French watchmaker Yema presents us is treating you this year by reinventing its iconic watch released in the 70s: the Yema Led.
Good news never comes alone, Yema has teamed up with DJ/producer Kavinsky to satisfy the appetite of retro-futurism fans. There are collaborations that make sense, this one is an obvious one.
Kavinskythis name does not mean anything to everyone but his work has certainly already tickled your ears. Remember the superb soundtrack of the excellent film Drive with Ryan Gosling. One of the most iconic titles is clearly Nightcall. That raspy, robotic voice, that powerful synth… It’s Kavinsky!
Kavinsky is a French DJ who has worked with the greatest of the French Touch : Monsieur Oizo, Pedro Winter (Busy P), SebastiAn, Daft Punk, etc.
His first album featured the story of a man who died at the wheel of a Ferrari Testarossa in 1986 and reappeared 20 years later as a zombie music producer. It is this avatar that we find in Kavinsky’s latest video clip and whose Yema watch skillfully completes the outfit.
The Yema Led Kavinsky watch
In the 70s, Yema launched a watch that has since been reissued: the Yema Led which you can see below.
The Kavinsky edition, a retro-futuristic watch, brilliantly takes us back to the aesthetic codes of the 80s.
The case is very well crafted and a reasonable size of 42mm x 35.5mm. Dimensions that will sit well on both thin and thick wrists.
Case and bracelet are made of 316L steel with a brushed-polished finish. The watch is available in two versions: Black and Silver.
The treatment used for the black version is not specified but I hope that a good layer of PVD has been applied to prevent the scratches of time from revealing the gray of the steel. That said, it could give an interesting style to the watch.
The case is water resistant to 5 ATM (50 meters), so you could consider keeping it on your wrist while swimming, but personally I would avoid touching the buttons underwater.
Weight: when weighed, the Yema Kavinsky weighs 120 grams.
The LED display is at the discretion of the watch owner. And yes! You have to press the button at “3 o’clock” to turn on the watch and display the time for about 3 seconds. A second press displays the date and a last one the seconds.
The red light is very iconic and impactful. Coupled with the superb design of the watch, we are immediately transported to the 80s, imbued with the aesthetic codes of KITT’s scanner in K2000the V logo of the series The Visitors or the old alarm clock that always crackled in the morning even though the station frequency had been set correctly the night before and the antenna wire was taped to the right place on the bedside table.
The functions are simple: hours, minutes, seconds, date, month and year. This is a watch from the past of the future after all, are you following me?
A nod to the watch that appears in the clip Renegade at 1 minute and 6 seconds.
Last coquetry: the watch will be launched on Kickstarter on March 18. Some packs offer the watch and a collector’s vinyl signed by Kavinsky.
In conclusion
There Yema Led Kavinsky is a success! It is a pleasure to see the Morteau watchmaker launch such a watch. It is in line with its history and the collaboration with Kavinsky is full of meaning.
I’ve been wearing it for a few days now and I have to admit that it arouses the curiosity of the people I meet. Its design is intriguing.
It is comfortable, different and has a real identity… No doubt it will be a great success.
The watch will be available in June for around 200 euros, more information on this site.
