A quick blog post today as the watch I'm wearing is a variant of one which I've blogged before.
The watch is by the 'Handless Time' watch brand called EleeNo which is part of the SeaHope group of watches. I first blogged their 'ART 009 Wheel' watch in 2012, and that post can be found here.
This version has a white disc with red segments showing behind the black face, and comes with a black leather strap.
My Friday watch is one that takes a little getting used to for reading the time.
As is often the case with the unusual designs, this watch is one of the Japanese watches in the SeaHope family. To be more specific, this watch is part of the EleeNo range who are there to produce watches showing 'handles time'. The EleeNo range was started in 2008 by the SeaHope founder Yasushi Kimura. There is more on the SeaHope family on my SeaHope summary page.
This model is in the EG line which is part of the Cyber family of EleeNo watches. The Cyber watches are the EleeNo digital range, while EG means that it tells the time with segmented LCDs.
This is the EG5 and has the additional name Turning Wheels. It works on the 12-5-9 principle, meaning it has 3 LCD wheels with segments that cover hours (12), 10 minutes (5), and individual minutes (9). The watch actually has 10 segments on the minutes wheel, with the last one just flashing to show the seconds progressing. Pressing the button causes the el-backlight wheels to show a turning animation before displaying the time. Time setting is done through the inset button and needs the tip of a pen (or similar) to press.
The design has a rectangular case in silver with a mirrored inverse LCD with a coloured background, and a black leather strap. It was available in a few different LCD colour and strap combinations. Many sites I've found quote this as being an LED watch with LED segments, but as far as I can see, this is purely an LCD watch with a backlight.
The back just has the text "Turning Wheels, EG5, Graphic Art by EleeNo" and the SeaHope website address.
It seems that this watch came out around 2010, and had an initial price somewhere around the $70-80 range. Outside of Japan, it has been available through the usual sites Tokyoflash and Intelligent Watches.
Today's watch is a dial watch which I will struggle to read at a glance, even though it's similar to another model I own.
As you might expect for a difficult to read dial watch, this is another by the EleeNo brand. The EleeNo watches specialise in what they call hand-less time, meaning that the watches show what time it is without using hands in the regular way. The brand is part of the SeaHope family of watches, who are a good start if you want an unusual Japanese watch (and they are linked to Tokyoflash for the overseas distribution).
This model is one I've not been able to find the model number of. It has the same style of display as the ART005 BL TF version, but that is square while this is round. The hand style and case shape is also the same as the ART014 Graph, but the face is a little different.
This design has a round face with two windows for reading parts of the time. In the top half there is a triangular window taking up the middle third which has a faint blue surround, while the bottom half is fully open and has a faint red surround. Down the middle of the face is a black line with the time markers on either side, hours on the top half and minutes on the bottom half. To read the time, you look at where the hands (actually leaf shapes on a rotating clear disc) cross the line, with the colours of the hands corresponding to the window which you use. Either side of the centre line in the bottom window are two pairs of other lines with markers on. It seems that these cover the other minutes so that when the line meets a marker on one of these, it shows the minute (as the centre line only covers 5 minutes increments accurately).
The ART014 come out in the late 2000s, and so I would reckon that this is also a 2000s model.
Today, I decided that the watches I'd been using recently have been too simple for telling the time, so I went for a bit more of a challenge.
The watch I chose is from the EleeNo range of watches that are known for turning telling time into an art form. The brand was founded in the 2000s by a long term Tokyoflash collaborator Yasushi Kimura, and is one of the SeaHope /Tokyoflash family. One of the principles of the EleeNo designs is 'handless time' where even the analogue watches don't use traditional hands for pointing out the time.
This model is one of the analogue watches with an unusual design and is called Rings. It has a round face under domed glass in a rectangular silver case with a thick black rubber strap. In the centre of the face is a silver circle with the EleeNo logo in the middle. Around this silver circle are two rings which are not concentric with the circle or face. They are positioned such that it looks like the ring touches either the middle circle and is spinning around it like a hula hoop, or is going round the inside of the edge of the face. At the points of touching, there is a gap in each circle, and this is where you read the time, hours around the outside and minutes in the middle.
The watch has a model number of ART007 (or ART 007), and the first mentions of this model online are from 2008, making it one of the early designs from the brand.
I've had one of these watches for a while now and this is my second after a dead battery broke the first one. I liked the idea of the design, but I think it is one of the hardest watches to read, and I a couple of times I have got the time completely wrong when trying to read it in a hurry!
The watch is by EleeNo, which is a brand from the SeaHope family of watches. The EleeNo watches specialise in 'handless time' meaning that most of their watches don't show the time with the traditional hand arrangement.
This model, The Graph, follows the design style, and has the model number ART014. It has a round case which raises up to peak along the centreline of the glass. The face is an oval shape with a central line where the numbers sit. The top black half covers the hours with 12 at the top and 6 at the bottom. The hour 'hand' is a white leaf shape on a clear rotating disc, with one side a solid line, and the other a dotted line. Where the white line from this shape crosses the white line with the numbers is the time, and the dotted and solid lines let you know which way it is going (solid for 12 to 6, and dotted from 6 to 12). The bottom half of the face is white with a black text and covers the minutes. This works the same way as the hours, but uses the black 'leaf'. The confusion in telling the time comes from trying to read the wrong hand on the wrong half, and getting the dotted and solid lines mixed.
The watch came out in the mid to late 2000s, and this one was bought in 2008.
I'm glad I don't have any appointments today where I need the exact time as today's watch it not the easiest to read.
The watch is one of the EleeNo handless time designs, and as normal is slightly unusual. The EleeNo watches are from the Japanese company SeaHope, and were normally distributed in the west by Tokyoflash (or Intelligent Design). I have a bit more about SeaHope in my overview page.
This watch is called the Bingo, and so far I've not been able to find the ARTxxx model number. The display is made up of 16 circles laid out in a square grid pattern on a mirrored face. Behind the circles are two rotating discs which cover the hours and minutes. The hours are covered by the outer 12 circles, but as it's a square grid, the 12 o'clock is in the top right corner. Minutes only get the inner 4 circles, so it's much harder to be exact. On the hours disc, there is a shape which fills the current hour, but is shaped such that it will part fill the coming hour. For the minutes disc, there is a circle with an orange line through, so the circle fits the circular window on the quarter hour, with the line acting as a regular hand.
The EleeNo Bingo came out in 2006 and had an rrp of €79.
I'm out to a club night again tonight, so wanted something flashy. Although, it's going to be rather difficult to tell the time at a glance.
This is another of the SeaHope 12-5-9 or Twelve 5-9. The SeaHope brand are specialists in LED watches which are often limited release. The 12-5-9 refers to the LEDs which are arranged in 12x hours, 5x ten minutes, and 9x minutes.
This is the Q Version, which is one of the newer design models. It has a more organic design with curved metal surfaces, and looks like some sort of alien technology. The hardest part with this design is working out which line is which, and which direction the bar fills. Starting from the 12 o'clock position and going clockwise it fits with the order of the name, and as there are a maximum of 6 LEDs per line, the first two are hours, next is the 10 minutes, and the last two are the minutes. Showing the time is done by pressing the button (at the 2 o'clock position), and there is a short flashing pattern before the the time is displayed.
This model is not available anymore, but was originally sold for around $190 through the Tokyoflash website. It originally came out around December 2007.
It's the opening night of the NuArt festival in Stavanger tonight, so I had to wear an arty watch. It's also the music festival, so I need something bright, so today's watch fits both needs.
This watch was actually designed by an artist called Jon Burgerman who I had the pleasure of meeting at last year's festival. Jon is an English born artist living in New York who has a vibrant cartoon-like style, and never seems to stop doodling.
The Jon Burgerman design is part of a collaboration between the SeaHope watch brand and Love Through Design. I've blogged quite a bit about SeaHope, and you can find much of the info on the SeaHope summary page. The Love Through Design company work with various key artists through all areas, and act as a consultancy, organizing events and exhibitions, and art licensing. They also work to produce very limited edition watches with the profits going to charity. This range with the 12-5-9 B Version watch was done for the War Child charity and featured 6 designs by 6 different artists, with only 100 of each design being produced.
The watch itself follows the same pattern as a normal 12-5-9 with LEDs in groups - 12 hours, 5 x 10 minutes, and 9 minutes. Pressing the right hand buttons sets off one of several patterns of flashing lights before settling on the correct time. The left button is just for setting. The strap is set into the edge of the face, so you only see the middle strip of the case. The back has the edition number, LTD EDN x SeaHope, Jon Burgerman's logo, and a quote from Martin Luther King Jr - "The time is always right to do what is right."
This version was released in late 2011, but the B Version design originally came out sometime in the 2000s.
It's been a long time since I posted a SeaHope watch, so as I recently found one in a box, I thought I'd share it today.
This is another example of the EleeNo range of hand-less time pieces. This brand specialises in releasing unusual watches with one thing in common - the lack of a traditional hand. They are one of many lines under the Japanese SeaHope brand (which you can read about in my SeaHope overview page).
This model is one of the EleeNo Lite range, and is called Stocking. This is due to the way the design looks like a fine mesh of fibre like in a pair of stockings. The time is displayed using two discs, each with a set of concentric rings that are offset to point to the time. The rings are slightly different, with the smallest circle on the hour hand being slightly closer to the centre.
The model number for this design is ART006NLT
I'm back out to the NuMusic dance night again tonight, so it's time for the LEDs to shine again.
I've mentioned the SeaHope brand before (and I've got a summary page for the brand linked at the top right), and this is part of their PIMP line of watches. The PIMP watches are released in limited quantities merging 70s style with modern concepts, and have a motto of "Trends are fine but being unique is better!". Even more limited numbers were released outside of Japan, and were exclusively distributed by Tokyoflash.
This watch is called Trip the Light Fantastic, and was the first PIMP watch (released in November 2003). It uses 72 LEDs in red, yellow, and green to show the time - red lights down the left side for the hours, and rows of 5 LEDs for the minutes (filling from the bottom, with the rows alternating between green, yellow, and red). It also randomly flashes some LEDs for a while after the time is shown.
It was sold originally for 18,000 yen, and is no longer made. A gold plated version was released a year later.
Well, I've reached day 4 out of my 4 day LED watch marathon. It's the final day of the electronic music festival, and to mark that, I'm wearing one of my most noticeable (read huge and weird) light up watches.
This watch is by SeaHope (as are the majority of my flashy LED watches), and actually is cheating a little - its not LED - but is lights up and flashes, so I'm counting it ;-). It was also done in collaboration with Zero Goods Universe who make/sell character toys, dolls, and clothing. You can find out more about SeaHope in my overview page.
It is called the Leiji Meter watch, and was released to commemorate the 55 anniversary of the debut of Leiji Matsumoto. It was a limited edition release, with only 999 copies released in each of the two colours.
Leiji Matsumoto is a manga and anime creator, who is best known for Space Battleship Yamoto and Galaxy Express 999. He is also known for designing the tourist water bus which operates in Tokyo (called Himiko), and he supervised creation of a series of videos for Daft Punk's Discovery album. He was born in 1938, and his debut came out in 1953 under his real name Akira Matsumoto.
The watch has two ways of displaying the time - an LED/LCD display (which looks like a electro-luminescent backlight, but I think is more complicated than that), and two small dials at the bottom.
The dials are two separate 1-hand dials, each with their own quartz movement. The left dial covers hours, and the right dial covers the minutes.
The LED /LCD display is more complicated. When you set it going, the lights flash like a set of meters filling and emptying. When you know how it works it's relatively simple. The small circle at the top has a fan shape of 12 lines which shows the hour. Around the outside are green blocks which designate 5 minutes and are where you would expect for a normal dial. Across the middle is a set of 10 red dots which corresponds to minutes (so you have to watch out you don't double count).
The case is made of an Aluminium based "super alloy", which was designed for use in aircraft and rockets to resist oxidisation and corrosion (and also is much more scratch resistant than normal aluminium cases). All of the buttons show a skull and crossbones, and so does the clasp. The back also has a large cracked skull and crossbones, along with Matsumoto signature, and the anniversary. The SeaHope logo is also on the back, and the copyright is held by Leiji Matsumoto and Zero Goods Universe.
It was released in 2009 and originally cost 39,900 yen. Because of the 3 movements, there are 3 batteries, a CR2032 for the LED/LCD display, and an SR626 for each of the dials.
It's day 2 in my 4-day LED watch marathon to mark a local electronic music festival!
Today's watch is also from the SeaHope brand, but part of their Twelve 5-9 range. SeaHope watches specialise in limited releases of unusual watches, and more information can be found in my SeaHope overview page.
The Twelve 5-9 range are named after the way of telling the time. They use 3 groups of LEDs 12 for hours, 5 for 10-minutes, and 9 for minutes.
This particular model is the G Version. It features a solid metal case with holes drilled down the front for the LEDs to shine through. There are actually 27 holes in the case, but only 26 LEDs (hence the confusion in some other articles) - the 6th hole in the middle section does not light in any of the patterns, and looking down the hole you can see there is no LED.
When the button on the bottom is pressed, the LEDs flash and then stop on the time. This version is silver metal with a metal strap and blue LEDs, but there are versions with black casing, and/or leather strap, and the LEDs can be in a variety of colours.
The G Version was originally released in 2005, and sold for 11,900 yen.
Today marks the start of an electronic music festival in my city. I've been going to the festival for many years, and I usually mark the occasion by wearing high-tech strange LED watches. This year is no different, so expect LED watches from now until Saturday!
Today's LED watch is the Scope. It was designed by the Japanese brand SeaHope, and has been retailed in the west by Tokyoflash. For more information on the SeaHope ranges of watches, check out my SeaHope overview page.
The watch is activated by pressing the button on the front, which lights the main screen, and causes the small circle of 4 lights to flash. The main screen then shows crosshairs that move around the screen and then stop at the correct time. To tell the time you look at where the horizontal and vertical lines are - the vertical line corresponds to the hours (marked along the bottom), and the horizontal line shows groups of 5 minutes (shown on the left). Individual minutes are shown by the number of green lights in the small circle in the upper right corner.
Released in 2009, it originally retailed for around $180. It takes 2 different sized batteries to operate, a CR2032, and a CR1220.
