Alpina

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Casio G-Shock

Citizen Eco-Drive

Citizen Signature Collection

Eberhard & Co.

Edifice by Casio

Edox

Fortis

Frederique Constant

Graf Von Faber Castell

Glycine

Luminox

Maurice De Mauriac

Mido

Seiko

S.T. Dupont

Suunto

Suunto Elementum

Tutima

Underwood London

Vulcain Swiss Watches

Wolf Designs

Design can be the determining factor of what make or breaks you in the watch world. It could be a mechanical piece of genius, but if it isn't aesthetically pleasing, it won't be around long. There are and have been many renowned designers in the watch industry. A couple prime examples are the late Gerald Genta, who designed many incredible pieces, some being the Patek Philippe Nautilus and the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. Also, Jorg Hysek, who designed the Tag Heuer Kirium and the original Arctura Kinetic for Seiko. The designer I am writing about today may not be as renowned in the watch world, but has a tremendous resume in industrial deign for many items in Japan. His name is Naoki Sakai. 

NaokiSakai by JoeAZFT, on Flickr

Sakai was born in Osaka in 1947 and grew up in Kyoto Japan. After graduating High School, Sakai went on to International Design School and then to Kyoto City University of Arts. In 1969 he made his way to San Francisco, where he became incredibly successful selling T-shirts with Japanese Tattoo designs to locals. He was making nearly $300,000 a month and shortly after withdrew from Kyoto City University of Arts. In 1973 he established his design company, Water Studio.


AnantaNaokiSakai by JoeAZFT, on Flickr

His 1st major design to hit success (outside of the Japanese Tattoo shirts) was what was called the "retro-future" look for Nissan. It started with the Be-1 in 1987, and then the PAO, Figaro and Rasheen followed. He also went on to design the SW-1 for Suzuki and the "O-product", which was a successful camera he designed for Olympus in 1988. He has continued to create unique new products in everything from mobile phones, sofas, kid's shoes, even strollers! He was know as the "Techno Tarzan" of his time. 


NS_Concept1 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr



His 1st watch design started towards the end of 89' as a collaboration with Seiko. The ASTERISK came in a few different variations and was limited to Japan distribution. They are very tough to find nowadays as will likely be the case with his latest creation with Seiko... The NS_Concept Watch.


Ananta-SPB023-2 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-1 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-3 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-4 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr



Ananta-SPB023-5 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


The NS_Watch is another piece intended for the Japanese/Asian market. It is limited to 1,000 pieces produced and fortunately, AZ Fine Time is the exclusive dealer to receive the only 5 pieces in the US. It was a great honor that this piece was offered to us and we are very proud to have it, but it won't be around long.


Ananta-SPB023-9 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-10 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-12 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-13 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr

This piece was completely designed by Sakai, aside from the movement. You will notice, it has a completely unique case design compared to any other piece in the Ananta series. This round stainless steel case is coated with an in-house hard coating process similar to PVD giving the watch a black or almost gunmetal finish. It is 46mm wide and 13.1mm thick and hidden along the inside of the case, is a red trim to give the piece subtle character, but primarily only seen through the case back.


Ananta-SPB023-14 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-6 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-7 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-8 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-15 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr

The dial of this piece is where Sakai really shined. The design aspect is very unique in many ways. It has symmetry, but is asymmetrical. It is balanced, yet not. It is precise, but random. It's really something that words don't do justice for. I can say for myself, I was very impressed with the layout of the dial. According to Sakai, the concept behind the design was to show "the permeation of time". He wants people to remember the original tools of measure. We don't always need a computer or smart phone to tell us time or to calculate things. We need to remember the "importance of measurement".


Ananta-SPB023-16 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-17 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-18 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-20 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr

The sapphire crystal is as large on the case back as it is the front of the piece. The front crystal uses anti-reflective coating and has the Seiko Ananta logo and indexes from 5-35 on the inside of the glass. As you will see in the pictures, this gives the logo a drop shadow on the dial giving it tremendous depth. 


Ananta-SPB023-23 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-21 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-22 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-24 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr


Ananta-SPB023-25 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr

The movement used is the in-house Seiko calibre 6R21. Though this isn't the finest movement made by Seiko (which is preserved for the Grand Seiko series) , it is still excellent quality compared to most of the competition out there. It is rated from +25 To -15 seconds a day, which is the same as some mechanical Credor models (which are as high-end as Grand Seiko, but more so an "artistic" brand). I can assure you from my experience, the 6R21 will out perform its rating by far, it is my impression Seiko just rates it that way to be "safe". This movement was chosen for the piece to contribute to the aesthetics of the watch. The movement displays day, date and power reserve (which is around 45 hours) and consists of 29 jewels and 208 parts. All elements of the movement were functional in the design of the watch. This 6R21 is only 27.4mm and appears to float in the case back, also contributing to the beauty of the design.


Ananta-SPB023-11 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr

The strap is a calf leather with a urethane coating on the outside. It contributes to the water resistance of strap and gives it an unusual, but very cool look. It's definitely difficult to tell what the strap is from a distance, but in wearing, it is very comfortable. They also use a black hard coated 3 fold deployment clasp that only adds to the quality feel.


Ananta-SPB023-19 by JoeAZFT, on Flickr

Naoki Sakai held the "NS_CONCEPT Exhibition " in Tokyo, back in July. The exhibition was a 5 day event that was intended to gather and inspire young artists. It was said many were stimulated and inspired by Sakai's work. Here is a quick video of his exhibition...


 

Thank you all very much for your support. Be on the look out for more limited exclusive Seiko's to land here at AZ Fine Time. Also, please don't forget the Grand Seiko Roadshow on October 14th 2011 from 3-7pm.