Technology

The iconic Technics SL-1200 inspired the design of this retro watch.

Do you want to drop a not-so-subtle hint that you prefer the analog sound of vinyl over digital music whenever someone asks you the time? AndoAndoAndo’s new Vinyl Record Automatic Watch looks like a tiny turntable strapped to your wrist – but not just any old record player. The timepiece’s designer, Yu Ando, drew inspiration from the iconic Technics SL-1200, a line of turntables favored by DJs since the late ‘70s.

The watch is powered by an ultra-thin Miyota 9039 mechanical movement with a reserve of 42 hours between windings. In an attempt to keep true to the Technics SL-1200’s design, the watch’s face doesn’t include any number labels. But the dots encircling the tiny timetable’s platter can be used to decipher the current hour, minute, and seconds.

The minute hand is designed to look like a turntable’s tone arm. Beneath it you’ll find a miniature vinyl record with a label made up of two spinning discs. The larger of the two discs is printed with the letter A that points to the current hour. The smaller disc, displaying the seconds, is a little harder to interpret. Ando suggests that when the text on the smaller disc is perfectly level, you can read it as the seconds rolling over from 60 to the next minute.

The watch is currently available for preorder in three variants. You can get one with a red, black, and silver finish or a black, gold, and black finish for $438, with shipping expected as early as April 2025. There’s also an all gold version, priced a little steeper at $455, but the company only plans to produce a limited run of 30 of them.


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