Gold Jewelry Design · 2021
Lunar Watch
by Dabi Robert
- A' Design Award 2021 Gold Winner in Jewelry Design
- Awarded April 15, 2021
- CLIENT: Ziiiro
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 58,239
- Verification code 71D668CFD0 · Verify this award
About Lunar Watch
Lunar is Robert's project for timepiece company ZIIIRO. This watch creates a tie between the design and the nature of the object. If it wasn't a watch that naturally moves sunwise, it wouldn't be possible to read it. The edges of two semi-circles moving in clockwise direction show hours and minutes, they are both leveled at the same height which creates a flat surface. By the interlocking shapes, hands and watch face become one to create a constantly changing graphic.
Dabi Robert's Lunar Watch represents a remarkable synthesis of horological craft and cosmological meditation, positioning itself within a distinguished lineage of timepieces that transcend mere functionality to become philosophical instruments. The design draws upon minimalist traditions established by mid-twentieth-century masters who sought to distill objects to their essential visual and conceptual elements, yet the work achieves distinctive originality through its poetic engagement with lunar imagery. The dial's precise vertical bisection, dividing pristine white from profound black, evokes the eternal dance between illumination and shadow that defines lunar phases, transforming each glance at the wrist into a moment of celestial contemplation. Technical accomplishment manifests throughout: the brushed gunmetal case exhibits exemplary surface finishing that captures ambient light while maintaining visual weight; the architectural transparency of the open lugs demonstrates confident material economy; the intricately woven mesh bracelet achieves remarkable suppleness while presenting a unified metallic presence. The concentric circular motifs, from the dial's layered rings to the crown's spiral pattern, establish a visual vocabulary of cyclical return that reinforces the lunar theme. One might observe how the design refuses conventional hour markers entirely, suggesting perhaps that true temporal awareness emerges not from numerical precision but from attunement to natural rhythms. The work invites consideration of humanity's ancient relationship with celestial bodies, the moon having served as timekeeper long before mechanical invention. Viewers are encouraged to contemplate what it might mean to wear the moon's essence upon the wrist, and how such intimate proximity to cosmic symbolism might subtly transform one's experience of passing hours.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Lunar is a wrist watch that uses an unconventional way of displaying time. It is shown by two interlocking half circles. The correct side of the semi-circle that shows the current time is determined by the fact that it naturally rotates clock-wise. The inner minute disc is embedded into the outer hour disc, allowing both discs to be aligned at the same level of height. The brand ZIIIRO emphasises unique and fun ways of telling the time over absolute precision.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Casing Material: 316L stainless steel, brushed
Case Size Thickness: 9.8 mm, Width: 41 mm
Case Back: 316L Stainless steel, matte, twist case back
Hands: Aluminium, anodised and printed in various colours
Watch dial: Hidden behind hands, printed black
Crown: at 3 Hour Position
Strap: Width 20 mm, 316L stainless steel Milanese mesh
Movement: Japanese MIYOTA Quartz movement
Glass: Hardened Mineral Crystal
Battery: SR 616 SW
Water Resistant: 5 ATM - Tags
- watch, wrist watch, ziiiro, time, lunar, disc
- Production Technology
- The Lunar design was developed to create a watch face where the whole surface is a changing pattern, but in the most minimal way. In order to for the final result to be usable and readable, it is necessary for the owner to know clockwise direction. Of course, this should go without saying. Even the word "clockwise" refers to watches, so what makes this design special is that the graphical design of the watch face is tied to a watch without any alternative – It wouldn't work in a world where some watches go clockwise and some counter-clockwise. The design is tied to the product in the most intimate way.
- Design Challenge
- In order for being able to embed the inner disc into to outer one, it was necessary to use brass discs. This way, the bigger disc can be bent, and the smaller disc be placed inside this deepening. Compared to plastic, metallic discs come with the disadvantage of being heavier, which can be a problem for the torque and the fixation on the stem. We tackled the torque issue by removing non-visible material from the underlying disc. The fixation issue, we tried to resolve by using another miniature disc that is being applied from the top. With such a small clearance of a wrist watch, tiny misalignments can make a visual difference, that's why quality control is even more important with a construction like this. The first version of this model was finished in 2016, but after some technical complications, we had to re-release it in 2020.
- Project Duration
- The project started in 2016 in Germany & Hong Kong. It took about a year until we could finalise the product. However, due to technical complications we re-released a revised version in 2020.
- Operation Flow
- Time can be set by pulling out and turning the crown. Time is indicated by two discs, the outer one shows hour, the inner one minutes. To keep the visual appearance minimal, there are no markers. When setting the time, the light semi-circle tip have to be moved into the correct position in relation to the watch orientation. Since the semi-circles have two side, the correct one is the one moving towards clockwise direction.
- Research
- ZIIIRO is all about unique ways of telling the time. We are aware that the purpose of a traditional wrist watch has evolved from time teller into a status symbol or accessory for expressing one's personality and fashion style. In order to figure out the fashion part, we exhibited at the Berlin fashion week 4 times, where we could get feedback from all over the world. After additional market research by making polls and looking at our customer base, we discovered that a large portion of our fans is affiliated to the creative industry. Since being creative is our credo, it shows that we are doing something right.
- Inspiration
- The goal of this project was to develop a flat graphical way of displaying time, while the whole watch face serves as a constantly changing canvas without making compromises to readability. By using these flat coloured semi-circles on solid metal discs, we touched the limits of graphical minimalism. Since it became redundant for a watch to only tell time, the brand's mission is to design quality pieces, that emphasise on the fun part of watches.
- Image Credits
- Image #1,2,4,5: Robert Dabi
Image #3: Xcountry Inc. Japan
Colors of Lunar Watch
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