what Xetum’s minimalist designs bring in droves.
Founded by San Francisco designer Jeff Kuo, the new watchmaker only started operations late last year. All designs are made locally, although the pieces are manufactured and assembled right in Switzerland.
Xetum’s initial models consist of the Stinson and the Tyndall, two timepieces with a well-defined appearance that keeps them distinct from your usual Swiss-designed fare. Both sport uncluttered functions and dials, displaying the time inside a sleek and clean 40mm-diameter, 11mm-thick circular case.
The Stinson, which clocks in at $995, keeps things basic. Design is strictly conservative, with three hands, pronounced markers (with Super-Luminova on the 12,3,6 and 9 indexes), and an uncluttered face. It uses Swiss-made ETA 2824-2 automatic movement with 25 jewels [...]
I’m Going Cuckoo For The Cuckoo Watch
Watchmakers call their designs “classic” all the time. Seriously, though, the Cwatch is the only wrist-worn timepiece I’ve seen that deserves such a label. A cuckoo clock on a wristwatch? Can you come up with anything more classic or legendary? You have to be cuckoo not to love it!
Designed by Belgian Thomas Cruyl, this looks way more interesting than those endless parades of LED-blinking Tokyoflash watches and insanely-priced European luxury brands. Who wouldn’t want a veritable Grandfather Clock strapped to their wrist? Anyone? Anyone? No, you only register a “1″ on the fashion scale, you don’t count. Anyone else?
One of the shorlisted entries in a recent Designboom Competition, the Cwatch is just a design, so you’ll have to pray somebody actually makes it before you can wear one. In fact, that Photoshop job is just horrible, don’t you think? The idea, however, is way brilliant. I’d probably like the actual [...]
Beam Light From Your Wrist With The Stanley LED Torch Watch
In the world of “mixing two unrelated things in one,” resulting products either work or don’t. Sometimes, though, they’re so bad you just can’t help but love the little buggers. That’s exactly how I feel about the Stanley LED Torch Watch.
If you always wanted to carry a flashlight along but found it too much of a hassle to keep one in your pocket, then consider the ramifications of putting it on your wrist. Actually, it doesn’t sound that bad. Just duct tape your torch light to your SpongeBob watch (free with every purchase of a 100ml toothpaste) and be done with it. We’ll sit by the sidelines and laugh at you all day, but you’ll have a torch away from your pocket while we won’t. See, you’re spectacular.
The Stanley LED Torch Watch sports a large face (60mm x 35mm x 22mm), which should be expected if you want to fit [...]
Tiret Gotham Collection: Watches For The Dark And Dreary
If Bruce Wayne wore a watch, what would it look like? Horology company Tiret New York tried to imagine the answer to that question and came up with this – the Gotham Collection.
Inspired by the Batman universe’s version of New York City, the timepiece looks every bit as dark as the setting that inspired it. Sporting art deco sensibilities and modernist flair, it’s a piece I can definitely see the millionaire vigilante rocking.
The Gotham Collection consists of two models, one chronograph (brown bezel and strap in the picture) and one power reserve (black bezel and strap). Both are decked in a variety of fine materials, including white gold, steel, ceramic and natural rubber. Buyers can also request precious gems (preferably stolen or cursed – hey, it’s Gotham City) to be added to the mix. They use Swiss ETA 2897 movements for the time-telling mechanism, with a Valjoux 7750 for the [...]
