Makina Andras I گھڑی

Press Kit

Unique Properties

The idea was to design a black sheep in the rectangular watch category full of art deco inspired dress watches. That's why our first rectangular watch is as a sports watch designed to be bolder, more modern and striking from every angle. Coated in stealth black, its 316L stainless steel case is composed of angular shapes that make up its multifaceted design. Its dial is 3 dimensional with a sand blasted finish. Its strap is muscular and shapely, echoing its chiseled case and layered dial.

Dimensions & Packaging

Its octagonal shape is purposefully designed to taper around a larger circular movement lowering its overall volume and keeping the case size down to wearable dimensions at 33mm wide, 44mm lug to lug, and only 10.5mm thick. The strap is made of silicone rubber and has air pockets on the backside providing higher comfort when worn during intense sports activities and warmer conditions measuring at 22mm (lugs) tapering to 20mm (buckle). The movement is Sellita SW260 with a 38 hr power reserve.

Tags

Makina watches, filipino watch brand, timepiece, microbrand, rectangular watch, Philippines watch brand,

Production Technology

It has a PVD coated surgical grade 316L stainless steel case sculpted by CNC machinery with hand-polished and-hand brushed textures for a more robust and premium finish. The dial is layered, made of brass with a sand blasted finish and is hand-assembled. The scratch resistant sapphire crystal glass is coated with 3x Anti-reflective coating. It’s powered by a movement found in many luxury timepieces, SW 260, marrying thoughtful design and premium components at an affordable price of USD 725.

Design Challenge

Customers have been asking for size variety and models with smaller dimensions. We kept this in mind when designing Andras I. The challenge was designing a rectangular watch around only a few reputable movements that were available in the market and that we’re willing to use. This is why we gave the case an octagonal shape so that it could taper around a fairly large 25.6mm movement, giving it less volume, less surface area and a thickness of only 10.5mm for higher wearability.

Research

As with all our models, we needed to make sure that our case design for Andras I will bring something new to the industry. Our origami inspired case was the clear winner after several design explorations. We looked at both traditional and abstract forms of the art and explored origami inspired architecture to see how we can incorporate our findings into Andras I in a way that is minimal, modern, and will not alienate watch purists who are often conventional and very difficult to please.

Inspiration

Since most watches in the rectangular watch category are flat art deco inspired watches, we wanted to create a watch that is more modern and photogenic from all angles. Hence, one of our sources for inspiration when designing Andras I was origami. We fell in love with the art’s crisp lines and the geometric shapes that form 3 dimensional, multifaceted surfaces. While the case’s robustness comes from its solid, quality materials and finish, its elegant design is originally born from origami. The results were favorable to the brand with Andras I's design gaining international recognition from news, watch expert and design publications like Designboom, Time and Tide Watches, Watchpro, Oracle Time, and The Manila Times just to name a few.

Project Duration

Andras I took one year to complete from conceptualization in September 2022. A prototype that we were happy with was marketed for pre-orders in May 2023. And the production model was released in September 2023.

Operation Flow

Andras I was meant to be simple in functionality (hours, minutes and seconds only) because our intent was to give the three-handed rectangular segment something different. The minutes and seconds markers are crisp and painted white and the hands are painted blue, all of which are decisions that contribute to high legibility under all lighting environments. The crown is consistent with crowns in our other models and is ownable to the brand; it is simple and yet it has grip and is easy to use.

Image Credits

Image #1: Photographer, Danilo Villanueva, Andras_I, 2023.
Image #2: Photographer, Danilo Villanueva, Andras_I, 2023.
Image #3: Photographer, Danilo Villanueva, Andras_I, 2023.
Image #4: Photographer, Danilo Villanueva, Andras_I, 2023.
Image #5: Photographer, Danilo Villanueva, Andras_I, 2023.