Planet Design SA101 Drivers LED

Today, I'm back wearing one of my Japanese fashion watch collection, with this model from Planet Design. This is the 8th Planet Design watch to feature here, and it is a completely different style to any of the ones which have come before. The Planet Design watches are produced by a company called Emit Co Ltd from Japan who are producing a modern take on retro styles (and more can be found about them on my other Planet Design posts).

This model is the SA101 and is a very luxurious looking take on the drivers LED style of watch. It is actually a 4 digit LED illuminated LCD display, which is powered by a Japanese quartz module, and has time and date displays. The display is tilted so when you have your wrist on its side, you can see the display, but as you need to press a button for the time to appear, you still need to remove one hand from the wheel.

The luxurious feel comes from how the strap is arranged and the finish on the case. It is a thick smooth matt leather design, but the top half of the strap comes over the top of the watch to near the display. The case is in brushed steel on the front, with shiny sides and a shiny surround to the display behind the curved glass. The Planet Design name is pressed into the strap below the face, and the name and logo is on the back plate.

Most of the other Planet Design watches can be found for sale online, but for this model, I haven't found a single hit on any of my searches. As the other watches seem to be pretty modern (like 2010s), I'd assume the same for this one, but maybe it's a little older then the rest.

Planet Design SA300

It seems that the design with raised hour markers/numbers coming out of a sloped edge is popular at the moment, and today's watch is following the trend.

This watch is the 7th of my Planet Design watches from Japan. The Planet Design watches are by a company called Emit Co., Ltd and are made in China with Japanese quartz modules. The range are made to be a modern take on retro designs, and follow some common themes.

This model is the SA300 and is a 3 hand dial design analogue watch. The face features the Planet Design logo in the centre (a 'globe' with latitude and longitude lines), and the previously mentioned raised hour markers (6 and 12 are numbers with the others as rectangular markers). It has a metal strap, and the clasp has the Planet Design name imprinted into it.

The watch is still available, and costs ¥3,240. There are 4 colour options, and this is the silver model with blue and black face - other models are silver with black and red or while and black faces, or all black with white printing.

Planet Design EA142 Jewel LCD

Today's watch has one of the most unusual looking LCD panels I've come across, and it is on a low price watch.

This is another of the Planet Design watches by Emit Co., Ltd from Japan. The brand has been shipped outside of Japan by Tokyoflash, and is sold in Japan in most of the main sales sites. The Planet Design range is made to be a modern take on retro designs, but today's example has a much more modern look.

This model is the EA142 and is a plastic case LCD design. The really unusual part is the design of the LCD which is unlike anything I've seen before. When nothing is displayed, the LCD panel is completely mirrored, with no indication of any digits. The digits are a series of dots, but when you look closely, they appear to be jewels with each dot containing many different reflective faces like a cut diamond. This optical illusion is very effective, making it look like jewels (or rhinestones as the adverts state) keep appearing and disappearing. I've tried to get this on a photo, but it was much harder than I thought.

Apart from the LCD panel, the watch is a normal LCD design with time, date, and seconds displays. The watch has a plastic case and matching plastic strap.

It comes in 5 colours, and this pink model is the EA142-03. The sale price is ¥2,100

Planet Design SA172

Today is the 5th Planet Design watch to have featured on my blog.

The Planet Design brand is a modern design watch brand from Japan. They have been sold on the Tokyoflash and SeaHope sites, and some reports that the brand is commissioned by Tokyoflash themselves (although I've not been able to confirm that). The main retailer now is Emit Co. Ltd. (Emit-jp.com) who are the manufacturer and have other models with the same style model number which aren't Planet Design watches. Their site states that the Planet Design range of watches are made to be a modern take on retro designs.

This model is the SA172 (or SA-172) and is not available anymore. It is one of the most normal looking Planet Design watches I have, and is a ladies/children's size 3 hand dial design. It has a round silver face with round silver blobs for the hour markers. Where the face slopes up to meet the glass there are minute/seconds markers on the 5s with numbers on the 15s, and the last quarter has three markers per minute (although the seconds hand only turns with one beat per second). The watch has a shiny metal strap which matches the case and is made of stainless steel.

The back has the Planet Design logo and model number, and shows that the watch has a Japanese movement and is assembled in China.

Planet Design SA226

Today, I'm wearing one of the mysterious Planet Design watches - the 4th that's appeared on my blog.

This watch is a bit more of a plain design for Planet Design, but has one of the most unique day markers I've seen for a dial watch. In general, it is a 3 hand dial design, and there is a date marker at the 3 o'clock position. Between the date marker and the centre of the dial is a set of 7 small windows in a vertical line with the days of the week marked. The current day is the only one which is a red dot rather than white, but I've not worked out exactly how they do this because the angles don't work out for any split of the dial into equal parts (it is less than 180 degrees but more than 120 degrees). The face also features the normal planet design sphere logo on the left side, and this is also on the back plate.

The model number is SA226, and the watch can still be bought for ¥3,990 online.

I still haven't got to the bottom of the history behind the brand. All I know is they are distributed by Emit (or Emmett) in Japan, and the watches have also been sold on Tokyoflash & SeaHope. They have Japanese movements and are assembled in China.

Planet Design Rotating Disc White Leather

Today, I'm back to one of my unknown Japanese brands which I'm building up a little collection of.

The watch is by Planet Design, and I still haven't found out who they are made by, or really what era they are from (but you can still find some around now). All I know is that you can still buy some models, they have been found on Tokyoflash, and there is a Japanese company called Emit (or as the translation shows aka Emmett) that sells quite a few designs.

This watch is a rotating disc model, with a 2 disc design. The minutes dial is on the inside and the window on the right side, so the minutes are read first and then the hours. It has a rectangular silver face with the rectangular time window in, and the Planet Design name at the bottom. Along the top and bottom and on the segmented matching strap is a white leather (style?) material. The ds it makes it look very like the Rotalog by Nixon, but I don't know which came first. This exact model with the white leather doesn't seem to be available but is most like the model SA-108 which has a wood finish and costs ¥3,675.

Planet Design SA121 Jump Hour

Today is another watch from the mysterious brand Planet Design. I've not found too much about the brand online, so don't know who makes them. The brand is sold at SeaHope, and they have the largest selection through Emmett Co., Ltd in Tokyo. (Update: It turns out that the company are Emit Co Ltd and they are the manufacturer of this brand)

This model is an SA121 and is a jump hour style rotating disc design. It has a rectangular case with curved sides and a black face. In the face are too small holes where the time is shown. The smallest hole is the minutes (on the left), and the biggest hole has the hours, but there are no seconds.

The watch uses a Japanese quartz movement, and the watch was assembled in China.

This particular colour is the SA121 14-01. It can still be found at Emmett and has a retail price of ¥3,900.

Planet Design SA122 Squared Case watch

Today's watch is a little more classy looking than many of my watches, and fitted in at the meetings I was at today.

The watch is by Planet Design who I can't find much about. Their watches are available through SeaHope, so it may be connected to their watch lines, but they are also sold in other places in Japan. (Update: They are made by a Japanese company called Emit Co Ltd).

The main display is a two hand dial, but there is a small window at the 3 o'clock position. Behind the window is a rotating dial which is the seconds display. It has a Japanese movement, but the watch was assembled in China.

The case is a square design with the corners rounded off. The brown leather strap (which matches the colour on the dial) is the same width as the case, and is fastened into a slot with small screws.

The model number on the back is SA122.