We love and cherish vintage watches, but what if technology had taken a different path and we were still applying the steam driven principles of the Victorian era across all our technological and even chronological developments?
For the uninitiated, ‘Steampunk’ is a sub genre of science fiction in which there is a world where steam power is still widely used. Works of Steampunk often feature anachronistic technology or futuristic innovations. With this idea in mind some young and extremely talented designers have developed watches, computers and even fully functional motorcycles with the design principles of the Victorian era very much in mind.
One such example is this Rebosus 003RS XXL Chronograph Rose Gold watch measuring a massive 51mm high x 63mm wide x 15mm thick, and powered by a Citizen Miyota OS62 quartz movement – because while Steampunk borrows its design inspiration from the past, many of the components used are state of the art.
Then there’s the Titanic-DNA Tourbillon Steampunk a la Grande by Romain Jerome.
The ‘A la grande’ part of the title stemming from the fact that the watch is 50mm wide with a case that is made of steel (rusted, satin finished, and polished) as if salvaged from the Titanic, as well as titanium, and rubber. The case makes rich use of rivets, 80 of them that are hand applied all over the bezel (meant to look like old-timey boiler room equipment), as well as the iconic six sided screws in the case that are attached to the polished steel “claws.” In addition to steel, the claws are available in pink gold as well a black ceramic.
Retrowerk of Germany have recently created their own tribute to Steampunk with the Compass Hour Jump watch, an extreme multi-levelled timepiece with a partial dial with three discs for hours, minutes and seconds. Protruding up like a periscope is the compass under thick bottom bottle style glass, almost as if there is a submarine cruising inside your wrist. The automatic winding version utilizes a Swiss ETA 2824 mechanical movement.
At the top end of the market is the gloriously eccentric creations of Swiss master watchmaker Viannay Halter, who seems to have taken much of his design inspiration from the illustrations of old Jules Verne adventure books to create the Antiqua Perpetual Calendar watch. This stunning and complicated Perpetual Calendar is made of platinum 950, or 18 carat gold. Time, day, date, and month each have their own separate dial made of gold. Less than 10 Antiqua’s are made annually and with a $155,000 price tag it’s right up there with any top name Swiss watch.
If you love the retro styling of Steampunk you can even extend it to your laptop or computer. Again, the laptop shown here is a fully functional machine cunningly disguised as a Victorian antique, and you simply can’t help but admire the creativity and workmanship.
