More Space Invaders Watches With A Price Tag That Is Outta This World from Romain Jerome.

The watchmaker Romain Jerome is best known for his luxury watches that incorporate the DNA of legendary things and landmarks. Inspired and paying tribute to historical events of the last century, each watch integrates the DNA of a legend such as the Titanic (made with rusted steel from the wreckage), The Moon (made with actual moondust), The Statue of Liberty (a bronze bezel which recalls the Statue of Liberty's crown) and EYJAFJALLAJÖKULL (made with Volcanic ash and black lava rock). Each timepiece comes with a certificate of authenticity issued by a third party. As one would expect, these are very highly priced.

Now, he has collaborated with legendary video game maker, TAITO, to release his second round of limited edition SPACE INVADERS watches. Last year he introduced a white and multi-colored version (shown below).


above: Romain Jerome's first Space Invaders watches were available in multi-colored and an all white version coated with Superluminova so it glows in the dark


Now, the new SPACE INVADERS WATCHES come in four colors with a special blue one for Paris store Colette. The price is over $15,000 for the watch. Why? Read on.

Having inherited the highly distinctive case of the Moon Invader collection (a round shape inside a cambered 46 mm square), the SPACE INVADERS watches have kept the same steel coalesced with fragments of Apollo 11. The four functional ball-and-socket joints on the corners of the case are shaped like the legs of the lunar landing modules of the American lunar missions. These extremely sophisticated components mounted on axles anchored in the case hold the lugs of the rubber straps and enable the watch to adjust to all kinds of wrist sizes.



Embodying another tangible token of the space age symbolised by the SPACE INVADERS collection, a dedicated plate made of Moon Silver RJ – a silver alloy with an extremely low oxidation rate incorporating moon rocks – appears on the stellar-patterned back of the watch and reproduces the lunar surface.




The dial is very complex and consists of three layers: the first two are beadblasted and the "straight graining" gives a pixelated aspect to the third layer. Measuring around 3.5 mm each, the SPACE INVADERS are meticulously machined one by one, applied by hand and lacquered in various colours. These pixel invaders are a playful nod that transforms watches into inspired "talking pieces" capable of creating a distinct sense of affinity with those who wear them, and who revel in the chance to thumb their noses at classic watchmaking conventions.

The first release of the new collection is especially made for Colette, the über hip store and gallery in Paris.




The pixelated figures (aliens) are the emblematic blue color of the store for a limited edition of eight pieces, only available in the trendy boutique. Buy it here

The SPACE INVADERS are available in four other colours (red, green, purple and yellow) and have started their incursion in all RJ-Romain Jerome points of sale worldwide. Limited editions of eight pieces per color, five new colorful legends have made their entrance at RJ-Romain Jerome.






Check out the two-part video of the watch being made:



The price? $15,368.43 (£11,753.12) (€14,900)
Maison Romain Jerome

The i'm Watch. An Android-Based Smart Phone For Your Wrist.

NOTE: Since this post, the I'm Watch has been redesigned. Check out the new updated better looking I'm Watch here.

Designed and assembled in Italy, the i'm Watch functions like a smart phone for your wrist. The wireless Bluetooth enabled watch works with the Android phone, the iPhone4 and, come January 2012, the Blackberry.



It can receive and send phone calls, e-mails, instant messages, text messages, stores addresses, photos, receive Facebook™, Twitter™, Foursquare™ notifications, check stocks, read the news and a lot more.





It's available to purchase now in either the Color collection (fun bright colors) or in the Jewel collection (black with yellow gold, white with diamonds, black with black gold, white with pink gold and black with titanium).



The video below shows the Color Collection and is followed by images of all the styles, the functions and technical specs.



The i'm Watch Color Collection available in White, Black, Red, Yellow, Green, Light Blue and Pink:









The i'm Watch Jewel Collection available in Yellow Gold, White Gold, Pink Gold, Black Gold, Titanium:







With i’m Watch you can:

• Visualise the watch both in the analogue and digital format: as you prefer.

• Receive calls showing name and number of caller: and see who is calling you at a glance. You can decide whether to answer or decline a call. All this while keeping your smartphone silent in your pocket.

• Call by entering the number or by using the address book: to make a call, all you need to do is enter a number or touch a name. As simple as that. And you can do it just about anywhere: simply touch a name in your address book.

• Use speakerphone: that’s going hands free. For example, avoid distractions while driving.

• Receive text messages with preview: from today, reading a text message is as easy as checking the time.

• Receive emails showing the sender and the subject: your emails straight on your i'm Watch: sender and subject are sufficient to understand importance of the email and therefore decide whether to read it immediately or later on your smartphone.

• Check the weather forecast of your city: you are updated in real time and wherever you go. Under any circumstance, weather forecast for the next hours is useful.

• Receive notifications from Facebook™, Twitter™, Foursquare™, etc.: i'm Watch is more social than you can even imagine. Keep in touch with the world.

• Download all the music you want from i’music: and then listen to it whenever. What about incoming calls? Music is paused when i’mWatch rings and to answer just click the button on your headphones.

• Download apps from i’m store: each downloaded app offers new functions to your i'm Watch, making it more and more fun and capable of doing extraordinary things.

• View the photo and image gallery: on i'mWatch your photos sparkle and shine in all their splendour. With a touch you can enlarge them and with another restore them to their original size. Just swipe the display and you can slide through unforgettable moments and instants. Always with you, all on your wrist.

• View stock market data and receive notifications: follow and keep up-to-date on all your interests, wherever you are. It is sufficient to personalise notifications you want to receive.

• Receive appointment notifications and consult the same: with only a touch you can check on your next appointment and with a quick glance read a notification.

• You can transform an idea into an app. There are no limits to your fantasy. The world of i’m Watch is open to all developers who, just like ourselves, believe that we are about to write the history of smartwatches.

• Use the apps you prefer and pass from one to another in just seconds without slowing down performances of the app in the foreground or discharging the battery uselessly. i'm Watch is multitasking.

Specs:

Size and Weight:
Height: 55 mm
Width: 40 mm
Depth: 9 mm
Weight: 70 gr (for the i'm color version)

Memory:
Flash Drive: 4GB
RAM: 64 MB

Processor:
CPU: IMX233

Display:
1.54” (diagonal) colour TFT display
240x240 pixel resolution
220 ppi (pixel per inch)


Wireless Technology:
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

Power and battery:
Built-in rechargeable Li-Po 600 mA battery
Charging via USB to computer system or via power adapter
Standby time without Bluetooth connection: up to 48 hours
Standby time with Bluetooth connection: up to 30 hours
Talk time with speakerphone: up to 2 hours
Time for other uses: up to 2 hours

Audio/video playback:
Formats supported: all formats

Compatible telephones:
iPhone 4
Android devices
Black Berry (January, 2012)

Operating System:
Android based

Connectors and input/output:
3.5 mm headphone, connection and power minijack
Microphone
Built-in speaker


External buttons and controls:


Languages:
English (U.S.), English (UK), French (France), German, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Korean, Japanese, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Arabic, Thai, Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Indonesian, Malay, Romanian, Slovak, Croatian, Catalan and Vietnamese.

*Technical specifications may be subject to change.


Buy the i'm Watch here

Marc Newson's New Watches for IKEPOD Unveiled. (UPDATED)

above: The Yellow Gold Solaris Ikepod watch

NEWS: This post has been updated to include the Solaris collection of Ikepod watches, introduced to the line in December, 2008.

The Solaris collection, by designer Marc Newson is available in seven different versions. Five of which are ceramic, with one white gold and one yellow gold version. All are unisex in size and feature a round face in a square bezel.

White Gold:

White Ceramic:



Black Ceramic:



Original post continued below:

Ikepod brand watches, unveiled their newest collection by designer Marc Newson (above) at Design Miami just this past week (December, 2007).


The new collection consists of three lines. The Horizon, the Hemipode and the Megapode.The following descriptions and information were provided by Ikepod.

Horizon Collection


The Horizon wristwatch forgoes all complications in favor of pure design. The unique dial creates the optical illusion of appearing convex, thereby emphasizing the three dimensional volume of the IKEPOD case. This new collection works as an elegant dress watch in platinum for men, and in solid rose gold for women.


The Horizon wristwatch makes reference to the “event horizon” in astrophysics, literally meaning the edge of a “black hole” – the moment when gravity becomes infinite, when both time and space disappear. The timeless beauty and simplicity of this wristwatch, juxtaposed with its reference to the mathematical end of time and space, underscore the poetry and fleeting nature of timekeeping itself.

Hemipode Dual Time Collection

The iconic hemispheric shape of the IKEPOD watch is the inspiration for the name of this classic Marc Newson chronograph. The Hemipode embodies all the essential values of the IKEPOD philosophy: design integrity as well as technical functionality. Most chronographs offer a stopwatch function to time a lap around the racetrack or a jog around the park; this model also offers a second time zone function controlled by an eccentric off-center pusher.


The watch is designed for someone on the move who reads what time it is in Tokyo, but also needs to see what time it is back in Paris. The Hemipode is the epitome of how IKEPOD redefines the classic wristwatch, a design which will look even better in twenty years than it does today. Where as a design or fashion watch is destined to lose its allure, to choose the Hemipode is proof that one is attuned to an avantgarde statement of sophisticated taste.

Megapode Chronograph Collection

The largest and most technical of the IKEPOD Collection, the titanium Megapode provides the time, the day, a chronograph function, as well as a unique circular slide rule for complicated calculations. This is a watch that can compute fuel consumption for an aircraft or a way point for a pilot who needs to calculate range and distance.

A rugged and sturdy sport watch, this is the timepiece one would wish to have during an offshore passage at sea or a helicopter flight over the Alps. The unique and highly technical dial is the result of calculated and deliberate design. This wristwatch is a visual tour de force; never has so much information fit onto a watch dial without clutter, the result is a perfect balance of function and design.

Conceived by revolutionary industrial designer Marc Newson, the IKEPOD wristwatch banishes all that is unnecessary in order to reunite man and machine with the design authority and organic power of the ultimate surfboard, a classic sport car, or a racing multi-hull. IKEPOD combines economy of gesture, pinnacle technology, and sensuality of materials in ways that challenge connoisseurs to embrace not only a singular timepiece but also a bold set of values.

Foremost among these is independence from the conventions of traditional wristwatch design. Hewing to the great modernist principles of ‘truth to materials,’ and unity of form and function, IKEPOD rejects gratuitous ornamentation in order to highlight simplicity of form. It transforms what has previously been a strictly two-dimensional object into an organic, sculptural volume that functions in all three dimensions. By deliberately blurring old distinctions between front and back, it achieves a new level of harmony with the body of its wearer. Thus, while traditional watches employ “lugs” to attach a watchband to a case, the IKEPOD case and band join together in a single uninterrupted whole. By forgoing clasps and cumbersome articulated buckles in favor of a single discreet nipple, IKEPOD offers intimate fit, fluidity, and ideal balance on the wrist. Nothing superfluous comes between wearer and watch.

The IKEPOD approach is weighted with integrity. When the design process strips away all excess, what remains? Unrivaled quality and purpose. And so IKEPOD employs only inspectiongrade platinum, red gold, and titanium, sculpted to the highest standards possible by Swiss craftsmen. The dials provide information without pretension or conceit. And the IKEPOD band, unlike any other, is molded from a soft and flexible scented rubber, thereby defying the traditional definitions of sport and dress watch. In its startling difference, IKEPOD demands intelligence and daring from its wearer, and declares individuality the most exclusive form of luxury.


Visit their site.

Find an Ikepod retailer near you.