With consumer space voyages looking more and more promising, and freak kitchen accidents an ever looming possibility, Omega is bringing back - in a limited release of under 2000 units - its Speedmaster Moonwatch “Alaska Project” timepiece. This design was cooked up in the 70’s during the early days of NASA forays into the void, and boasts temperature resistance encompassing more than 400 degrees Celsius (from -148 to +260) thanks to it’s red-anodized aluminum construction. You get one of these on your wrist (price TBD), and you’ll set the standard both on Mars and at Burning Man– same difference, I guess.

Via men.style.com

Italian industrial designer Djordje Zivanovic submitted a fascinating orb-like watch concept to the Signity International Watch Design Competition. Inadvertently, he has created an entirely new graphic representation of time. First there was the wall clock, then came digital, and now we have the linear orb. As Djordje explains, “The idea for this watch is a classic plastic bracelet, with incorporated lines inside the watch that show the current time. Those three line are rotating around the watch and show the time, while the seconds line is going around all the time. Adjusting the clock is easy because the watch is the touchscreen. All you have to do is to touch the line, click the adjust icon, and slide current time line to correct time.” Swatch would be lucky to get this one …

Each week, JoshSpear.com explores the latest projects by top creative professionals in the Behance Network and highlights a few that are pushing the edge of creative industry. Josh Spear also serves as an Advisor and Guest Curator for the Behance Network.

We’ve championed Bell & Ross brand timepieces for quite some time now. The Swiss watchmakers build instruments for those whose professions force them to withstand physical trials well beyond the everyday commute. Did you know a Bell & Ross watch was the first automatic chronograph worn in space? Or that their Hydromax model holds the world record for water resistance? Seeking to build on their reputation for breaking records and enduring extreme conditions, Bell & Ross is teaming up with skydiver Michael Fournier on The Big Jump.

On Fournier’s wrist will be a BR 02 Instrument watch, as he attempts to break the altitude world records for skydiving and balloon flight (as well as the records for longest free fall and fastest skydive) with his 40,000 meter stratospheric jump, taking place between May 24th and May 28th over North Battleford, Saskatchewan. Both Fournier and the watch will have to withstand -120 degree Celsius temperatures, cosmic radiation, and variations in atmospheric pressure. We’re sure the BR 02 will hold up. Mr. Fournier … uh, TBD.

Ever since Back to The Future, Part II, our vision of things to come have always involved inventions like shoes that could tie themselves and hoverboards. That changed when we took a look at the conceptual design for the F1/Carbon GMT watch by designer John Pszeniczny. This Formula One Racing inspired digital watch is constructed of Swarovski crystal, carbon fiber, metal, and rubber, which makes it look more like a flux capacitor than a wristwatch. It also contains 18 rubies that representing the 18 cities on the F1 circuit, from Britain to Bahrain, and can tell each city’s local time. The watch is still a prototype, but we’re hoping they start rolling out with a consumer model some time in the…er…future.

The work of Austrian designers Bernhard Bucheggar, Michael Denoth and Thomas Feichtner is incredibly intriguing. Dark and angular, yet warm and mysterious, and very James Bond, the group say they practice a counter strategy to an economically motivated concept of design and instead, they search for a strategy apart of globalization and mass production. According to them, the future of product design lies in having a regional and cultural reference, fabricated by way of small-scale manufacturers. BD and F declare in their mission statement definition of “industrial design” as being obsolete and predict a movement back to “manufactories…” Either way, I’m a big fan of their solid silver CUTT cutlery, BRIC drinking glass and titanium timepiece, coincidentally titled WATCH.

I think it’s safe to say, at this point, that we’re seriously taken by the handiwork of swiss watchmakers Bell & Ross. The talented timepiece designers have caught our attention once again, with yet another example of what happens when high-quality watchmaking is combined with high technology and easy readability. The BR-Instrument Minuteur Tourbillon, the newest eye candy to join the Bell & Ross ticker family, is quite the complex clock, with more hands than an eager 1st grade class asked to solve one plus one. The four hands include a tourbillon, a large timer, a power reserve indicator and a small second hand. Even though we’re not quite sure what all of those actually do, we remain quite transfixed by bronze colored face as well as all the bells, whistles and dials that measure everything from ongoing hours of your life to the time you spend receiving compliments on your new watch. Head on over to the Bell & Ross web site to add an air of sophistication with this wrist decoration.

According to what we learned in kindergarten, a watch is a watch is a watch. However, according to Matthew Waldman, the free-thinking founder of New York's Nooka, a watch is just another opportunity to turn a washed-up concept into a fresh idea.

Now in its sixth year, what began as a grade school flashback has grown into an entirely new way of telling time. Intellectually alluring, visually impelling, and incredibly functional, Nooka's unusual materials and playful methodology have reinterpreted the traditional method of watching the hours fly, and trendsetting time-tellers (us and so forth) are snapping them up like Vampire Weekend remixes (not to imply we have any strong feelings, positive or otherwise, for turbo-hyped indie bands).

We've been watching Nooka for a few years now, and each new season brings us more reasons to keep on keepin' on. Join us as we chat with Matthew about the past, present, and future of our favorite non-watchlike watch company.

JoshSpear.com: Nooka was born from a first grade flashback - Can you tell us more about that, and give us a brief history of the company?

Matthew Waldman: I was a creative director of an interactive design studio in the late 1990s when I began to explore information architecture over aesthetic design for my clients. When I try to figure something out, it’s in my head 24/7, running like a program until it figures things out. The rule for intuitive design is simple: If you need instruction, it’s not intuitive. Seeing a big wall clock gave me a flashback to first grade where we learned how to tell time… and if someone had to teach it, how intuitive is it really? This was my inspiration to explore alternative systems. (Read More…)

We've definitely made a habit of showing you timepieces that are the opposite of run-of-the-mill. While watch designer Ross McBride's latest creation may be named Extra Normal, it certainly follows the established pattern as being anything but. The Tokyo based designer's latest timepiece appears to be a no-frills ticker with a blank face and three standard hands, but given a closer look one discovers that the hour hand is actually a clever cutout that gradually displays the hour under the clear face, taking this piece from unassuming to unconventional in one fell swoop. Pretty sneaky, but also pretty stylish if you ask us. If you're not into staying apprised of the time on your wrist, you can always keep an Extra Normal wall clock in your home.

Via Technabob

If the days of your life are as dull as watching sands fall through the hourglass, maybe you should stop watching an hourglass and do something exciting, like buy a modern timepiece. You know, one that's more aesthetically pleasing than a few grains of ground from the beach or on your TV screen at the beginning of Days of or Lives re-runs. We recommend checking out the latest tickers from our old friends, the Swiss watch wonders at Bell & Ross, who build watches with the people who put themselves in the most dangerous positions in mind. While you're probably not a bomb disposal expert, or an astronaut, you can still get your hands on one these kick ass watches from their BR 01 and BR 03 lines currently available in some new shades of awesome. Bell & Ross have released a limited edition run of the 46mm BR01's available in Red and Yellow, and have also introduced the 42mm BR03's in Phantom and Blue shades. We can't even begin to describe just how hot these watches are, so you're just going to have to see for yourself. Unfortunately, you can't buy these on the Internets, so you're going to have to make your way to an approved dealer to experience these timeless pieces.

While George W. Bush may have infamously dubbed himself "the decider", you probably shouldn't leave it up to the current President to make the choices that shape your life or to a lesser extent, your day. After all, he's pretty busy and he hasn't really proven a wiz at this deciding stuff anyway. Luckily, watch designer Crispin Jones of Mr. Jones Watches has come up with the perfect tool to eliminate your indecisiveness and put the decision making back in your hands...or if not your hands, the little and big hands on one of his three new limited edition timepieces. The Decider model watch alternates between displaying the words "yes" or "no" with each passing second providing you with an answer to that crucial decision depending on what it reads at the moment you take a gander at the time.

Jones' two other most current creations are equally inventive. The Accurate provides a morbid reminder that you will not be on this planet forever, while The Mantra constantly displays messages of positive reinforcement throughout your day. On thing's for sure, whichever one you choose, you'll always know what time it is.

It was on the early side of our grade school days when we learned how to tell time by what the little and the big hand said. Soon enough after that, we got our first digital watch and thought we'd never have difficulty reading the time again. However, upon first glance at the Nooka Creatures-of-The-Night collection watches from Matthew Waldman, we reverted to a childlike state. These (like all Nookas) aren't your run of the mill digital watches. These titillating timepieces with mineral crystal glass, stainless steel back, PU wristband along and a mind-bending LCD display are covered in camouflage with a striking design inspired by animals found in urban atmospheres. Rather than advertising the hours with a numeric flourish, the face provides dashes and lines to tell you just what time it is. We’ve also heard the rainbow camo one is great for “fighting the mistic [sic] unicorns of rainbow land!“

You know we go ape for watches here at JoshSpear, and although I personally use my cell phone as a timepiece, I still love the novelty behind Lv Zhongfang’s TIWE-d watch and hope it’ll someday get out of concept stage. Zhongfang dreamed up a futuristic-looking watch that has constantly moving OLEDs that assemble — as if called to order suddenly by a sergeant— into the recognizable hands of a clock if the face is tapped or watch is shaken. The designer was inspired by Van Gogh’s Starry Night painting, which stuck with him since he first saw it as a kid. With this watch, I imagine brilliant friendships being made between strangers who ask each other for the time and incidentally find themselves with a great ice breaker.

Mathew Waldman’s Nooka, the alternative line of time-keepers that we consistently preach about, is offering some new wrist candy for the holiday season. Profound Blue and Cool gray have made their way into Nooka’s color palate, giving the increasingly attention grabbing watches a nicely chilly vibe, while still keeping the NY company’s fun interpretation of time at front and center. I think I’d like the new blue face with a white band (you can buy extra bands in any color for some of the styles now! Awesome.). Browse the newbies here.

Well, that’s a mouthful, isn’t it? Though I wasn’t familiar with him, apparently Maximilian Busser is a complete badass in the world of watches — which becomes readily apparent as you look at some of the images of his newest piece, the Horological (based on horology, or the study of time) Machine No. 2. Each year, Busser puts together a team of the best artisans, engineers, and craftsmen — friends — that he can find and has them build a watch. Hence MB&F, or Maximilian Busser and Friends.

This year’s piece is the Horological Machine No. 2, and it’s downright incredible. It’s also so new that details won’t even be released on their website for another few days. Luckily, our friends over at The Watchismo Times got a sneak peek at the gorgeousness that is the HM2. The HM2 is nothing of wrist-wearable architectural beauty - made even more impressive once you consider it’s size. Of course, it appears that it’s only available in a limited run of 125 watches, so start banging on the doors if you reaaaaaally want one.

Looking for something different to showcase on your wrist, but a little shy of the Rolex range? Have a look at the Bell & Ross lineup. Jamie gushed about their Steel Case line earlier this year. With its military simplicity and unique square shape, it might just be the perfect adornment for the “understated man.”

Now they’ve created a new piece in that line; the design is more urban-chic than military simple, but it lives up to the eye-catching hotness of the previous versions with little trouble. The BR 03-92 has been released in white ceramic with brushed and stainless accents. It also features a white leather band in place of the usual dark fabric for a little extra garnish. Shake well over ice, add olive, enjoy responsibly.