Andy, Alessi, Issey & Friends:
Seiko Instruments

Every so often, a product comes along that really commands your attention & makes you take immediate notice.  The more personal a manner it touches you, the more passionate you are about the product.  You’ve all felt this connection, I’m sure.  This past Spring, the Andy Warhol “15 Minutes” collection from Seiko time pieces was just such a moment for me.  So, when I got the call to stop by the showroom this time in person to see not only what was on deck for Andy Warhol, but also Issey Miyake & another of my favorite brands, Italy’s “Alessi”, I literally jumped at the opportunity.

There were so many incredible pieces to see in the showroom that a full review would be next to impossible to contain, so I’m only going to go over my personal favorites… the “stand -outs”  if you will.

First to Warhol, the real reason I came…  Standouts here continue to be the “Nothing Special- Episode III Collection” that are encased in plastic body with a polyurethane strap & feature iconic Warhol pieces on each watch face, ranging from a paint by numbers sailboat to one of his “America’s Most Wanted” faces that he did for the American Pavilion of the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens.  Don’t delay in buying these, however, as they are all limited edition runs, as I found out when my favorite, the Andy 111 featuring Warhol himself in profile was sold-out & never to be available again.  Among other favorites in this range is the “Fragile Existence Collection” which focuses on the artist’s body of work created after the 1968 shooting incident by crazed “Super Star” wannabe/feminist activist Valerie Solanas.  This time piece is on the dressier end of the scale & features a black plated stainless steel case & bracelet & has black diamond dust encrusted hands.  For the retailer, there are a variety of display options ranging from silver or gold foil “Brillo Pad” like boxes where the watch is cuffed around a silver pillow or even my own personal favorite, a large glass jar that simply states “Andy Warhol”, an obvious double entendre referring to his feeling of art being a mass produced product & a less obvious nod to his personal obsession with cookie jars.  Warhol fans be warned… you’ll want every piece.

For Alessi, there were all of their normal pieces that utilize the heavy handed design aesthetic synonymous with the brand without ever appearing to be “too much”.  The classics still stand out as the best pieces, but the one the company is really pushing at the moment is an update to one of their best sellers, the “Daytimer” by designer Will Alsop, but this time in white faceted polyurethane band with black deeply recessed digital face.  Alessi watches, like their home products are always good conversation starters & make people smile.  This season is no different.

On the more serious end of the spectrum were the RunONE series from SOMA.  These novel sports watches are offered in a variety of brightly colored polyurethane straps with aluminum cases.  Their ingenious twist is their angled displays, which are tilted 30 degrees to allow the wearer to see the time & monitor their pace with only a casual glance down & not requiring the normal twist of the wrist with elbow up to see the time, thus interrupting the wearer’s championship form.  Most feature fully functional digital interfaces with many gadgets including up to 300 lap data storage, calorie consumption calculator, chrono times & back-lit glow for viewing in low light scenarios.  The more interesting from a fashion point of view were the ones that utilize a classic analog face, but still in the full range of colors & novel angle, but without all the computerized gadgets on the more serious digital versions.  Of particular note to me was the Orange version & the Silver version.  Both had an other worldly quality about them.

Speaking of “other worldly”, the collection done in collaboration with Issey Miyake & his troop of associated artists provided the most fashion forward, shall I press it to the level of “Art”, was by far the most dramatic of the pieces in the showroom.  As is trademark for Miyake, there’s no immediate conventional aspect to what he does.  The only convention in this conversation was that these instruments all had to tell time.  Other than that, Miyake played with the delivery of that data in so many novel ways, that one was nearly exhausted with newness.  The pieces that stuck with me in this range were the “Trapezoid” & “Twelve” both done in conjunction with Naoto Fukasawa, & the additive “HU” designed by Ross Lovegrove.  The latter was one of the most comfortable time pieces I’ve ever tried on, as it was molded on the designer’s wrist & takes into account the wearer’s bone structure, which is molded into the inner side of the band.  This anatomical fit also prevents the watch from flipping around the wearer’s wrist as it is worn.  Though the prices isn’t anything to take lightly (retailing in the $800+ range), it is so incredibly beautiful a time piece that it is more akin to jewelry than a wristwatch.

-Scott French