Neko
Pritzker-winning Japanese architectural and design company SANAA joined Italian brand Alessi once again, this time to produce the Neko wrist watch series.
The Neko (which means “cat” in Japanese) watch is made of Polyurethane and has no fastener, instead sporting tiny ears and feet, representing its namesake in a lazy stretch around your wrist. Very cute!
- 31.01.2011 .
- Marina Esmeraldo .
- Tags .
- Category:
- Industrial design
- Object:
- Watch
- Designer:
- SANAA
- Manufacturer:
- Alessi
- Material:
- Polyurethane, stainless steel (back)
- Via .
- Share .
- 13 comments
I don’t want to be found dead with this on my arm. Can’t believe that such a good designer comes up with such ‘cute’ consumer trash.
It’s a cute concept, but I don’t think it’s particularly attractive. I’m a little surprised by Alessi. Usually they produce nicer products than this.
Someone please explain to me the avalanche of badly designed watches that’s been hitting the market of late. Just plain horrible.
@Art, IT’S THE GLOBAL WARMING! PANIC!
I like the finish, that’s about it.
Having a watch without any sort of markers sucks. I always double check the time with another clock as mine is one of those irritating watches.. (bought it for 45 SEK, about 6 US$)
Unexpected effect of using a no-markings watch is the non-trivial cognitive processing required to turn the positions into verbal words. I love my bare-faced Movado, until someone asks me what time it is.
Consumer trash? Jeez, Snobby troll is snobby.
Anyways, I … Wait. Yeah. You’re right. This is ridiculous.
Why would anyone ever design another watch ever again? We have quite a large selection as it is.
@Derek: Yes you can design another watch even if we have tons of them but then at least do a good job and don’t come with a cat resembeling thing. Especially when you are a Pritzker price winning, top-of-the-world architect (but then, that just might be the reason why they came up with this piece of plastic wrist decoration)
Shame on you Sanaa, you can do much much better.
I agree. Just out of curiosity, how many of the thoughtful critics on here are currently in/or students of the design, architecture, or similar fields?
@Derek; good question and (slighty asheamed) I raise my architect’s hand… Bummerrrrrrr
Ashamed?why? That’s so great! I’m nothing at all right now. I’m only a dreamer. No school, no job related to design. I live in a small town in Illinois, unsure of my future and unwealthy
Well, on paper (as all architecture) it all looks beautiful but reality always comes somewhat dirty. In this case underpaid, overworked, stressed out and frustrated… ;)
Hi everyone! Thank you for all the comments, and I would like to disagree.
I believe all of the opinions here were expressed by men. Well, from a woman’s perspective, I could definitely be caught dead wearing this watch, and a lot of other females as well. I won’t disagree about the dubious functionality of bare-faced watches, but for better or for worse, they keep being sold worldwide and I don’t see it stopping at any point in the near future.
As for it being another piece of consumer trash – realistically speaking, few things these days can be rid of such label. Even the Milan design fair is in a process of auto-review and criticism for the amount of *stuff* people design every year. In any case, it does not at all justify bad / cheap / redundant design – which I believe is not the case for Neko. :)
Cheers!
As a younger person here, of which I don’t think there are many. This is from Japan. The idea of cute really sells in Japan, where it doesn’t quite as much in the Western world.
There is professionalism there as well, but watches don’t only need to be worn by professionals.