Hong Kong Watch Design Competition Winners: Unleashing Young Designers!
In a culture that is young and seems to have an inner creative leviathan straining at the bit to be free, giving young designers the chance to compete for design prizes is a sure way to promote real visual food for thought.
So, each year, the Hong Kong Trade and Development Council, the Federation of Hong Kong Watch Trades and Industries, and the Hong Kong Watch Manufacturers Association Ltd organize a make-to-sell award in two categories: the Go Beyond Innovation for an Open Group and the Talent Moment for a Student Group.
A very high-level jury delivered its verdict, and the finalists are given a public viewing of their creations. The results can be quite surprising, which, in a world of electronic banality, can be refreshing. Here is a selection.
Vertical 6.0: Open Group champion of the 41st Hong Kong Watch & Clock Design Competition
Open Group: The top prize went to the Vertical 6.0 by Wong Ting Bong, a timepiece that is inspired by the road, speed, driving. It is sort of half-casquette, interestingly, giving the dial more open space for legibility. The time is given by a fixed hand while numeral-laden discs rotate the hours and minutes.
Also in this section was the very lyrical first runner-up named The time for flowers by Cheng Pui Ling. The dial features layers of enamel four-leaf clovers and butterflies. As the hands move, the leaves unfurl one by one, gracefully closing when the hands return to zero.
On a personal note, two finalists in this group stood out for inspired minimalism.
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Minimalism rules
CMYK by Lee Cheuk Chung
Lee Cheuk Chung’s CMYK caught the spirit of the recent trend towards bold colors (see Moser & Cie and the Studio Underdog collaboration for example) and went straight for the basics, the color model used in printing.
Sponsor of this no-frills watch was a Hong Kong-based microbrand named Aision Design, which itself deserves a closer look.
MINS by Li Ka Sing
The second bold minimalist is the MINS, by Li Ka Sing, which takes the one-hand watch to an extreme by dispensing entirely with a minute pointer in favor of a small mound that vaguely points to a space where the indices should be. Warning: Do not use if you have a train to catch, it turns time into gentle flow of nothingness.
Liminality: Student Group champion of the 41st Hong Kong Watch & Clock Design Competition
The Student Group took the concept of a watch well beyond the function of giving time. The champion was the Liminality, a quartz watch on a bracelet designed by Lau Cheuk Lai of the Creative Secondary School in ultramodern style, not surprisingly in part by AI and using what appears to be 3d printing.
The Liminality is light and complex and reveals what is possible in a tech-dominated world. It is even a bit confusing, hence the name, which describes that state when the old conventions no longer apply, but the new ones are not in place.
Starlight by Yip Yu Ching from the Hong Kong Design Institute
The Starlight, by Yip Yu Ching from the Hong Kong Design Institute, is another time conundrum, since the three edgy hands disappear when the crown is pressed, allowing the wearer to find “the optimal position for stargazing and ensuring that they have the best viewing experience.”
Maybe these are just horological ephemera? Maybe they are a breakthrough into a new experience of time itself?
For more information, please visit https://mediaroom.hktdc.com/en/pressrelease/detail/20692/
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