Want a Limited-Edition Timepiece Built Out of Concrete? Celebrates the Year of the Tiger

While such an accessory may be nothing new to most folks, what makes this little jewel so unique is that it's built out of concrete. No joke, like the kind you use to construct a sidewalk or massive building, well, sort of; this grey goo is unique. Before I go on about the timepiece, let me point out a bit about the minds behind this project.

I mentioned 22 Studio already, but you don't know that 22 was born back in 2005 and did so to "capture an attitude- one unafraid to follow instinct to concrete, creative solution." Heck, it's basically right there in the phrase. As stated on their website, this crew is inspired by the minimalist works of Tadao Ando, a Japanese architect with countless achievements scattered all over the world.

The second team involved in the project is Zishi, a design studio from Taiwan with works and collaborations that have involved groups such as Walt Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, and more than I could count. They're responsible for various objects, ranging from posters to teacups and watches. Anything they design goes through rigorous steps and analysis to ensure that it's a product that lands in your household, or in this case, your arm; no five-finger discounts are permitted.

Why would the two work together on this timepiece? Well, I'm sure there's tons of marketing and money to be made as a result of such a collaboration, but part of the story is because Zishi is known for bringing traditional cues and motifs to the products the design, and for a watch to honor the Year of the Tiger, there seems to be no better team for the job. The result? A "jumping tiger" emerges from behind the dial's "staircase."

From here, it was time for 22 Studio to take over, but how is such a timepiece created? For starters, I could not find any info on the sort of concrete mixture used to craft the piece, but 22 does inform us how the resulting design is created, using nothing more than silicon mold and some fiberglass for strength. Basically, it's a one-shot kind of thing, you either get it right the first time, or you're just looking at wasted dollars.

Ok, so it's made out of cool concrete and even has a tiger to commemorate the new year. But, that's not all a watch needs to be able to do; it has to be a reliable machine for informing you of how late you are to that important meeting or picking up your kids from school. To ensure that buyers consider 22 Studio watches as a serious machine, they infuse each 4D watch they build with a 26-jewel, Swiss Sellita SW200-1 Automatic movement, and this edition is no exception.

Sellita, if you've never heard of them, is a crew that's been around since 1950. Initially, they focused on component manufacturing and assembly of timepieces, only to later pour all they have learned over the years into what watch connoisseurs consider a "workhorse" of a movement (SW200-1). Of course, it's not the only movement they design and build, but it's the one in question here today.

With all that in place, each piece is completed with a touch Super-LumiNova luminosity compound to help you tell the time at all hours of the night and encased in either a stainless-steel case (New Classic) or in a matt black design (Shadow). Two pieces of sapphire crystal then ensure that you can clearly see the time and even look at the movement through the case back. It all depends on what you like to do to kill some time. On a scale of one to ten, ten being a diamond, this stuff stands at nine Mohs, according to 22 Studio.

If you want to get yourself one of these puppies, you're being asked to dish out a flat $1,000 (€948 at current exchange rates) for the New Classic and $1,050 (€996) for the Shadow. Still, imagine owning a Swiss movement watch for a tad over a grand. You'll even be able to boast that it's a limited-edition timepiece, and that alone could be priceless. I wonder how long it will take before the concrete begins to deteriorate.