London Layout Festival 2015: London designer Samuel Wilkinson has collaborated with new Scottish observe brand Nomad to release his very first timepiece.
The Mòltair observe has a circular face and a textured stainless-steel situation, which is available in three various finishes: black, silver and gold. The model takes its title from the Gaelic word for a cast or mould – mòlltaich – and the form of the view apparently references the shape of a cast iron pot.
Designed to be unisex, the view has a basic black leather strap that attaches to the face with a pair of clasps fixed to a stainless steel backplate.
“We needed to set this watch apart from most other ‘design watches’, which appear to be created from a 2D viewpoint, front-on – ie the hands, encounter, dial – so we produced positive that the profile, development and back of the case is as a lot its signature as its encounter,” mentioned Wilkinson.
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“From the start it was our intention to produce a piece that would age well and have a solid construction – so cast metal and higher-high quality normal leather were first selection,” he additional.
Wilkinson is possibly very best identified for designing the Plumen 001 lightbulb, which launched in 2010 and went on to win the 2011 Design of the Year Award.
Considering that then the designer has also designed a rotating LED light for Swedish brand Zero, and a assortment of light-weight aluminium furnishings.
The Mòltair view has a numberless dial and attributes oversized geometric hands in various colour combinations.
“We wanted to make the hands a powerful centrepiece, so we chose a set of broad graphic hands that produced a different blend of geometric types that change by way of the hours,” Wilkinson elaborated.
“As the face has had all the markings removed we necessary to work hard on the interaction between the hands so we went through hundreds of iterations of slight positional movements and sizes until we ended with the correct consequence,” he additional.
The face is covered with bevelled glass that is raised somewhat over the casing.
Wilkinson is the initial designer to collaborate with Nomad, although the brand plans to spouse with a various style studio for every new observe release.
“Our title displays our need for ever-modifying surroundings and exploration by way of layout,” Nomad founders Alan and Kelsey Moore said in a statement.
“Calling on a global network of collaborators, every watch will carry the clean lines and resilient sensibilities of Nomad, as nicely as nuances of the designer’s personal setting.” they additional.
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“I desired to design and style a watch that I would like to put on one thing that was expressive and a bit avant-garde but nevertheless functional,” explained Wilkinson.
Mòltair will make its debut at the designjunction exhibition in London, which is open to the public from 24 to 27 September 2015.
The event takes location as component of the London Design Festival 2015, from 19 to 27 September – see Dezeen’s guide to this year’s must-see exhibitions and installations.
Also for the festival, Wilkinson has developed The Ommatidium – a long term set up in London’s Shoreditch. The five-metre-high umbrella-shaped framework holds one,500 crystal prisms which refract sunlight in the course of the day, and light up at evening.
The Ommatidium will offer cost-free wi-fi, and use augmented messaging app Traces to allow passersby to leave pieces of digital material for others to enjoy.
Check out our curated collection of watches by named designers and boutique brand names on Dezeen Observe Keep.
