A watch like this upcoming Guer Man Trace is easy to make fun of. I mean it is pretty interesting look, and I see all of the artistic merit - I am sure I would even wear one. But instead of us feeling all wowed by its novelty, we are going to be compelled to laugh about it. It does come in a log watch box after all. This little concept brings me back to the early 1990s when one of my favorite cartoons of all time was on, Ren & Stimpy. Of the most iconic elements of the adultish cartoon show was their in-show advertisements of absurd hypothetical products. Do you remember "Log." The piece of wonder wood could do it all. It's Log... it is big, it is heavy, it is wood. Log for boys and girls, it is better than bad, it is good. These are some lines from the jingle, can you hear me saying it out loud in a satirical serious manner as I am sure the Guer Man marketing people might. Hear it via YouTube below. The actual commercial is not on there due to copyright reasons I am sure. So what was the deal with log? Well it could do anything, including being a watch box - even in non...carpenterized form.
The new Guer Man Trace watch uses a log of wood as the watch box and case. It is even part of the presentation, and I believe that Guer Man includes the pictured pedestal where the log watch box can reside. There is also the little porthole on the log to see the watch face, turning it into some oddly impractical pedestal clock. "What time is it? Not sure, go check log." Pretty wild, pretty weird, and pretty fun to see stuff like this right?
Not too much is currently known about the Guer Man Trace watch or the company. Their website isn't even up and running yet. The watch was apparently design as a collaboration between an artist and engineer. Pretty standard story, but the result is always better when the two types collaborate versus going it alone. The watch employs a lot of gold as well as other natural materials. The bezel and dial look to be some type of stone. Plus, around the sides of the watch are many little columns, also appearing to be made of stone, and are reportedly hand made. The case of the watch is in rose gold, and nothing I can write about its shape will be better than simply looking at it. While the case is totally round, the case is oblong and makes for an interesting look. The who design reminds me of what a Sarpaneva watch would be if they took a totally different direction. You can love or leave the face of the watch. It is interesting and pleasant in a quiet sort of way. It makes me think of what the inside of fancy banks look like with the marble stone and applied gold markers. You might see this as being a wall clock applied directly on to stone in a bank building right?
The movement of the watch is a Swiss made automatic ETA 2789. I don't know much about this rare movement, but Guer Man gives it a nice personalized rotor and uses various types of gold and steel in the movement. I wonder if the movement is particularly accurate given the large size of the balance wheel. The watches will also be as part of a limited edition. By the looks of it, no more than 100 pieces. Also on the dial, is a large "quality" ruby set at 12 o'clock. No matter how cliche it is, nice jewels on a watch face are always appreciated. Know what I mean? In addition to many other details, pricing is still a bit of a mystery as this point. I imagine it will be quite optimistic, as "art" watches tend to have that "designer premium" place on then. As they deserve is someone is moved enough emotionally by the look. Oh, and you can be sure that every watch box for the Trace is going to be different as you can't find these natural looking logs that look the same. More information and their website up in September.
Via WatchUSeek.
