A Historic Swiss Brand Just Released a Whole New Type of “Apple Watch”

For anyone fed up with smart watches, renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando has designed a beautiful analog alternative that can be described as an “apple watch.”

The double entendre is a cheeky play on the world’s most popular smartwatch, but the form is also a nod to the fruit that has inspired Ando throughout his career.

Cauny

Ando is the newest contributor to Swiss watchmaker Cauny’s The Architects of Time series, which celebrates the art of balancing structural integrity and aesthetic beauty.

Architects and watch designers have many overlapping skills and tastes, demonstrated by a long history between the two creative mediums.

Cauny

The Cauny Ando has a curved case with no lugs, a convex dial and a domed sapphire crystal to emulate the shape of an apple. Ando’s signature use of uniform texture is exhibited in the two color choices of solid green and brushed steel.

An elliptical hour hand and a rectangular minute hand suggest the stem and leaf of an apple, driving home the theme with minimal detail.

Stirring minimalism

Ando’s work is filled with bare concrete that follows the natural shapes and lines. His buildings counterintuitively create a comforting balance and flow using bare, uniform textures and simple geometric shapes.

Cauny

Ando has noted Frank Lloyd Wright as his biggest inspiration, and this is evident in how both architects use modern materials and simple geometry to emulate the feel of natural environments.

Both versions of Cauny’s new “apple watch” use uniform texture and simple geometry to evoke the impression of a familiar natural object. The desired association is unavoidable and immediate, despite how abstract the form is.

Cauny

The brushed steel version of the Ando watch is a potent analog to the architect’s buildings in how effectively it uses a cold man-made substance to emulate the visceral sensation of a natural object.

An anti-smartwatch

It feels like the adverse effects of smartwatches equal their benefits, and even the most ardent supporters of the technology can get overwhelmed with the psychological burden they create.

Cauny

The Cauny Ando provides an ideal respite from any smartwatch, Apple or otherwise, with a two-hand dial that lacks any detail beyond the watch’s name.

Even the movement is a simple quartz that doesn’t display seconds. It provides the minimum amount of information a watch can while serving as an aesthetically pleasing object.

Cauny

The three previous entries in Cauny’s The Architects of Time series have been artistically unusual designs, but Ando imbued his watch with feeling and meaning.

This minimalist two-handed watch deliberately breaks away from modern technology in the same way as Ando’s buildings, and the fruit chosen for the shape emphasizes that liberating spirit.

Availability and pricing

The Cauny Ando “apple watch” is available now from Cauny for $217.

Both the brushed steel and green colors are also available in a 31.5mm case size.

Cauny

Cauny Ando Grey 37.5mm

Specs

Case Size	37.5mm
Movement	Quartz
Water Resistance	30m

• $217 at Cauny

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