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Telling the time is not all that complicated. Even a battery powered quartz watch that costs a few bucks could probably tell the time more accurately than many high-end watches.
But we don’t even have to go that far. A stick in the sand on a sunny day could also give us a good enough indication of what time it is.
I don’t mean to be overly polemical. My point is that modern watchmaking is less about telling the time and more about how complicated we can make a relatively simple task. It’s more about demonstration than indication.
And that’s exactly why I was happy to discover a new – and better still, award winning - way to tell the time.
It’s called the QLOCKTWO W39, and it recently took home a Red Dot design award. So why did it merit the highly coveted design prize?
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- The innovative QLOCKTWO W39
According to the jury, “Showing the time in words – this innovative idea is realized here with impressive charm and style.”
That’s right, the QLOCKTWO W39 doesn’t use hands to tell the time. Rather, German based B & F Manufacture has developed a timekeeper that uses words to indicate the time.
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- The face displays 110 letters to spell the time
The dial – if we can still call it that – displays 110 letters carved into a metal plate, and are sorted in a matrix that doesn’t seem to have any obvious logic to it. Using only LED light, and activated through the push of a bottom, the time is written on the watch upon request.
The words on the face change every five minutes, and in the corners illuminated points represent the intermediary minutes that have elapsed. On top of that impressive feat. as of now the QLOCKTWO W39 can display the time in over 20 languages.
Besides the prestigious Red Dot award, the QLOCKTWO has already won over two dozen international prizes. And it’s no wonder why. Along with the ingenious concept of telling the time, the watch is very well executed overall.
Made in Germany, the 39mm squared timekeeper is available in white, copper and back dials. They are matched with either steel or rose or yellow gold cases, and their price ranges between 990-1,530 Swiss francs/USD.
