The worlds most unusual watches
The worlds most unusual watches
Steampunk wristwatches often draw inspiration from the Victorian era, can be retro futuristic in style – extremely high-tech yet using old fashioned technology.
These watches are inspired by the steampunk aesthetic, which blends elements of Victorian-era fashion and industrial design with futuristic and fantastical elements.
Steampunk wristwatches often feature exposed gears and other mechanical parts, giving them a rugged and industrial look. Many steampunk wristwatches are designed to look like they were crafted during the Victorian era, with ornate details and embellishments like brass or copper accents, leather straps, and vintage-style dials – with unique ways of telling time, such as using rotating discs or gears instead of traditional hands.
Skeleton watches are a perfect showcase for the steampunk aesthetic, as they highlight the gears, springs, and other mechanical parts that make the watch tick.
A new steampunk watch was recently created by Japanese designer FRISK_P whose mission statement is “to make wristwatches that nobody else makes”. And she certainly creates unique watches, even outrageous ones! I can imagine these being used in some retro-futuristic movie. In terms of practicality these watches are definitely not, however in terms of…
Today we are looking at a couple of unusual watches by Ollivier Savéo. Ollivier has worked as a jeweler for many prestigious companies over his twenty-five year career and with watchmakers Roger Dubuis, Gay Frères and Quinting. He was awarded the “Meilleur Ouvrier de France” prize in 2000, this was in recognition of his…
Dutch Steampunk watchmaker Rodin van Lies-hout founded Das Kabinett Watches in 2008 after becoming aware of Steampunk culture. Since then he has been designing and building wearable timepieces and taking his inspiration from “Jules Verne, fairy-tales Victorian times, but also the decades of 1900 to 1950”. He builds his watches without the use of modern…
The HDD watch is a creation that was successfully funded on Indiegogo and created by watchmaker Jean Jerome and is the first watch to be made from a hard disc drive. Jerome explains that although its made from a computers hard disk drive this is not a smart watch by any means and only serves to…
A new new Solar Powered Single-Tube Nixie watch from Australian designer Michel van der Meij A Nixie tube, also called a cold cathode display is an electronic device used for displaying numerals or other information. The early Nixie displays were made by a small vacuum tube manufacturer called Haydu Brothers Laboratories, and introduced in…
This steam-punk nano watch is a really nice mixture of retro and modern design and comes from Polish design studio Redmer Werkstatt. It features a case made from wood and brass and a handmade leather strap. The steampunk nano watch case also lets you hook up your headphones via 3.5mm jack and the buttons…
To mark the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty Romain Jerome have released a new model, the Romain Jerome Liberty-DNA. This model incorporates metal from the Statue of liberty into the dial of the watch which also evokes the colour of oxidized copper. In keeping with the aesthetics of the Statue of Liberty, the…
California-based company Devon Works have unveiled a steam-punk version of their mechanical wonder the Devon Tread 1 watch. According to Ehren Bragg, managing director at Devon the feedback for the concept was “overwhelmingly positive” and it is currently being engineered. A prototype is due in October and production is intended for the first half…
On 2 April 1912, welcomed by crowds, the Titanic entered for the first time the waves of the Atlantic, ready to conquer the oceans. Already a legend it was a true symbol of the industrial era. This giant of the sea inspired Romain Jerome`s Titanic DNA collection, and to mark its 100th anniversary they…
Make your own Steampunk watch! The Arduino Watch comes with a host of clever functions to satisfy the inner geek, including temperature sensing, a 16-Bit colour drawing program and time display in digital, analog or even binary. The estimated cost of parts to build it should run up to about $250. Also comes in…
First released in prototype form in 2003 and designed by Vianney Halter for Harry Winston, the Opus III initially had various problems. The most serious was how to generate enough power to turn the six discs used for the digital display. By minimizing the energy required to turn the discs this problem was solved…
The industrial revolution meets 21st-century technology in this steampunk watch. The Eiffel Tower, Charlie Chaplin, trains and motorbikes are all referenced in the complicated Palace from Jean Dunand. Two tracks hold dials indicating the power reserve and a second timezone. A delicate sapphire crystal disc indicates the time. All movement, including a flying tourbillion,…
MB&F have pushed the boundaries a bit with their latest “Horological Machine” . Time is read using the two domed indicators, one for hours and another for minutes. The design brings to mind a section of the Nautilus in Jules Vernes “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea” Where does the name “Frog” come from? Well…
HD3 Complication Bi Axial Black Pearl With the success of the Vulcania model, HD3 brought out its bi-axial tourbillon with the launch of the new and most exclusive Black Pearl range. For this new adventure Fabrice Gonet was inspired by the wonderful era of pirates and buccaneers, to which he added the retro-futuristic steampunk…
Like the Harry Winston Opus III , this novel time measurement instrument was also designed by Vianney Halter. Revealing unique technical and aesthetic features it is constructed around a winch driven movement utilising nickel silver drums and a 450 link chain and in total 1,352 separate components. The hours, minutes and seconds are read…