Evening all! So tonight we look at cork boxes and the stars! The Obscura is around the corner! Tonight I am showing you the case back, clearly this is a drawing but I have the real thing in my mitts and to say it is a level up is an understatement! I am saving the real thing for another Pip later this month.
The design is built around the three smoked crystals in the centre. Smoking a crystal is the term used to describe a graduated coating on the underside. We are using a grey coating to partially obscure the manual wind Unitas movement beneath. These crystals slightly magnify elements on the movement, like the blued screws, which scintillate as they catch the light.
The overall theme of the watch continues here with the brief that the Obscura should be akin to a timing device and less an obvious watch, even though it has central hands and tells the time conventionally. It should be an object of suspicious origins, military perhaps or alien?
The three circles in a triangle is a classic Sci-fi meme (think Predators tri-beam laser gun sight), but they also represent planets among the stars. The fonts are interesting, on the left is a font I have used before for Schofield and really love, there is something about its ambiguous vibe. It could be Mayan, Chinese, Witcher or Incal – who knows? I would not rank it for legibility – can you make out what it says?
On the right is a font representing semaphore flag positions. A contracture of the N and the D makes the CND logo, a masterpiece of design by Gerald Holtom in 1958. Peace!
A reminder of Schofield exhibiting Saturday the 16th September in Brighton at the RedBar South East Best Of British watch event. Click the link below to get your free ticket.
I promised to tell you about the new cork boxes. Oh my gosh! Is it a product or packaging? Can it successfully be both? I really hate pretentious over the top watch boxes that are better than the contents. I would always try and swing the balance the other way, however being something designed by me, not a packaging company, means that it is inescapable that they will end up with keep-forever bias.
If it is lighter, it is better for the earth, as well as being sustainable, containing no plastic or toxic glues, coatings, laminates etc. It’s a tough brief but I came around to cork boxes!
Here we have a cork box made in Brighton, a stone’s throw from the shop, it is light and requires no cushioning. It is machined from a built-up solid block. The lid is a material called Valchromat, a super rigid organic pigmented MDF. You will also see that this batch features a glowing ring in the front – a nod to the Blacklamp.
All Treasure Watches (what little remain), Beaters, Rare things, Black Cats (all sold) will ship in these. The Last Strange Lights will ship in something unmentionably cool designed for the Obscura! Buy a watch get the box 🙂
