Haruo Suekichi's steampunk watches actually for sale
One of my favorite blog posts of 2007 was the gallery of steampunk watches made by Haruo Suekichi, none of which were for sale. Now, Suekichi has teamed up with Chief magazine to sell two each of a Suekichi men's watch and Suekichi women's watch ($1200 and $800 respectively). Not cheap, but zomg, these are some beautiful timepieces. Link to men's watch, Link to women's watch See also: Artisanal steampunk watches of Japan
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Gorgeous.
Pre-made Steampunk gizmos are always so expensive. I'd gladly buy a watch like that if it were more reasonably priced.
sn't stmpnk dd yt?
thght t wnt th wy f "ll Yr Bs r Blng T s" n md-2007, bt pprntly nt.
W lv n hp.
(disclaimer: I'm not saying "don't post steampunk, your blog is so boring" nor am I saying "I hate steampunk". I just think it's been the internet's meme of the month for a while now, and it's possible that we need a new one.)
Resistance, Rosethornn, is futile!
That looks like Digi-Key's uber-cool eco packing material in the photo. Love it!
I was beginning to wonder when Mr. Suekichi was going to start offering these beautiful watches for sale. After all, they have been greatly appreciated all over the net for a while now.
@Ari B.
I know what you mean. Steampunk works are awfully expensive as a rule- but with good reason. They are (right now) all artisan products. That is, individually hand-crafted and very labor intensive objects.
However, when the major manufacturers start producing these things, you'll begin to see a great price reduction- along with a vast reduction of charm, uniqueness, and individual artistry.
What else does it do? I mean, is it also a small change holder or does generate a force field? Can you imagine getting this thing through airport security. I looks like a weapon, or a bomb.
Wait a minute, this can't be steampunk.
The creator has demonstrated skill and sensitivity for his materials. The object looks functional too.
In short, it is a work of art.
Frm ll th BB stmpnk psts s fr, hd cm t ssm tht stmpnk ws th dmn f npt bnglrs nd wnnbs.
Oh CPTNEMO give me a break. The reason it isn't steampunk has nothing to do with the fact that it actually works or the competent level of craftsmanship - it's not steampunk because he used a phillips screw. Now get your head out of your ass and stop raining on my steamparade.
Ooh! I missed the Phillips screw.
Head now removed.
Your head's just fine, and I agree with your sentiments. I was merely commenting on the dainty, delicate and fragile nature of the steampunk'd themselven.
It's funny thing about that skill and sensitivity. I actually know people who have asked "Why does neatness count? It's art!" .
Well, if the sloppiness is intentional and is an inherent part of the work, then fine. It's the laziness to learn your medium that I find sad - as they say, if it's worth doing, it's worth doing well.
Unfortunately in this fast paced internetful world, it's the first person done that gets the credit, and that tends to slide things more towards the sloppy. Or something. f'kin idunno.
I thought it went the way of "All Your Base Are Belong To Us" in mid-2007
Just stay away from my catLOLs, buddy.
Why one of the watch should be "for men" and the other one "for women" ?
The men's watch has a catapult inside of it!
It launches a surprise creature that was hidden inside across the room.
It's amazing!
Last summer I was working at Electric Works art gallery in San Francisco and found out about Haruo Suekichi's beautiful watches. My boss happened to be taking a trip to Japan, and it didn't take much convincing to get him to track down a few of these watches. He came back with four. I kept one, his fiancé kept one, and I think the gallery is still interesting in selling the other two. There's a picture of mine at the top of my blog right now (ablogfromabroad dot blogspot), if anyone wants to see. I think one of the two left is the same, but with Arabic (not Japanese) numerals.
Oh and for the record, in regards to the 'what do they do' question, mine has a small hidden compartment for ... something? There was what looked like a dancing pickle on the front of the box mine came in, so the conjectures included condoms, as well as other illicit small packages.
StratoJoe @10, it isn't just fledgling artists. I once had a couple of young editorial trainees react in disbelief when I told them they had to write legibly when marking up manuscripts. One of them snorted, and mockingly said, "You mean, handwriting counts?" He was acting like I'd just told them to line up for recess.
I stared him down, and said, "Yes. When the typesetter has to be able to read your marks, handwriting counts."
I don't think it had ever crossed his mind that he might have to write legibly. He lived in a world in which there were underlings, who might be required to have good handwriting, and professionals, who wouldn't.
I suspect that young artists failing to understand that neatness counts owes a bit to class perceptions. Neatness is something that matters in the manual trades. Art is above all that.
@Mom
Young artists? The whole world. It's like we've all seen doctors write like an explosion of fountain pen and now everyone thinks it's acceptable. If you're turning in something to someone else, you should make an effort to write neatly unless you're actually dysgraphic. It's just plain rude to waste people's time.
We've got the watches here, too!