Richard Mille finally goes round with his new manual winding tourbillon watch with chronograph. It measures 51mm X 20mm, has double sapphire crystals and is water resistant to 300 meters. Other Stats: Power Reserve of 70 hours, 38 Jewel movement that beat at 21,600 bph.
Thirty nine years ago today, Seiko launched the Astron in Tokyo that was the world’s first quartz wristwatch. When it first came out, it sold at a retail price of US$ 1,250 which was equivalent to the price of Toyota and sold 100 units of it in the very first week. The technology went on to shake up the entire industry including the Swiss watch industry.
The ‘Watch’ is a concept digital watch by Stas Aki that uses the analog hands as decoration rather than to tell time. The hands remain still, each pointing towards the relevant digital display.
The Minute Glass ia concept clock that requires no batteries or current. It wakes you up to your favorite radio station but it won’t shut off until you’ve shaken it until it has enough energy for it to wake you up the next day. With no snooze button, this really makes you to wake up.
So What do you do when your 125 year old company’s profits drops 44% in the last quarter and your stock isn’t looking so good? If you work in the luxury market, You cut costs without risking harming the brand’s image of opulence as in the case of Bulgari who has been renegotiating existing leases, pressing suppliers for better deals, introducing lower-cost boxes and bottles that may be cheap but customers may not know the difference.
NOT do something stupid like stop polishing the $10,000 wristwatch to save a few cents and then show the dull underside of your expensive product to a New York Times reporter that then uses it for the opening sentence of his article on your company.
Also, something to note in the article - Mr. Bulgari mentions that he would sell a stake in his company if he has to. I wonder if LVMH is interested.
The Kissing Cobra is a concept bracelet watch by Ukrainian designer Andy Kurovetsis. It features two small screens on either end. One indicating hours and the other minutes.
In their battle against the onslaught of the cell phones, watches have always faced a uphill battle due to their limited screen sizes. Well, they might just be able to overcome it - Samsung is showing off a prototype phone with a flexible Oled display that can be folded. Now imagine a wristwatch the folds into a larger display.
Researchers at the University of Zurich have developed a nanotech fabric technology that repels water. The fabric is made from polyester fibres coated with millions of tiny silicone filaments and when water falls on it, it stays as spherical balls on top of it until they are rolled off like marbles. So water can easily bounce off the fabric without leaving a trace.
