Watchmakers turn to analog motifs for their digital watches

“Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western spiral arm of the galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.”
—Douglas Adams, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

With digital technology, there are almost unlimited ways to represent time, yet most watch manufacturers still assume wearers want a miniature digital alarm clock on their wrists. However, some are using motifs from traditional analog watches to present truly unusual designs of time.

“Digital technology has freed watch designers to represent the time in virtually unlimited ways,” says Vanja Buvac, CEO of Cadence Watch Company, which has just released its own digital analog watch. “Designers are able to run wild, creating unique and innovating pieces that watchmakers of the past would envy and adding function and flare at prices that would have been impossible just decades ago.”

An increasingly popular design theme is to mimic the twelve-hour circle of a traditional timepiece to create cutting-edge watches with familiar usability. “I believe the best inspiration for good design is people,” says designer Josh Chadwick, creator of the new digital analog watch for Cadence Watch Company. “People are used to telling time on a classic analog clock. Incorporating elements from classic timepieces makes design sense for the end-user.”

This trend of watch designers to use analog motifs in digital watches can be seen in such popular pieces as Tokyo Flash’s stark Kasai On Air Silver LED watch, some recent Phillipe Starck watches for Fossil, select timepieces from Nooka Watches, and the new Cadence Josh Chadwick Watch.

The trend unites two often conflicting forces: design creativity and business freedom. By using the power of technology, a watchmaker can get greater accuracy at a fraction of the cost movements from expensive Swiss and Japanese movement-makers. (Those countries have a virtual bi-opoly on analog watch movements). According to Buvac, this means “designers are presented with more freedom to add function and flare at a reasonable price point.” That suits cost-conscious watch industry leaders too.

Josh Chadwick digital analog watch
Josh Chadwick digital analog watch

Digital technology is especially suited for minimalist, futuristic watches that incorporate more information in less space than traditional analog watches. Digital watches are youthful and inventive, and are perfect for creative, problem-solving watch wearers who want to further their out of the box image.

If this sounds like a recipe for gimmicky watches, the finest counterargument is the new Josh Chadwick Watch from Cadence Watch Company, a classy dress piece whose muted digital face avoids the harsh glow of other digital watches. The stainless-steel band fits in equally well in a boardroom or a living room (also available with a black leather strap). The Josh Chadwick watch features a clean look and a superior user experience, merging the prestige of a traditional digital watch with other useful features: an easy-to-set alarm function, dual-time function, a tasteful back-light for nighttime use, and an AM/PM display which can be switched to a second counter.

“Digital watches are the contemporary solution to watch wearers who demand more from their watches,” says Buvac. “It would impossible to create such a useful watch within the constraints of analog timepieces, at least not at a reasonable price point. When you look for a watch, you want style, function, and reasonable pricing. In the analog age, you could only choose two out of three. With digital watches, you do not have to pick. You can get precision, more functions, and as much style as with a traditional analog timepiece.” In a electronic world, digital watches are the future of watches. But classic design will remain classic.

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