Alessi AL1001 (and AL1000) Calumet by Stefano Pirovano

The Alessi brand tend to be relatively easy to spot, with Neon colours, simple but practical design, and functional. Today's watch fits that mould!

This watch is one of the AL1000 range of watches designed for Alessi by Stefano Pirovano. 5 different colour variations were released, and this orange one is the AL1001 (and I'm also including the AL1000 as well as I have both, but the green one doesn't work). The website suggests that these models are called Calumet, and the only date I could find suggested a release date of June 2012.

Stefano Pirovano is am Italian interior designer, stage designer, and graphic artist. The design of the 1000 series watch represents the designers work on small, ludic (spontaneously playful), and sensorial pieces.

The design features an unusual concave glass (rather than the normal convex), and has a crown at the 12 o'clock position (which is a nice looking design, but awkward to adjust). Apart from that, the watch is a standard 2 hand dial with a quartz movement. The strap and body are all from a single moulding in a silicone rubber.

Alessi Daytimer White

There are some brands that have a long history of unusual designer products that then begin to produce watches.

Italian design brand Alessi are one of those who bring together international architects, and commercial and industrial designers from around the world and allows them to impart their character into the different designs. The watches are produced in partnership with Seiko, but don't have any normal Seiko module number.

This model is called the Daytimer and has been designed by Will Alsop.  The official description has that it is about Alsop's vision of objects in the world. It describes the watch as though it was living and has arrived from space saying that is "Assimilates with the human wrist" and it "loves humans and wants to be close to them or part of them".

Will Alsop is a British architect who has produced many unusual and sometimes controversial modern buildings. He has won several prestigious design awards, but also some worst new building awards in the UK. His most known works include Hamburg Ferry Terminal, and Greenwich Tube Station.

The watch has a model number of AL22004 (part of the AL22000 range), and has an unusual display. The display is deep set into the case and is a 4 digit OLED display. Pressing the time button shows a quick animation of the numbers appearing (such as unfolding, jumping from the sides, building out from the centre). The animation finishes with 88:88 before showing the time (double pressing the button skips the animation). After the time, the watch then shows the day of the week and date.

The watch case is quite large and angular, and very noticeable on your wrist (the description online suggests it is even clumsy). It does make it so the display is angled towards you, but would be difficult to wear under long sleeves.

Alessi Tic AL5011

I've been aware of the Alessi brand for a long time, but not for watches. The Alessi brand is most known for it's interior design products with an experimental (and often expensive) style. The company started its sense of style in 1935, and makes what it calls 'handicraft items made with the aid of machines'. They don't employ in-house designers, but work with freelance talents.

This watch was designed by Piero Lissoni who was an architecture graduate born in 1956. He started an industrial designer, architectural, and graphic design studio in 1986 and has worked for many Italian design houses. His most seen works include homes and hotels in Venice, Zurich, Istanbul, and Bangkok.

Alessi has produced many watches over the years, and this model is called the Tic. Lissoni designed 5 different watches for Alessi, all with the same shape case.

The watch design uses a rounded square (or maybe squared circle) face. It is actually a 4-hand dial which is rather unusual. It has the usual 3 hands but with a second hand that spans almost the whole diameter of the dial. The 4th hand is a 24-hr hand (the thin hand) which corresponds to the numbers around the face. There is also a small window at around 1:30 for the date.

The watch has a model number of AL5011, and was released in 2002. It is a solid stainless steel watch and is 30m water resistant.