This minimal analog watch revises traditional time-telling by using dashes!

Posted on 19/11/2020 by Jay Alba

Personally, I prefer wearing an analog watch — ironically, I type this while wearing a Fitbit gifted to me last year. I understand the useful features that smartwatches offer, such as text alerts, setting a camera timer, sending emails, tracking health stats, etc. However, I don’t need those extra features — I just want to know what time it is.

The “another interpretation of watch” design presents a unique time-telling mechanism. How do you read the face? The watch’s “minute hand” is represented by a series of box-like icons that inch their way around the screen. The “hour hand” is represented by a slightly wider, the shorter block located closer to the center. Does this visual make it easier to tell time … not exactly. But, that’s not the purpose. The purpose of this design is to present a unique, abstract visual. Another attention to detail is the rotating gear that is located in a non-traditional center of the dial – yup, in the center instead of the traditional side placement that helps you retain that smooth circular silhouette this watch boasts of.

I’m personally charmed by this design. It reminds me of the Time Off! watch, an equally simple product that I covered previously on Yanko. Both of these watches have a simple black band and minimal functionality. It would be easy to forget I was wearing one of these two watches – but that seems to be the intent of their design. I prefer analog watches because they are low-maintenance; they don’t need to be recharged or synced to a companion app. They simply blend into your wrist until you need them.

Designer: Sergey Butskoy

Sergey Butskoy watch

One time telling dot is this minimal wrist watch’s most defining feature

Posted on 16/10/2020 by Shawn McNulty-Kowal

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.

Designer: Roshan Hakkim

This dial slices time to defy the traditional time telling methods!

Posted on 04/03/2020 by Ruchi Thukral

What I loved about Tian is the idea behind its creation – the designer wanted to make a watch that encouraged you to slow down your everyday life. Can you imagine a watch that does not silently nag you about hurrying up with its tick-tock? Well, Tian is just that, it stands out because it is a watch without the classic watch hands! Tian comes in monochrome and a color variation, it works on the Japanese Miyota movement.

Tian is a Germany-based brand with an ‘about story’ that will warm your hearts. The owner came across an old watch that belonged to his father but it was too small to fit him so he began a quest to find one in his size. After an extensive Google search, he found out that the company that made those watches was only in business for two years and that inspired him to start his own line of watches and that is how Tian was born. It was inspired by that original brand from the 70s and carried their legacy of revolutionizing time while taking off the pressure.

What is interesting is the way you read the time on this watch – it is anything but conventional! To tell time, you must look through the opening of the black disc which is actually moving. When you see one full color, that signifies the completion of a whole hour. Every color also has three lines at an interval of 15 minutes each. You’ll also notice that the markings are at 2 o’clock and 6 o’clock which is another feature that truly makes Tian one of a kind. Tian is also water-resistant (3 ATM) and its dial is encased in stainless steel with mineral glass. To complete the emotional circle of this watch’s story, Tian’s owner also donates a part of these profits to his best friend in Africa in a bid to improve lives and sustainability within the less fortunate communities. It is always the right time to do good things.

Designer: Tian Watches

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Nature… Frozen in Time!

Posted on 10/10/2017 by Sarang Sheth

The Japanese have this ritual called Shinrin-yoku, or Forest Bathing. With people being so attached to technology and urban life, there’s a very apparent lack of natural connect, and that tends to have its own set of adverse effects. The Japanese immerse themselves for certain periods of time in greenery, allowing their body to naturally detox, as they let the forest and its aura cleanse them both mentally and physically.

It’s no secret that no matter who you are or where you come from, looking at nature, for example a large pasture or forest, instantly calms you down. Even if you’re not in the pasture or forest, nature has its way of lowering stress, blood pressure, and even blood sugar (plus much more). It is with that sense of direction and purpose that the Botanist Watch was created, featuring actual pieces of plant and moss suspended in resin, giving your watch a one-of-a-kind appearance as elements of flora create a beautiful halo around a minimalist, unisex timepiece.

As a result of its construction, not only is the concept of preserving nature in a watch unique… but each and every single timepiece is unique too. Made by hand, each watch features real plants or moss, trapped in resin. Watch bodies are hand-crafted, with actual pieces of nature, making no two watches the exact same. Celebrating nature and individuality at the same time, the watch bodies come in 6 styles for you to choose from, featuring 5 varieties of flowers and a sixth reindeer moss variant. Inside this annular eclipse of nature and time lies the dial that comes with a minimal, radial brushed metal design comprising hour and minute hands, and a seconds sub-dial on the bottom. On the inside sits the Japanese Citizen Miyota 1L45 Quartz movement. The watches come with leather straps (vegan faux-leather is available too) featuring simple and natural hues that complement the natural bend of the watch, although we’d recommend going for white-strap-white-dial or a black-strap-black-dial combo to help highlight the ring of flora that makes the watch look so very remarkable.

Made by Analog, a company known to dabble with unusual materials in their watches (wood, ceramic, and marble to name a few), the Botanist ups the ante by capturing and showcasing nature as not just a material, but as a thing of aesthetics and therapeutic beauty into a natural yet unnaturally beautiful timepiece. Plus, throw a Sir David Attenborough-esque voice into the video and things couldn’t be more perfect!

Designers: Lorenzo Buffa & Analog Watch Co.

Click here to Buy Now: $79.00 ~~$160.00~~