Two new watches “damaged in Italy”. This unusual approach to watchmaking was pioneered by Out Of Order Watches, a company based near Venice.
Anyone who has ever owned a new watch knows the frustration that sets in when its pristine looks are damaged by an unexpected event, such as a broken watchglass, a stained leather strap, or a scratched bezel. And so a brand that specializes in watches that have already been damaged, even before they are purchased, is unusual, original and rather daring. This is Out Of Order Watches, a company based in San Donà di Piave, not far from Venice. They make timepieces, but also weave stories that appeal to the imagination of customers all over the world.
Out Of Order Oxidized Green GMT New York
One of Out Of Order’s latest creations is the Oxidized Green GMT New York, a tribute to the Big Apple. Its beautiful dial is in graded oxidized green colour, a reference to the green patina of the Statue of Liberty. The dial is enhanced by the bezel in hand-brushed aluminium, with two-colour finish in black and oxidized green. The Statue of Liberty herself appears on the caseback, with an engraved composition showing the head of the statue with the familiar seven-rayed crown and the torch of justice. The details of this watch are fascinating: applied indices with stabilized rust insert, aged bronze hands with SuperLumiNova, the laser-engraved lettering “Made in Italy” on the caseband, along with the limited edition number, from 1 to 100. The 44 mm case is in 316L stainless steel, treated using OOO’s exclusive ageing process. The strap is in vegetable-tanned vintage leather with hand stitching.
The Oxidized Green GMT by Out Of Order is also a very practical timepiece, with the useful GMT function for keeping track of a second time zone, 10 atm water resistance (100 metres, so you can even take it swimming), and a Swiss Ronda quartz movement. The date window is enlarged by a lens in the sapphire watchglass.
Out Of Order Very Blue GMT New York
The second new watch launched by Out Of Order from 15 September 2022 is Very Blue, with a distinctive dial colour that provides a fantastic contrast with the stabilized rust inserts on the indices, while the two-tone blue and indigo bezel creates a harmonizing frame. In this piece, the matt blue is a reference to the sky above the city in the evening hours, when it becomes a giant backdrop for the skyscrapers with their scintillating lights.
The Big Apple narrative continues on the caseback, with one of New York’s famous manhole cover designs. This particular version was introduced after a competition run by Consolidated Edison (ConEd for short) for a manhole cover to celebrate the new millennium, and it was won by Karim Rashid. Why are manhole covers so special? Because they represent portals leading from our familiar world of light and life to an underground universe, a dark alternative world that is nonetheless essential for the city’s survival. Rashid’s grid of curving lines is a fine motif for a caseback, which also represents a separation between the outside of a watch and the inner workings within. Very Blue GMT New York is a 100-piece limited edition, with Out Of Order’s signature aged stainless steel case, a bidirectional bezel, a screw-down stainless steel crown with logo, and a dark grey vintage leather strap with hand-stitching. The edition number is engraved at 6 o’clock, between the lugs.
Both models retail at €299. For further information and purchasing, visit the Out Of Order website.