Ikepod Watches (n/a)
It’s been almost 25 years since Oliver Ike and Marc Newson founded Ikepod Watches back in 1994, and although the company filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and acclaimed designer Newson has since left to join Apple, it looks like the brand is now being revived to capture our imaginations (and wallets) yet again.
Considered to be one of the more unique luxury watch brands of the late ‘90s and early ‘2000s, Ikepod acquired a cult-like following with beautifully crafted timepieces that followed Newson’s obsession with pod and capsule style designs. As their new website states, Ikepod was a “horology UFO” that was “often copied, but never matched in design.”
Indeed it was, with many of the more expensive Ikepods being made from solid platinum cases that led to prices fetching close to $100,000 or more! This despite the fact that the chronograph movements inside weren’t all that complicated.
Newson was an early fan of the whole large watch trend that’s since given way to smaller, less gaudy timepieces, creating watches such as the Hemipode that were 44mm wide at a time when most men’s watches were 38mm and under. It wasn’t long before that 44mm size would become ubiquitous among modern-era sport watches, dominating the wrists of ball players, hip-hop artists, celebrities, and the like before making its way to everyday working men and the knockoff shops on Canal Street.
As for what to expect from the new Ikepod reincarnation, most of the details are still under wraps. What we do know is that the new timepieces will sport thick, circular designs from Emmanuel Gueit that pay homage to Newson’s past work with Ikepod and will be available in both two-hand and chronograph models via an upcoming crowdfunding campaign set to launch later this year. How much later, only time will tell. Whether it’ll be told on an Ikepod is TBD.
