Watch

I’m a watch guy. I like the design of a nice timepiece, and I like the direct functional usefulness of what a watch is and does. Well I suppose I should say what it did, since the smartwatch is supposedly going to change everything. Actually I’m sticking with the original statement. I like what my analog watches do, and no smartwatch will ever get me to switch.

Designer Robert Dabi has created a new time piece for Ziiiro called the “Eclipse”. Based on the natural phenomenon it is named after, the minimalist watch uses a patented Swiss “Super-Luminova Pigment” to illuminate the watch face and dial to allow for high visibility both day and night. This watch glows in the dark with sufficient activation by sunlight or artificial light and the technology allows for longer luminosity on a full charge.

Eclipse comes in a variety of options including a rose gold version, although at $219.00 I can tell you it’s not solid gold, but rather gold-plated. None the less all versions of the watch, do one thing. They present you with the time of day, which is what a watch is supposed to do right?

I’m a watch guy. I like well designed, beautiful, analog watches. I don’t buy a traditional time piece for superior accuracy. I know that a digital watch or my phone is a more accurate reference for keeping time. I like an old school watch because of the way it looks, the fact that it keeps pretty accurate time, and that in many cases represents good design, or makes an artistic statement.

Most of the watches I own, are fairly subtle. Clean lines, nothing over the top. The chronographs maybe have a couple of extra dials, one has a somewhat garish racing stripe. The biggest display of their mechanical nature is actually hidden on the back in a presentation case. I like that. It’s a detail I know about, but isn’t on display saying “look at me”, showing off.

Yesterday when I was reading an article on Petrolicious, I saw an ad for Autodromo watches, and was attracted by the clean and easy to read dial. I clicked through and was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Especially with the Monoposto. Their first mechanical watch with a presentation case limited to 500 units being made.

These watches look really nice, they have great attention to detail, and the price point won’t break the bank. They are the creative vision of founder Bradley Price, an industrial designer who set design and produce unique products that express the spirit of motoring. The design philosophy is a blend of contemporary, and minimalist sensibilities with mid-century vintage character steeped in automotive enthusiasm. Because of this, Autodromo products are equally at home in past and present. The watches are designed in-house by a small team with the goal of creating special, memorable experience for the discerning individual.