Thursday, February 9, 2012

Beautiful Israeli Itay Noy Duality Watch Collection

Itay Noy is a totally Tel Aviv, Israel based watch maker. The brand is named after its founder, Itay Noy, who is the heart of the manufacture. He's won several international design awards, which makes sense given the impressive character and refinement of his designs. With an impressive collection of watches so far for the brand, I'd like to focus on his Duality line of watches only today. The Duality collection is literally two things in one. Two watches, with two contradictory attitudes. While not the first time a watch has been made with faces on both sides, this is the first time that I've seen an actual theme be applied to the concept. Thus, each watch in the collection is comprised of opposites, with associated symbolism on the watch designs themselves.

Before discussing the various pieces on the Duality collection, lets look at the overall design of the watches. A very modern and minimalist approach is taken with the case design. A lug-less construction places the reversible leather strap inside the case as part of the construction. Essentially, the watch is comprised of two 42.4mm wide watch cases sandwiched together, with crowns (one for each movement) at the 3:30 and 8:30 position. The cases are made of steel, and the leather straps are two-toned (light on one side, dark on the other). The faces feature finely cut or engraved metal dials and hands which display the designs and patterns are displayed. Each side of the watch has its own design, which extends to even the bezel. The "duality" of the watches is more than surface level, and has a deeper more symbolic component. There are four watches in the Duality watch line; the Exposed Concealed, Modern Classic, Decorative Informative, and Holiday Everyday. As you can see the models are named with opposite terms, and the style of the corresponding face is meant to match one of the terms. The two images above are of the Duality Modern Classic watch. You can tell that one side has a beautifully crafted modern minimalist watch face, while the opposite side has an engraved metal dial with classically styled Roman numerals and decoration. Each side hints enough at the themes, but overall still work together. That artistic dimension to these watches is clear, and the message that opposites can work together and find harmony is a more important message (especially in Israel where such sentiments are probably welcome).

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