Watchismo Times: 1980s

Showing posts with label 1980s. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The Hotest Watch Ever Produced...Quite Literally

A 1980s digital cigarette lighter wristwatch...

via Retrothing

Think this was the first watch lighter ever? Nope, check this one from 1947-->link

Monday, October 20, 2008

Japanese Oddvertisements of Seiko in the Early Eighties

A memoriam of dead rock stars and seiko watches...very strange indeed, especially when they show a pool for Brian Jones. I was totally expecting to see a toilet for Elvis. Their point? Maybe if they wore a Seiko, their time wouldn't have run out?? Video-->Link

A group of three commercials that include Mary Lou Retton creeping out a Doberman, A supercool car with hydrolic watch storage and lastly a commercial that can only be seen, not described. Video-->Link

Caffeinated watches! Video-->Link

Creepy sweating cracking mannequins. Video-->Link

Time-lapse decomposing watches. Video-->Link

Saturday, March 15, 2008

1980s Japanese Transformers Watch Commercial

Video-->Link

1980s Japanese commercial for

Ultra Magnus, Galvatron, and Superion Transformer toy watches.

1981 Kronoforms Robot Watch Commercial
Video-->Link

Some (non-watch-related) toy robot commercials from 1961

The Robot Commando is here to help you! (1961)

Video-->Link

Friday, February 1, 2008

1980's Alienating Seiko Speedmaster by Giorgetto Giugiaro

If you're asking yourself, what was that cool-ass watch Lieutenant Ripley wore in the 1986 movie Aliens, I have the answer for you. It was a Giugiaro designed Seiko Speedmaster Chronograph. Entirely unique by its vertical stopwatch pushers placed inside the asymmetrical case extension. Many of Giugiaro's other designs for Seiko between 1983-86 had asymmetric qualities and are shown below.

And for those of you who don't know Giorgio Giugiaro, he was one of the most important car designers of the 20th century. Credited with the "folded paper" car designs of the 1970s and 80s, he was responsible for such classics as the Lotus Esprit, De Lorean DMC 12, Maserati Merak, Bora, Quattroporte, BMW M1, and most interesting to learn, my first car, the Volkswagen Scirocco. See the rest of his resume here-->Link

Personally, I think he may have been influenced by the design of this watch that came out 12 years earlier-->Link

An appropriate future-from-the-eighties choice by James Cameron

It took me a while to dig these up!

Proof!

What bothers me the most is that I had one of these chronos and sold it prior to learning of its claim to fame.

Another fantastic Seiko Speedmaster design by Giugiaro.

I must find one!

Check out those four quadrant crown/pushers

Another from the Speedmaster series
With the dial off-kilter rotated towards the wearer

An asymmetric Giugiaro Speedmaster Diver

An interesting digital design

More about Giugiaro-->Interview and article from Designboom

Giorgetto Giugiaro Wikipedia Page-->Link
Giugiaro Design Website-->Link
ItalDesign Website-->Link

See Also;
John De Lorean's ill-fated wristwatch-->Link
Dashboard Clock History-->Link
Radiator Grille Watches
Audemars Piguet Maserati Millenary MC12
Kienzle Life 2002 Jump Hour
Azimuth Chrono Gauge Mecha
Paul Smith Dashboard Watch
Heuer Silverstone
Heuer Ford Chronosplit
Tag Heuer Monaco V4 Belt Drive Watch
Delorean Time DMC2 Wristwatch
Formex Shock Absorber Watch
Gerald Genta Arena Chrono Quattro Retro
Parmigiani Bugatti Engine Block Watch
Manometro
Dunhill Petrolhead
Richard Arbib
B.R.M. Birotor
Driver Watches

And speaking of Alien, the designer H.R. Giger had his part in a watch design for Swatch in the early nineties, see a sketch of his Crosswatch above. Watch blogger Ariel Adams of Ablogtoread details more from the 1993 exhibition here-->Link

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Friday, January 11, 2008

RIP Ettore Sottsass

Ettore Sottsass has passed away soundly in his sleep at the age of 90. Founder of the influential Memphis design movement and the iconic 1969 Olivetti typewriters, he also designed watches for Alessi, Seiko, Tissot, and Cleto Munari.