Imagine this. You are working at your desk, when in a brief lull of productivity, you wonder, What time is it? You press a button on your phone – just to check the time, you swear – and you notice a few notifications as well: a breaking news headline, a text from a friend, a new follower on Instagram, etc. Almost reflexively, you unlock your phone. Just five minutes, you tell yourself. I’ll skim through these alerts and get back to work. Of course, in my case, I blink, and those five minutes have turned into twenty.
Scenario two: you are out for a relaxing, socially-distant hike. The fresh air and natural sunlight are exactly what you need at this moment – a break from your tech-heavy life. What time is it? You wonder. You click your lock screen – just to check, you swear – but then curiosity takes over. This hiking trail is too quiet – boring, to be honest. You want a brief distraction from this peaceful environment…which is how you end up online.
Our attachment to our phones is a difficult one to break. Even though I can limit my screentime by restricting data usage on certain apps, blocking notifications, or setting my phone to Do Not Disturb, these self-imposed measures don’t always work. They don’t stop me from opening social media or playing Candy Crush.
A few weeks ago, I covered a wifi-router concept that gave users the option to disconnect from the internet. In a similar vein, the TIME OFF! watch gives you the ability to mute your smartphone notifications. How does it work? Well, the process is pretty straight-forward. Similar to many smartwatches and Fitbits, the TIME OFF! has a companion app where you can control all the settings. With the app, you can choose which apps and alarms to mute during your “time off” mode. Once you save those settings, you can, at any point, silence those alerts by pressing the red button on your TIME OFF! watch. You don’t even have to pick up your phone.
My favorite aspect of the watch is its simple design. Yanko has featured plenty of minimalistic concepts, but this one is the most minimal watch that I’ve seen. The watch consists of a solid-colored band and a face with a small LED sliver that displays the time. The screen doesn’t even fill the entire watch surface! I love this design choice because it reinforces the product’s mission: to eliminate distractions. The TIME OFF! wants you to be present in your environment, to forget about your email inbox, the news, and the passage of time.
The product uses a textile strap that is also quite versatile. You can wear the TIME OFF! as a watch – and switch out the band for a more fashionable one – but you can also tie it on your belt loop or a bag strap. It’s a simple idea, but one that also contributes to the product’s mission: to remove all the little things that may tempt you to check your phone. Don’t worry about the time, this watch seems to say. It’ll still be here, on your bag if you need it, but you should enjoy this break from the digital world.
When it comes to new concepts for iconic fashion staples, like watches, it’s important for the design to stand out. Now, sometimes that means ornate details and intricate decoration, but sometimes it’s just the opposite. As is the case for the new visual timepiece concept, Sans. Turning minimalism into the design’s distinguishing attribute, Roshan Hakkim, the creator behind it, says, “Sans is a concept watch, which [aims to distill] the watch face to the bare minimum; ‘One dot replaces two hands.’”
You won’t find any hour, minute, or second hand on this watch, in fact, the watch is named after the French word for “without.” Sans is a stainless steel concept watch that offers a relaxed alternative approach to telling time, you’ll know the hour and relative minute throughout the day, but not too much else. This is the perfect watch for outings that don’t require cell phones, time-limiting itineraries, or for those of us who prefer a bit more wiggle room when it comes to our personal schedules. Replacing the numbers that typically surround the watch face are laser etched dots and replacing the rotating clockface pointers, also known as “hands,” is a single circle that represents each hour of the day. Instead of the gradual transition from one hour to the next, this watch jumps every 5 minutes. For instance, in order to indicate a time of 2:30, number two will remain above the 30-minute marker. This minimalist approach to telling time is not so much an aesthetic decision, even though the design is both airy and elegant, but more so one rooted in a “celebration of purity,” as described by Hakkim on his Instagram.
Timepieces are classic and will most likely stand the test of, well, time. Sans brings an exciting, fresh revamp to the traditional timepiece by stripping it down to its bare essentials. Besides, checking your phone for the exact time only leads to even more time spent on the touchscreen. With Sans, you might feel encouraged to forget about the details, the seconds, the minutes, if only for a moment, and to just live from hour to hour.
Ever since the first gentleman pulled out a pocket watch after its discovery in 1501, these quaint timepieces have been a status symbol. The history of timepieces actually reflects the change in fashion across ages, coming to the designs that showcase our modern, quirky, and inventive times! As a product that is flaunted across the ages and across sexes, each timepiece here is designed to be a reflection of your personality. Distinguishing from the luxury watch crowd, the designs in this round-up aim to stand out and we are sure that these will be a conversation starter wherever you go!
This quirky timepiece – a limited edition Redundant Watch for MOMA by Ji Lee and Anicorn tells time twice! Instead of the conventional hour markers in a watch, the watch face features clock hands. The hour numbers are completely replaced by a mini arrangement of hands to display each hour of the day. However, these mini clock hands are still, whereas the larger running hands tell the minutes and the hour. Featuring a 40mm case, the watch is unisex. The 316L stainless-steel enclosed casing is available in color options of black and silver. Not to mention the casing is ultra-thin, only 7.5mm. Running on a Miyota GL20 Japanese movement, the watch is a part of Anicorn’s Trio of Time Series. Its straps are interchangeable with the strap of any other watch in the TTT series.
Meet the Garbage Watch by Vollebak, a watch made by repurposing the electronic waste we throw out every year. Rapidly changing technology has given rise to a culture of disposable electronics – everything from phones to TV, gadgets are not designed to last long. This electronic waste contains many of the world’s precious metals like silver, platinum, copper, nickel, cobalt, aluminum, and zinc. You’ll find 7% of the world’s gold in e-waste! Vollebak changed their approach to the problem, they explained “So our Garbage Watch started with a very simple idea. What if garbage isn’t garbage? What if it’s simply pre-assembled raw materials that we can use to make new things. It’s why everything you can see on the Garbage Watch used to be something else – a motherboard from your computer, a microchip in your smartphone, or wiring from your TV.”
The VFD watch by Nixoid Command sports a gorgeous steampunk design that, in the era of smartwatches, feels like the perfect alternative to a timepiece that captures all your data and tracks every move. Fitted on the inside with Vacuum Fluorescent Displays encased in glass cylinders that perfectly resemble Nixie tubes, the VFD watch comes in two variants, a traditional-looking circular Space Watch, and a rectangular Cyber Watch that looks more eye-catching. Both watch variants come with a steel body that’s fitted with proprietary Vacuum Fluorescent Displays that showcase the time. The watches revive VFD technology (commonly found in cassette players and other electronic products in the 70-80s), which eventually went obsolete after LCD screens made their debut. Each watch comes precisely fitted with VFD tubes that help tell the time.
This cool space-themed watch by UNDONE (a brand has always shown a penchant for space) has created the SpaceXplorer watch that pays homage to the 2014 SpaceX Dragon V2 spacecraft. It is a limited-edition timepiece that celebrates achievements that we have made in terms of design, technology, and innovation. This special watch pays great attention to detail and you will recognize those little things instantly if you are a space nerd. For instance, it features styling elements from the new SpaceX ultra-modern space suits. Then it takes it up a notch by using the Dragon V2 capsule’s design details – the grey dial ring, white indices, and the unique hands which are modeled off of the capsules white oblong shaped indices and windows.
The Adesse Watch literally has a watch strap and face. It strips away the watch of everything Jansen believes can be removed, but still retains the watch’s functionality. The watch has absolutely no hands, a plain, unbranded face, and even uses minimal markings around the rim of the inside of the case, rather than on the dial itself. This results in the watch’s dial being an absolute empty canvas. Taking inspiration from an hourglass’s ability to use shadows to tell time, Adesse comes with an offset on the surface of its watch-dial. The offset casts a slight shadow, making it visible as a hand, which points to the time.
Designed taking inspiration from marine voyaging vessels, the Ganymede Series 01 by Bala Radharamanan doesn’t have a watch face as much as it has a porthole. The rounded-square watch body comes with a capsule-shaped window that has a unique way of telling the time. Peer through the capsule-shaped window and you see a bunch of numbers arranged in concentric arcs. Multiple hands make rounds of the watch’s vertical face, pointing out the time. Follow the hand’s color and read the number that it points to of the corresponding color, and there you have it. It does have a learning curve, but that’s the price of having something as uniquely alluring as the Ganymede Series 01.
“Time is not just a number but also a story of the life”, says designer Xundi Li, who has, through the Gemic, attempted at giving time a shape. Ultimately each moment in your day is different from the last, and the Gemic watch tries to reflect that, by looking different with each passing minute. The watch consists of two different 3D layers that sit atop each other, rotating to tell the time. Ridges on the layers indicate what time it is, and the layers themselves come with amoeba-shaped cutouts that rotate as the layers do, creating a visualization in the center of the watch’s face… right in the middle of which sits Gemic’s branding.
Forfeiting the original 34 mm case, Swatch adopted a more impressive 47 mm dial, fully transparent with a semi-transparent silicone strap! This adds a pop of modernity to The Big Bold Jelly and to be honest, prevents us from squinting our eyes whenever we need to know the time. Crafted from plastic, the case features a height of 44.80 mm and a thickness of 11.75 mm. The larger case has been teamed up with red, blue, and yellow hands, making for a watch that looks as though it likes to have some fun! The splash of color adds a certain edge to an otherwise subtle watch.
The Argo’s layered dial comes with a date-window, and with artwork that pulls inspiration from the constellation as well as the sextant, a navigational instrument. Designed by Cesare Zuccaro, the watch’s second hand even resembles the lens on the sextant, with its hollow ring shape that forms a halo around the numbers on the dial as it smoothly makes its way in a circle. The watch comes encased in a 316L Stainless Steel body, topped with a sapphire glass. Nominated for an A’ Design Award, Argo lets you choose between a Milanese-style chainlink strap as well as a strap made out of premium Italian leather, both designed to complement the watch’s remarkable interstellar appeal!
The Black Watch 01 by Joe Mansfield and Ken Tomita of Grovemade with Stefan Andrén ditches the traditional analog design for a circular wooden face. The hand-sanded walnut face was dyed a beautiful black with Japanese calligraphy ink and topped off with a clear lacquer. Oxidized to a deep black, the stainless steel module complements the face perfectly. However, this is where it gets even more interesting. Foregoing the classical dials you usually see on watches, Grovemade adopted twelve little circles to represent the time, instead of the usual numbers. A peek at the watch will reveal not numbers, but round holes that will guide you, and be sure to watch out for the orange-and-white-colored ones!
Whether it’s via the air, land, or sea, fantastic voyages have long inspired timepiece design and the modern Odyssey watch by Sahil Ravjit & Andra Wibisono is no exception. The masculine design looks to our eventual space travel as inspiration for its subtly futuristic yet sophisticated aesthetic. It’s an elegant, modern take on a classic precision timepiece – the chronograph. Its distinguished sub-dials have marked plates in place of traditional hands, creating the illusion of time passing as numbers slowly vanish out of sight. Dotted markers orbit at varying speeds, drawing the eye to a graceful movement while indicated the time elapsed.
Apple wants its wearable device to be the best trio of smartphone, wrist watch and fitness tracker. Yes a fitness tracker. Why we can say this? It is confirmed by both 9to5Mac and AllThingsD that...
NaviMi is a modern compass concept designed specifically for those of who have trouble getting our bearings. The design incorporates a digital compass that goes beyond displaying direction. Just set it at the point of origin and be on your way. The compass will constantly update the distance and direction of where you left off. It’s perfect for hiking, exploring new cities, or simply finding your car in a lot.
Sadly, Pebble won't be making its way to backers by its original September estimate, but the design team wants you to know that it's hard at work, traveling the world to source components, running shipping tests and spending time refining the user interface in order to provide a top-notch experience once you do receive your device in the mail. To that end, Martijn, the UI designer, has dropped by Vimeo to provide us with a "sneak peek" at the device's operation, including some demos on iOS and a connected prototyping board, using a custom tool that sends designs to the Pebble screen from any graphics program in real-time (a feature that will reportedly also be available in the SDK). From what we've seen, there appears to be plenty of space on the screen to show incoming calls, read emails with eight lines of text at a time, view appointment details, select songs and control volume, and, of course, see the current time. Commenters seem to be quite pleased with the design so far, and we have to agree -- it's a pretty slick UI. Jump past the break to see it in action.
Smartwatches might not replace smartphones anytime soon, but they still have great chances of becoming companions of the latter. Won …
