5 best futuristic, spaceship-inspired watches of tomorrow: from Kickstarter-funded Argon SpaceOne and MB&F’s HM8 Mark 2 to Urwerk’s UR-112, a brand loved by Michael Jordan and Robert Downey Jr
- Many watchmakers, including lifestyle brand SevenFriday, are endeavouring to transcend the barriers of horology, creating avant garde timepieces that place spacecraft tech and design at the forefront
- UR-112 by celebrity-loved Urwerk, De Bethune’s Dream Watch 5, MB&F’s HM8 Mark 2 and Kickstarter project Argon SpaceOne satisfy those obsessed with spaceships – welcome to the future!
For much of watchmaking history, pieces have been made to tackle all sorts of scenario-based time keeping – from racing and diving to international travel and alarms. They have followed their wearers to every sort of endeavour imaginable, even onto the moon.
However, these days, precision instruments have taken the place of traditional wristwatches for many of these applications. As a result, watchmaking has pivoted to evoking a spirit of the frontier via design.
So, if there are watches that have been to the moon and that conjure a bygone era of space exploration, what about watches that look to the future? What about watches designed for an era where spacecraft is as ubiquitous as a performance racing car? We don’t have to wait decades to find out – already, there are watchmakers executing such visions to perfection.
Here are five of our favourite timepieces that evoke the future of spacecraft and technology.
1. Argon SpaceOne
Founded by independent watchmaker and Fondation du Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) 2022 nominee Theo Auffret and 2018 Journe Young Talent Competition winner Guillaume Laidet, Argon Watches caused a stir among the online watch community when they launched a Kickstarter campaign in early May to raise at least €100,000 (US$112,200) to develop the Spaceone.
Crowdfunding sailed over five times that amount in the first three hours, and reached around €960,000 two days before the pre-order deadline, per Hypebeast. This would easily have been the most affordable spaceship-inspired watch “manufactured on Earth” on this list – in mid-May, prices sat at €1,500 for the stainless steel version and €1,900 for blue titanium. But punters may have to wait as the Argon SpaceOne page on Kickstarter is currently down and unavailable, allegedly due to an intellectual property dispute.
2. De Bethune Dream Watch 5
