Check out this new Devon Star Wars watch ($28,500):
Press release:
DEVON AND STAR WARS: A NEW FORCE IN WATCHES
Los Angeles -- Cutting-edge American watch brand, Devon has created a Star Wars by Devon cobranded luxury timepiece - the epitome of the space age and a galaxy far, far away....
Like the iconic film series, the bold new Star Wars | Devon co-branded watch – with patented system of interwoven Time Belts™ and hybrid electro-mechanical power -- embodies the pioneering spirit of the original film and is designed to capture the adventure, hope and enthusiasm of the legendary series.
Devon, celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, brings its revolutionary design, engineering and execution to the collaboration. While Star Wars features some of the most groundbreaking special effects and technology concepts, the same is true of Devon, a rare breed in the watch industry whose high-tech watches house materials sourced from a California aerospace company that works with Devon to make the impossible possible. The watches – with belt-driven time indication – are so advanced in design that they look like they are from another galaxy. The advanced engineering in the Star Wars | Devon watch movement deftly combines glass-reinforced nylon belts (used in gauges on the original 747 aircraft) with multiple high-tech optical recognition cells, micro-step motors, and 313 electrical contacts. In fact, the circuit boards and control boards alone make the timepiece a kinetic engineering masterpiece – and the perfect platform for US Aerospace meets Star Wars imagination.
“The technology for our watches didn’t exist. We had to create everything from scratch and invent as we went along,” says Scott Devon, founder and creative director of Devon Works. “This project came into being because of our revolutionary design and desire to strive for something different.”
Different and powerful is exactly what Devon achieved in the eight-month time frame the brand was allotted to bring the Star Wars | Devon watch to fruition. “We knew immediately that we had to incorporate Darth Vader into the design. He is not just one of the most iconic Star Wars characters, but he is also represents an impressive display of man interfacing with machine” says Devon, adding that he worked with his in-house designer, Marko Petrovic to develop the watch. “Marko had already seen the Star Wars movies a hundred times before I even brought the concept of the watch to him. He had the design done within in a week.”
With this record development time, the watch design fully embraces the elements that are the essence of Star Wars tech with the elements that are Devon.
To harness the Force, Devon incorporates the key elements of Darth Vader and the TIE Fighter, the starship of the Imperial fleet. Naturally, the case of the watch is created in all black DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon Coating) on stainless steel. The wings of the TIE Fighter spacecraft are part of the architecture of the case – spanning out on either side to enhance the bold rectangular case. The main screws that connect the case and lugs are reinterpreted as aircraft turbine intakes, finished with pointed silver screws that emulate the ones on Darth Vader’s helmet. Additionally, the crown is finished with the Galactic Empire logo.
The otherworldly details don’t stop with the case design. Key elements are also executed within the movement. For instance, the existing belt system of the watch utilizes four motor covers that, in this case, are created in red and green to reflect the details on Darth Vader’s center console. A center hexagonal disk that features techy TIE Fighter inscriptions not only adds an industrial element, but also clearly outlines the time indications. The finishing touch is the specially made leather strap that is ribbed to replicate Darth Vader’s gloves. The attention to detail invested in the Star Wars | Devon watch is the perfect marriage of key elements from both Star Wars and Devon.
“Being a huge fan of Star Wars, it was not so hard for me to put my mind into it and come up with a watch that captures the movies’ essence,” says Petrovic. “It was a real treat to watch all the episodes again, but his time from a different perspective. Blending of the emblems of Star Wars with Devon to create an iconic watch just flowed naturally.”
Just 500 Star Wars by Devon watches will be built over a two-year time period. Each is packaged in a specially built box inspired by Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter, and will sell through authorized Devon retailers in America and on Amazon beginning in October for $28,500 USD.
Devon will support with a stylish print ad campaign that is a bold blend of Star Wars iconography and elevated design
The collaboration wasn't accomplished with traditional watchmakers, but rather with the US Aerospace Industry. Devon found a boutique electronic aerospace engineering company to achieve watches that are rare, different and incredibly difficult to manufacture. They have more than 300 separate parts just for the movement.