In case the title of this blog is vague... the obsession in question is a Japanese watch that is no longer in production. It is a watch based on the binary system to tell the time, using LEDs instead of arms or an LCD screen.
In truth, I found this watch on accident, as one does. It was back in 2007 or possibly even 2006, when the watch was still in production, and available through the maker's website. I was actually looking for a replica of the Dick Tracy radio wristwatch. (This could be a post all it's own) I really liked the Dick Tracy movie when it came out, and that watch really caught my eye and stuck with me. It's interesting to me how much of an effect cool stuff from movies can have on an impressionable mind. Merchandising is big business... and as far as I can tell, the Dick Tracy movie missed that boat. They released plastic toy versions of the watch, but no "replica" metal version, with a working watch face. I'd have been ok with that, I didn't NEED it to also be a walky talky. After some searching, I did find ONE copy of the watch. Apparently it was released in extremely low numbers, and the one I found was not for sale.
Aesthetically, I liked the look of it... it very plain... a big slab of metal with a watch face and a mesh covered speaker. While searching for the Dick Tracy watch, I found a few blogs of other people who compared different new watches to the Dick Tracy watch. Most of them were compared on the basis of the audio/video angle, and only a few on the look/style side of the watch. One was the Nixon "Dictator" watch. It looked very similar, with a modern update. It has an LCD screen to tell the time, and a speaker... that actually WORKS! But just as a voice recorder, for notes apparently... hence "Dictator". I started thinking this would suffice my obsession.
Then, I saw it! The coolest watch I've seen before or since. It was made by a company in Japan called Tokyoflash... and it's called "1000100101". Not just a clever name... it actually uses a binary system of sorts to display the time. There is a grid of different colored LEDs for each increment of time. Check out the instructions below.
In a nut shell, on the lower section of the watch, the 10 red LEDs stand for "hours"... if the first LED is lit you add 10 to the number of reds lit up. The green LEDs stand for "10 minutes"... each green LED is ten minutes added to the hour. The yellow LEDs stand for "minutes"... each is a single minute. So in the photo below, the time is reading 5:36. The top section of the watch is the day of the week. To see the time, you press the button on the side of the watch, and you are treated to a light show before it displays the current time. There are apparently 5 different light shows... they are set randomly as you press the button. If you press the button again, it displays the date as well! Using the same LEDs, the hours become the month, and the minutes become the day. Very cool. The case is brushed steel, and the band is carbon fibre with a leather backing.
This watch is very much aesthetically pleasing to my eye, and I think it suits me perfectly. I hesitated on buying it originally, and by the time I went back to purchase it... it was gone! Discontinued! I freaked out and started looking for third party sellers to no avail. Ever since then, I look for the watch every few weeks, hoping one will resurface on Ebay or Craigslist. I even wrote a haiku for the watch. I think the poetry form is apt for a Japanese watch.
This colorful watch
A Japanese masterpiece
Obsession of late
This past weekend, my wife was on a watch buying tear. She had spotted a Fossil watch that caught her eye while shopping for something else... and she had to go back and get it. But instead of just going to get it, we researched it, and looked at other watches before deciding to go buy one. We ended up going to every department store, watch kiosk, and hipster store in the mall looking at all the watches. She was pretty set on Fossil, but not one in particular. Later, we went to the actual Fossil store and picked one out. These trips are what sparked up my "J" watch obsession again. I got online that night and scoured the interweb looking for my 1000100101. It was after 1am when my wife finally said to give it up. Apparently, she doubted the lengths of my obsession.
I had an idea to search for PEOPLE who already owned the watch. I got on Flickr and Youtube looking for people who might have posted photos or video of their own watch. Bingo! I found a dude on Youtube that got the watch as a birthday present or something, and he just filmed it on his wrist for 10 seconds or so. It was an old video... and I went out on a limb and contacted the guy... asked if he still had it and would like to sell it. I sent the email and went to bed. 10 minutes later... my iPhone told me I had an email... it was the dude from Youtube! And YES, he was willing to sell! Science be praised! I am currently waiting on photos of the actual watch, so I can see the condition... like it matters... and then we're going to work out a Paypal/private Ebay auction for the sale... then it will be mine! Brew ha ha ha ha!!
