Pretty Wi-Fi Timepieces

Now that everybody and their mother tends to use their cellphone to check the time, watches, more than ever are fahsion and design statements. Picking up on this trend, Seiko introduced a new women's bracelet watch at Baselworld (the world's largest watch expo) that eschews more traditional LCD crystal technology for a new technology: electronic ink (E-ink). WristDreams reports that the striking e-ink display on Seiko's watch wraps around nearly two-thirds of the bracelet, a feat that would be impossible using LCD. According to Seiko's press release, the watch has two modes: "efficiency", which features an easy-to-read, informative display, and "mystery", with the display shifting to a more imaginative style suitable for for dress-up and evenings out. The e-ink is ingeniously sandwiched beneath a sapphire crystal that wraps around the entire bracelet, lending a sense of continuity to the design.

E-ink's main technical advantages are low power-consumption (the watch only needs to be powered when the display changes), high contrast/brightness similar to ink on paper, It is the E-ink material's flexibility, however, which allows for such striking design.

E-ink was first seen in a watch back in 2005 when Seiko released their men's "Spectrum" concept watch. That design went on to win the top prize for electronic watches at the "Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève" this past November. Seiko licenses their E-ink technology from e ink corporation. It is not yet known if the design will be put into production.