Cool Hunting

LED Calculator Watches: A Brief History
Before the Hamilton Pulsar (once thought to be the first calculator watch), a gift giving advertisement in the June 1975 issue of Playboy magazine included the Calcron LED Wrist Calculator (pictured left). One of the most collectible, only 50,000 of Hewlett Packard's 1977 HP-100 (pictured center) were made, of which about half were purchased by a Saudi prince. That same year, Sinclair introduced their...

Hamilton X-01
In 1966, Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke commissioned a variety of companies to imagine and design futuristic products for the year 2001—and to be featured in their film 2001: A Space Odyssey. They hired Hamilton, a U.S. watchmaker, and John Bergey, a Hamilton developer known for helping to invent the digital watch, created a digital clock and analog/digital wristwatch. (See the movie prop...

Tagging Time
When it comes to fashion, are you ever on time? Or always ahead of schedule? Now you can track it. Vessel created the teeny-weeny Tempo Time Tag – a sleek chronometer that doubles as a fashion accessory. This wee digital timepiece is the size of your fingertip and clips anywhere: use it as a tie tack, a collar brooch, a “pocket watch” or simply...

De Grisogono Meccanico dG
Contrary to its appearance, the Meccanico dG has no digital components. Below the more conventional analog portion of the two-timezone watch is a numerical display driven by the intricate interplay of 651 strictly mechanical components. Numbers are formed by the motion of 23 cams, which are connected to gears and a synchronization system. To prove it, the watch's back features a transparent dial plate...

First Look: Bell & Ross BR Instrument Grand Minuteur and Minuteur Tourbillon
I'm proud to introduce the first look of two new watches from Bell & Ross. The Limited Edition BR Instrument Minuteur Tourbillon and Grand Minuteur. Using aeronautical instrumentation, the highest standard for readability, reliability and performance, Bell & Ross designers have sought to reproduce as faithfully as possible a cockpit timepiece that fits on the wrist.See more images and info (including diagrams of the...

Korona K1 Prototype by Stepan Sarpaneva
Helsinki watchmaker, Stepan Sarpaneva, nephew of the famed Finnish mid-century designer Timo Sarpaneva, has produced yet another stellar timepiece, the Korona K1. Following the success of his very limited and sold-out Supernova series (featured on Watchismo), Stepan is quickly forming a significant body of work.At 44mm wide and 9.6mm tall, the nearly full-Finnish production is made entirely of stainless steel including the dial, date...