Archive for May, 2006
Ross Lovegrove recently won The World Technology Prize for Design in San Francisco, and after considering ‘Swarovski Crystal Aerospace’ for Swarovski Crystal Palace, one can recognise why. Lovegrove’s focus for this design is transport and sustainability; he presents a solar powered hybrid concept car for our future. The synergies between the alternative energy source, the materials and design are immaculate, rendering the obvious style as effortless. Each of the 1,000 Sharp solar panels has a specially constructed Swarovski crystal embedded in it.
Lovegrove has worked with Sharp Solar Europe, Swarovski Optical laboratories, General Motors Europe Design Director – Anthony Lo and Coggiola, the automobile prototype specialist in Torino to bring this car for the future to life.
He started his career in the 1980’s at Frog Design in Germany on projects for Apple Computers and Sony. He gained further notoriety when invited to join the Atelier de Nimes in Paris along with Jean Nouvel and Phillipe Stark. His products range from the Walkman, watches and kitchenware, to outdoor lighting and airplane interiors for clients including British Airways, Kartell, Phillips and Mazda. He has won many awards and his work is held in permanent collections in design museums around the world including Museum of Modern Art and the Design Museum in London.
Lovegrove is one of the design world’s stars, famous for his rounded shapes that push technology and materials. He has won countless design awards and has been in shows at MoMA, London’s Design Museum, the Centre Pompidou, and the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. At the Salone del Mobile in Milan this year, Thonet exhibited Lovegrove’s 8 chair, which riffs on the company’s bent-wood classic; and downstairs in his studio an assistant is working on another exhibit for the fair, bathroom designs for the Turkish company VitrA. With more than 100 pieces in it–everything from tiles to taps and bidets–it’s one of the biggest bathroom projects ever by a single designer. Then there’s the lighting for Yamagiwa to come out soon in Europe and the United States, a new TV for Sony, cell phones for an upstart Finnish company, and new wire-frame seating for Knoll, not to mention a car for Swarovski’s Crystal Palace series.
Usually designers make some sort of crystal chandelier for the Swarovski exhibit at the Milan furniture fair. But Lovegrove insists he’s not the chandelier sort despite his hugely inventive lighting for Yamagiwa that rethinks the shape and function of fluorescent tubes. Instead he’s making a solar-powered concept car, in keeping for a designer who made his own windmill when he was a teenager.
May 31st, 2006
Bulgari extends its precious Assioma Collection by introducing the new Assioma Complications references in limited editions. Precious complicated watches have been created thanks to the Swiss watch-making expertise, whilst maintaining coherence to Bulgari’s famous design and purity of shapes.
Two new versions: the Multi Complication and the Petite Complication.
The first Bulgari Multi Complication, with a refined platinum curved case will be exclusively available in 25 limited edition pieces featuring an exclusive blend of complications. Automatic Tourbillon, Perpetuai Calendar and GMT 2 time zone functions have been combined together. The calibre BVL 416 is the first Multi Complication entirely developed, manufactured and assembled by Bulgari, from which the precious 416 components movement stems.
The Petite Complication, available in pink gold, yellow gold and white gold with the limited edition number engraved on the side of each case, features a mechanical movement with Heure Rétrograde. The calibre BVL 261 with AM/PM indicator consists of 261 components and is entirely handassembled and hand-finished. The precise finishing of the sophisticated dials brings enriched quality to the pieces and reaffirms Bulgari’s tradition toward the attention to detail. A three-blade déployante buckie with a Bulgari logo engraving enhances the exquisite alligator strap.
Producing the new Assioma Complications watches and developing their movements demands two entire months of work which entails exactly 7.360 hours of research, 15.000 hours of manufacture and 3.360 hours of designing. The original architecture and exceptional style combined to the highest of Swiss manufacturing ability, contributes to the creation of technically sophisticated watches. They are watch-making masterpieces with strong personalities in which tradition and innovation represent the key elements. Bulgari combines a refined yet cutting edge design to sophisticated mechanisms, produced and controlled according to the strict and rigorous standards of Swiss certification, to guarantee high quality.
May 31st, 2006
Ever get caught short - of battery power that is - when you’re out and about with your portable music player of choice? It might be worth considering MobiBlu’s DAH-1900 MP3 player, which claims to have the longest battery life of any on the market - up to 153 hours on a single battery charge.
To help conserve battery life, the DAH-1900 uses an OLED (Organic LED display), with the bright yellow and blue display offering two lines of text and two rows of icons on its 128 x 64 pixel resolution screen, which can be used to stream song lyrics, courtesy of an editable Auto Lyric system.
Also packed into the miniature case is an FM tuner and FM recorder backed by a timer function and alarm clock which can wake you up with radio or MP3 playback, along with a built-in microphone that acts as a voice recorder and a Direct Encoding function to record from external sound sources. The music player supports MP3, WMA and WMA DRM and there’s also 3D surround sound and bass enhancement to boost sound quality.
Available in both black and white and in 1GB and 2GB models, you can pick the DAH-1900 up for £125 and £159 respectively.
May 28th, 2006
Sony has now officially announced their VAIO Type U, and they will be on sale at the end of May 2006. The Sony VGN-UX50 measures 150.2×95mm or 100.5×23.2mm for 520g and runs Windows XP. With a screen size of 4.5” WSVGA 1024×600 touch screen, a Core Solo U1300 at 1.06Ghz (UX50) or a Core Solo U1400 at 1.2Ghz (UX90) (Celeron processor is optional), a 20 or 30GB HDD, a 1.3MP camera and webcam, Wireless a/b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, a CF and MS slot. Battery life should be 3.5 hours.
You also get a stylus, WWAN (Wide Area Network). The UX model has two built-in cameras - one in fron for VoIP or conferencing and another on the back to take photos. For security and if you don’t want to remember passwords, it comes equipped with a biometric fingerprint sensor.
The VAIO UX Micro PC will be available in July for $1,800. Stay tune as Laptop Logic will cover this device and other Ultra Mobile PCs!
May 28th, 2006
The round Vulcain Golden Voice is distinguished by its classicism and its understated beauty; while the square Golden Voice model is directly in line with the current trend towards shaped watches and meets the expectations of a youthful urban clientele.
More vibrate reminder than alarm in its new Golden Voice version, Vulcain Calibre V-10 nonetheless retains the essentials that shaped its legend. This mechanical hand-wound movement with two barrels – one for the movement and the other for the alarm – offers a 42- hour power reserve and a 12-second striking period. Equipped with the patented Vulcain Exactomatic system ensuring greater regularity of rate on the wrist, the Vulcain Golden Voice movement, entirely developed and assembled in-house, powers the hour, minute, seconds and vibrate reminder functions. For the first time in the history of Vulcain alarm watches, the Golden Voice collection offers an indication of the vibrate reminder on a rotating dial. The time of the vibrate reminder is adjusted using the stylised “V” symbol.
As one of the variations in the new Golden Voice collection, the round model is distinguished by its classic lines and pure aesthetic elegance. Endowed with an imposing polished-finish steel case measuring 39 mm in diameter, the Golden Voice round model houses mechanical hand-wound Vulcain Calibre V-10 in its new configuration featuring a soft, discreet sound. This double-barrel movement drives displays of the hours, minutes, seconds and vibrate reminder. Available in a choice of charcoal grey or silvered shades, the dial features an exquisite vertical guilloché-work motif as well as a matching inner rotating disc for adjusting the vibrate reminder function. Arabic numerals and applied hour-markers accompany the stylised Vulcain “V” serving to adjust the time of the vibrate reminder. The new “Vulcain” signature in handwritten serves as a token of belonging to the Golden Voice collection. The classically understated case is water-resistant to 50 metres, while a cambered glareproofed sapphire crystal ensures optimal readability. The Golden Voice round version is teamed with a Louisiana alligator leather strap.
As one of the variations in the new Golden Voice collection, the square model (to left)is distinguished by its taut lines and contemporary aesthetic appeal. Endowed with an imposing polished-finish steel case (34.90 mm x 47.80), the Golden Voice square model houses mechanical hand-wound Vulcain Calibre V-10 in its new configuration characterised by a soft, discreet sound.
In harmony with current aesthetic trends, the shaped case, water-resistant to 50 metres, is equipped with a screw-down back. A cambered glareproofed sapphire crystal underscores the aesthetic elegance of the case, complemented by a Louisiana alligator leather strap.
May 23rd, 2006
Vosonic had a stand provided rather well, among the many models flash noname, we could see the VP6230 and the VP6310, two audio/video walkmans with hard disk (1,8 ” and 2,5 “). They have of a slot for chart-memory, a color screen TFT LCD of 2,5 ” and compatible with formats AVI, MOV, MPEG 1-4, Xvid, MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, JPEG, tiff, BMP. These walkmans are of rather good quality of manufacture, robust, the screen is correct. But especially, Vosonic presented the VP8360, a walkman with DD 2,5 ” of 20Go with 120Go, rather large, able to read AVI, MOV, MPEG1-4, Xvid, MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, JPEG, tiff, BMP, GIF, RAW. It has a slot SD, MMC, MANDELEVIUM, CF, mini SD,tuner FM, of mini plays and it can record video and audio. Its dimensions are of 77×135x23mm for 236g! On the other hand this walkman is not especially made for the nomads.
May 15th, 2006
The two Baume brothers setup their first watchmaking house in the Swiss Jura mountains in 1830. In 1918, William and Paul Mercier entered into a partnership. Years later, in 1999, Baume et Mercier joined the prestigious Richemont group, along with such notable brands as Cartier, Piaget, and Jaeger-LeCoultre. With such good company, it is no wonder Baume & Mercier is well established as a contemporary brand that is not afraid to take risks. They have been one of the fastest growing high-end brands in the United States in the past decade.
Baume et Mercier watches have a rich and storied tradition in Swiss watchmaking and are designed and crafted according to the strictest criteria and Swiss traditions. Baume et Mercier are at the forefront of luxury watch design. It all began in 1830 in the Swiss Jura, the heart of Swiss Watchmaking History. The contrast of the rigorous and precise Baume with the artistic and free thinking Mercier fused form and function for all time with the distinct Baume & Mercier timepiece. A one of a kind for all time.
Men’s watch from the Classima EXECUTIVES collection. Self-winding Dubois Dépraz 14400 mechanical movement with jumping hour function. Round L-size watch case (39mm) in 18K red gold, water-resistant to 30 meters. Satin-finished black dial with jumping hour display at 12 o’clock and 2 counters – one for the minutes and one for the seconds. Minute and seconds hands in 18K red gold. Sapphire crystal case back engraved with the Phi composition and golden number. Square-scaled black alligator strap with tone-on-tone stitching, 18K red gold pin buckle. Limited edition of 176 pieces. Also available with a silvered dial and a brown alligator strap.
May 15th, 2006
Designer Andre Minoli has created the hand-cranked Motorola PVOT phone, aimed at developing countries. It gives up a minute of talk time for every 25 turns of the crank, giving new meaning to the term “crank calls.” All that cranking charges up a AA battery inside, powering a 125×125 dot matrix LCD controlled by a futuristic-looking “Eraser Shield” keypad.
Minoli’s Motorola PVOT is a great design not only for developing nations, but it could come in handy for us developed countries, too, as we wind our way through Peak Oil and into World War III. If the phone’s durable enough, it might even last until World War IV, which will no doubt be fought with sticks and clubs.
May 9th, 2006
Launch: September 2005 
Limitation: Fountain Pens
Black barrel and cream-coloured cap made of precious resin
Platinum plated fittings
Clip set with a white Akhoya pearl
Platinum plated 18 karat gold nib with heartshaped hole.
Montblancs first Special Edition for the elegant woman is modish and sensual and dedicated to the legendary film actress Greta Garbo on the occasion of her 100th birthday.
In its elegant but individual design, the exclusive Special Edition Greta Garbo reflects the beauty and independent nature of the great Hollywood star. Graceful writing instruments in three different designs, from noble to glamorous, continue the myth of Greta Garbo.
Greta Garbo, known as “The Divine”, enthralled her public with her charisma and her dark, unmistakable voice. In only a few years, the Swedish actress became an acclaimed world star with films like “Anna Karenina”, “Mata Hari” and “Grand Hotel”.
Her natural beauty and her cool, inaccessible manner made her one of the most coveted and mysterious woman of the 20th century. When only 36 she said goodbye to the silver screen for ever and so became a myth which has made her unforgotten until today.
May 7th, 2006
Due to the great success of the limited edition version in 2005, Tissot comes again this year with a special ice-hockey sports watch designed around this fast-moving sport for which Tissot is the official timekeeper for the World Championships, to take place in 2006 in Latvia.
Available as a non-limited version, this watch is again inspired by the Ice-Hockey rink with its goal area and ice-markings standing out against a white dial surrounded by a blue ring, with a special blue rubber bracelet. The back case also bears the engraving of an ice-hockey puck and stick….
May 7th, 2006
Previous Posts