Concept Watches Watches

Crazy Watch Designs

Watches have always been about more than simply telling the time. A century ago just about every briton lived and worked within earshot of a church, the bells of which would toll the quarter hours regularly as the Greenwich pips do today. But to be able to pull out a polished fob marked you out as a man of importance. Today clocks are built into mobiles and other gadgets we carry, so watch makers have to come up withever weirder ways to make us take notice. The latest? Watches that are deliberately difficult to read.

The most affordable come from Japan, but some of the worlds most exclusive watchmakers also offer impenetrable timepieces.

Urwerk RG 103.06
£58,000, urwerk.com

Hours are displayed on four orbiting satelites. As each comes in contact with the dial at the base it takes an hour to skim across, showing minutes elapsed.
At the 60-minute mark, …