Seiko Star Wars Watches: Force Time!

Seiko Japan recently took wraps off a whole series of new watches based on the Star Wars saga, and there are some really awesome timepieces in the collection. While most of the series has traditional analog movements, the R2-D2 watch is all digital, and features a very cool hi-res display.

seiko r2 d2 watch

The limited-edition Seiko Brightz R2-D2 watch is the geekiest of the collection, featuring a 300dpi black and white screen which can display scenes from the Star Wars films. But if you’re in the market for a more timeless design, you might want to check out one of the other watch designs, which include Darth Vader, Darth Maul and Stormtrooper models with a dramatic black band, as well as a gold-accented C-3PO and green-tinged Yoda watch. The Vader model is even embellished with tiny diamonds.

seiko darth vader watch 150x150
seiko darth maul watch 150x150
seiko stormtrooper watch 150x150
seiko c3po watch 150x150
seiko yoda watch 150x150
seiko r2 d2 watch 150x150

All of these beautiful watches are limited-editions ranging from 500 to 1500 pieces, and are not for those with limited budgets. Prices for the series range from 136,500 to 141,750 (~$1739 to $1805 USD), though you can find them for a little less over on Amazon Japan(JP). I found one of the R2-D2 watches going for $1450 over on eBay too.

[via Japan Star Wars(JP)]


Take Time Reinvents the Pocket Watch

I’ll admit that from time to time, I do want to carry around a pocket watch, but the obsessiveness of always being on time and knowing the exact time, right down to the second takes precedence in my timely, regimented world. However, even if it’s not necessarily the most accurate way of telling time, I do like this modern reinterpretation of the classic pocket watch.

lexon take time mathieur lehanneur

French designer Mathieu Lehanneur created the Take Time pocket watch for Lexon. The watch is a quartz analog timepiece that has a silicone rubber band. The band can be looped around belts, bikes, and other items. However, you can still strap it around your wrist if that’s where you prefer to have your watch.

lexon take time mathieur lehanneur wrist

The Take Time watch retails for about £29.95 (~$49 USD) and is available in a variety of different colors over at Gifts with Style.

lexon take time mathieur lehanneur loops

[via designboom]


Casio Smartwatches: They’ll G-Shock Your Bluetooth

Smartwatches seem to be hot new thing that watchmakers are releasing these days. What I like about Casio’s offering is that it doesn’t look like most smartwatches, instead looking like most of Casio’s G-Shocks.

casio smartwatch g shock iphone

These new smartwatches are part of Casio’s expansive G-Shock line. The GB-6900AA and GB-5600AA are able to connect to iPhones via Bluetooth. You’ll be able to receive emails alerts as well as notifications on it. There’s even an audio alert to help you find your phone in case you lose it. This can be activated by pressing a single button.

casio smartwatch g shock iphone gb 5600aa

An app will be released alongside the watches, and Casio hasn’t yet announced the US pricing or availability, but they will be released in Japan in October and November for ¥18,000 (~$230 USD).

[via Ubergizmo]


Citizen Eco-Drive Proximity: A Gentlemanly Bluetooth Watch

While there are a bunch of Bluetooth watches on the market, none of them could be easily worn by your fashionable Bond-like gentleman. LEDs and LCDs don’t really go with a tuxedo. Sure, these days, a lot of us don’t need to wear a tux to go to work, but it never hurts to have a fashionable stealth watch that also has Bluetooth technology built-in.

citizen proximity bluetooth watch

The Citizen Eco-Drive Promixity is exactly that, a Bluetooth watch that looks like many other manly-chronograph watches. It will definitely cut it in a business meeting, thanks to its bold lines and steel casing. The watch can sync up to your iPhone 4S that has Bluetooth 4.0, as well as the next generation iPhone once it arrives.

citizen proximity bluetooth watch green

If you miss a call or get a message, the second hand of the watch will point towards a word on the inner flange to indicate what happened on your phone. An analog cellphone indicator dials sound like something out of steampunk! There are no LEDs or flashing lights to make you look like a tech geek with this watch. There’s even a search mode that allows you to help your phone if you lose it in your house.

citizen proximity bluetooth watch blue

The Eco-Drive Proximity will sell for $550(USD) when it’s released this fall. That’s not cheap, but the design is certainly more timeless than the barrage of digital “smartwatches” hitting the market these days. Hopefully the tech inside won’t be outdated by next year.

[via Engadget]


Tokyoflash Kisai Zone: A Hex Face in a Round Hole

Modern Japanese digital watches are definitely an acquired taste, but once you decipher how to read the time, you end up with a functional watch. This new watch from Tokyoflash doesn’t encrypt the time, so you won’t have to take a minute each time you consult it. Once you understand the display, it’s very easy to read.

tokyoflash kisai zone hex display

The Tokyoflash Kisai Zone watch displays numbers in hexagonal form, and comes with a stainless or black strap, with a body to match. There are blue, green, purple or black options available for the LCD display.

kisai zone green watch

The display is constantly moving, and since it’s LCD, you won’t have to push a button to activate it (though it does have an EL backlight for nighttime viewing.) The numbers for the current time are simply forced into hexagonal shapes, as shown in this demo video:

See, not hard to read at all. Plus, those animation modes are pretty cool too.

tokyoflash kisai zone hex display silver blue

The Kisai Zone is currently on sale at Tokyoflash for $99(USD). After the two day launch period, it will revert to $139, so if you’re interested, you’d better grab it.

tokyoflash kisai zone hex display silver

 


Cassiopeia Concept Watch: Put the Stars on Your Wrist

Constellations are pretty awesome to look at, that is if you’re not living in a big city. Once you get out of urban areas, you can see plenty of them in the clear night sky. This new concept watch attempts to put a constellation on your wrist, so you can see one even if you live downtown. TokyoFlash design contributor Sam F.’s watch is based upon the Cassiopeia constellation.

tokyoflash cassiopeia watch concept led

With a sleek and minimal bracelet design, the Cassiopeia watch has got a zig-zag display featuring a strip of colorful, twinkling LEDs. The pattern of the LEDs is supposed to mimic the one of the actual constellation.

tokyoflash cassiopeia watch concept led animation

You can tell the time by counting the number of colored LED lights that are lit up. With the arrangement of LEDs looking almost haphazard, telling the time might take some… time. Anyway, I’m sure that the final display will be streamlined if Tokyoflash ends up making this watch.

tokyoflash cassiopeia watch concept led legend

Head on over to Tokyoflash to vote for it so that it gets made!

[via Tokyoflash]


Citizen Eco-Drive Proximity watch notifies iPhone owners without betraying their nerd status

Citizen EcoDrive Proximity watch notifies iPhone owners without betraying their nerd status

It’s hard to deny that Bluetooth watches usually lack the social graces you need when dressing to impress. Citizen doesn’t want to leave you a binary choice between technology and poshness, however. The company’s upcoming Eco-Drive Proximity watch has all the respectability of an analog steel timepiece, but it quietly syncs to an iPhone 4S (or newer) through Bluetooth 4.0. Miss a call, get a message or approach a meeting, and the seconds hand will point to a word on the dial indicating what needs attention — there’s no broadcasting your geek credentials to everyone in the room. The iPhone syncs its time with the watch if you’re so inclined, and a search mode will ping the handset if it’s lost under the couch. Expect to pay $550, or about as much as many mid-tier quartz watches, when the Proximity goes on sale in the fall. It’s certainly not a trivial price next to other Bluetooth watches, but the public acceptance factor may be more than worth the premium.

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Citizen Eco-Drive Proximity watch notifies iPhone owners without betraying their nerd status originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Sep 2012 04:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin Forerunner 10: A Thinner, Lighter, Cheaper GPS Watch

GPS watches are great to track your runs, but most of them are kind of bulky. This new lightweight series from Garmin isn’t aimed at triathletes. It’s made to compete with some of the watches from Nike and Polar, which make it dead simple to track your runs.

garmin forerunner 10 gps watch

The Garmin Forerunner 10 offers training features like a virtual pacer and auto pause settings, as well as a run/walk setting for beginning runners. The display shows the amount of calories burned, speed, distance and time. It will come in a few bright and bold colors, including apple green and cotton candy pink, as well as basic black, and it’s definitely less bulky than many of the other models on the market today.

Garmin usually offers expensive training watches, with a lot of features that most people don’t need. Nike+ is becoming widely adopted, so this $129(USD) watch hopes to offer a reasonably-priced alternative when it’s released this Fall.

garmin forerunner 10 gps watch side

garmin forerunner 10 gps watch big

[via TechCrunch]


Solder Time II: The Hackable Watch

Have you ever wanted a watch you could hack to display whatever you wanted it to? With the advent of so-called “smartwatches,” rooting or hacking one isn’t going to be too far off. But if you can’t wait for this, then you should check out Solder: Time II. This DIY watch kit is hackable and programmable, which is interesting if you like fiddling around with stuff.

solder time ii diy led watch kit

The Solder: Time II watch has a 7 × 20 LED matrix that can display time, scrolling text, and animations. There’s an alarm and stopwatch as well. The simple soldering required to assemble the watch should take users less than an hour to complete. In the worst case scenario, you can always find someone you know who can help you out. The Arudino-based programming interface is exposed at the back, and it’s ready to be hacked to display that Pac-Man or Space Invaders animation you always wanted on your wrist.

The Solder: Time II watch is available as a kit for $59 at the Maker Shed.

solder time ii diy led watch kit contents

[via Make:]


Romain Jerome Pac-Man Watch Will Gobble up Your Money

So you just sold your entire videogame collection and you’re swimming in money. You already bought the Space Invaders wristwatch, but you’re still Scrooge McDuck! What to do? I suggest you add the official Pac-Man watch to your shopping list.

romain jerome official pac man watch

Romain Jerome – the same company who made the Space Invaders watch – teamed up with Namco to make four ever so slightly different Pac-Man watch designs each limited to just 20 pieces. I’m not sure why they didn’t just make 80 of the one above, because the other three variants all look inferior to it on account of having fewer Pac-Man characters. But I guess if all of them have parts made of “steel fused with parts of the Apollo 11″ and “low oxidation silver fused with moon rocks”, 8-bit icons are just a quirky bonus.

romain jerome official pac man watch 2 150x150
romain jerome official pac man watch 3 150x150
romain jerome official pac man watch 4 150x150
romain jerome official pac man watch 150x150

The watches will be exclusively launched at the Colette store in Paris starting September 3, followed by a wider availability on September 10. Each watch will be sold for $17,900 (USD). Wakka-wakka-WHAT?!?

[via Romain Jerome & Perpetuelle via HiConsumption]