The State of the Times

VOID Watches

Watch, timepiece, chronometer—whatever you choose to call it—a watch is many things. For some, it’s a piece of jewellery, for others, it’s a utilitarian object meant for simply telling time. But for aficionados and watch fanatics, it’s much more than that: it’s an object that houses a soul, an inanimate thing brought to life by a steady tick-tock akin to a heartbeat. Over the last few years we’ve noticed these once purely functional objects proliferate on the wrists of Berliners, changing the way they’re worn in the process. Women now proudly display chunky men’s watches on their arms. Men who’ve left childhood behind wear brightly-coloured watches that many children would find irresistible, while corporate titans the world over exhibit a sometimes perplexing fondness for the multifunctional sports watch. But if there’s one thing that remains constant when wearing a particular timepiece, it’s this: each and every model tells a story about its wearer.

At MONOQI, we certainly believe in the power of a good story and that might be why we’re so enamoured with the tale surrounding VOID Watches (yes, culture vultures, those watches). Launched in 2008 as the brainchild of Swedish designer David Ericsson, these angular timepieces are a celebration of the rich Scandinavian design tradition and Ericsson’s love of retro watches from the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Deliciously clean lines, a love of detail, and uniquely bold watch faces all exemplify the VOID touch—ensuring Ericsson’s creations aren’t merely time tellers, but thoughtful pieces of wearable art. Bringing together wildly diverse influences like nature, astronomy and architecture, VOID watches are “inspired by the horizon, the line where sky and sea meet, a coming together of the elements and a reconciliation of opposites.” A bit out there? Most certainly—but isn’t all inspired design sourced from creatives with something utterly different to say?

But this particular creative’s journey to master watchmaker was never a foregone conclusion. Born in Sweden in 1977, the curious lad earned his degree in engineering from Stockholm’s illustrious Royal Institute of Technology and worked for a time as an industrial designer before his fascination with uniting the creation process with impeccable design got the better of him. After fleeing to Hong Kong because he yearned to be among like-minded individuals who loved the design process as much as he did, VOID was born.

According to Ericsson, “time is a strange thing, it’s the most precious of commodities but we can’t see it, we can’t control it—we can only measure it.”

Text by Meike Wingenroth / Images by Swatch, MONOQI

Check out VOID Watches’ coveted collection at MONOQI.com now. The beautiful watches are available from the 20th until the 26th of August 2012.