news


Watch of the Day Wednesday: STOWA Rana

Español
April 2015


For St. Augustine, the essence of time was the present. The future, he claimed, is only based on expectations we have today, and the past is based only on the memories of yesterday. In other words, the future and the past can live only in the present.

Timepieces, of course, are meant to quantify and somehow connect together the past, present, and future. But that’s not always true from a design point of view. According to Jörg Schauer, owner of German brand STOWA, and his collaborator, famous German-American designer Hartmut Esslinger, today’s watch designs suffer from a “retro-trap”.

Watch of the Day Wednesday: STOWA Rana

STOWA Rana

It fits that the two agree, because Esslinger has a good record of partnering with entrepreneurs. It was Esslinger that gave Apple products thier distinctive look - he came up with the so-called “Snow White” design of Apple products, focusing on smooth lines and a pristine white finish. The results of his collaboration with Steve Jobs are all too obvious, and he has now brought his vision to German watchmaking.

The duo’s collaboration on the new STOWA Rana watch model is almost like someone pressed the “fast forward” button on watch design. Part of the watch’s complex design is the shape of the case; from the side it appears like a floating disc with sharp edges, like something that might be found on Star Trek. Another unique feature of the watch is the “DynaDots” design for the markers on the dial, which incrementally increase in size from 1 to 12.

Watch of the Day Wednesday: STOWA Rana

Rana means “frog” in Latin

The design is clearly a step forward in time. Yet the watch is also influenced to some degree by the past: STOWA’s roots and the German Bauhaus design. And it’s true that groundbreaking products that seem ahead of their time today often have historical roots. Esslinger, for example, first proposed a “tablet” idea to Steve Jobs in 1982 - which was inspired by a slate block - and the iPad was eventually born… 28 years later.

The Rana is the third major collaboration between Esslinger and Schauer. The first step was the redesign of the brand’s logo, followed by a collaboration on STOWA’s Antea watch model. The partnerships is working well, and we hope it continues moving forward in time. It makes sense in the end, because both men hail from the Black Forest town of Altensteig. And to see the inspirational qualities of the Black Forest, be sure to check out this digital short. (VJ)

Watch of the Day Wednesday: STOWA Rana

The Rana “floating disc” design

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

  • Case: Stainless steel. The middle case with the lugs is produced by a metal injection moulding technique, and then finished by hand. The “floating disc” measures 37 mm by 42.5 mm.
  • Glass: sapphire crystal
  • Crown: stainless steel, new form
  • Dial: Sandwich-dial. Upper part is stainless steel, laser engraved, colored black or white and printed grey. The basic dial is made of sterling silver 925/000 with illuminating dots (white during the day, blue at night) or printed in black and grey.
  • Hands: Illuminated hands, as well in BWG 9 (hour and minute), the secondhand is colored in the STOWA orange or black colour.
  • Movement: ETA 2824-2 in Topfinish. Every watch is chronometer certificated in Glashütte.
  • Strap: Rubber or different hand-stitched leather straps, 22 mm.
  • Versions: White DynaDots, Numero white and Numero black.

Delivery begins May 2015.