Sevenfriday Brings an Industrial Flair To Wristwear

The retro-futuristic watches from Sevenfriday are not trying to be like the run-of-the-mill round watches in the market as they honor classic industrial design elements in truly unique and bespoke timepieces.

“When we launched in 2012, we decided on the cushion shape because there was nothing commercialized in the market,” Daniel Niederer, who founded the Swiss watch brand, told Esquire Philippines during his visit to Manila on May 13. “Now in the meantime, we have many brands coming with the cushion shape in the last five to six years.

Niederer said Sevenfriday watches take inspiration from 1930s industrial design and principles made popular by Raymond Loewy. He designed iconic structures and products like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Skylab, the Coca-Cola bottle, and locomotives for the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Loewy, who is considered the father of industrial design and the world’s most renowned designer, introduced the Most Advanced Yet Acceptable principle, which preached of the melding of functionality and visual appeal.

Based on the MAYA principle, designs should be as advanced as possible while being perceived as being acceptable to the public.

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Niederer said the timepieces make use of movements developed and manufactured by Seiko and Miyota for the ensured reliability and longevity.

“Well that’s the idea,” the Sevenfriday founder said, commenting on the distinct designs featured in their pieces. “Nobody needs another round watch because there’s plenty.”

Newtrends International Corporation is the Philippine distributor for the Zurich-based Sevenfriday, who boasts a diverse customer base. Watch Republic sells their pricier M Series 47 millimeter for P109,995, while at the other end of the product line is the Sevenfriday T series 45 millimeter for P67,495.

“People buy for different reasons and I’m not here to judge. Some people buy for status, or just because it looks cool so there’s a lot of subjective reason.”

The watch brand is anchored on the originality of the designs of their dials that are inspired by cosmic themes, automotive engineering, and geometric concepts.

How Sevenfriday Started And Keeps Fakes Away

Niederer and Arnaud Duval started the Sevenfriday company in 2012 as they sought to break away from the standard designs of mechanical watches.

“We were one of the only watch brands on social media and Instagram and in 2012 probably no watch brands that year,” Niederer said.

To combat the spread of imitations and counterfeit versions of their watches, Sevenfriday utilizes Near-Field Communication (NFC) chips as an application of authentication.

“It’s a passive chip so there’s no implication on the watch’s movement,” Niederer explained.