Okay, so this is fun. Do you remember those color changing shirts from the 1980s? Now they have watch versions of that by Kamawatch. I know that the watch industry is slow to respond, but did it really require 30 years for this relatively basic chromatic pigment technology to find its way into fashion watches? I suppose so. There was once the Generra Hypercolor shirts and other apparel, and now we have the Kamawatch fashion timepieces available in a range of colors which change their hue at 31 degrees Celsius.
Let’s be clear that Kamawatches are not luxury products. These are simply plastic quartz fashion watches. Kamawatch doesn’t even go so far as to offer technical specs on their website – but we asked, and the watches are 40mm wide, produced from polycarbonate with thermic technology paint. Inside the watces are Japanese Miyota quartz 2035 movements. It is seriously so difficult to offer the diameter of the watch so that people can understand how big it will be? When you observe a total lack of tech specs on a watch website, it can only mean to two things. First is that the company is trying to hide something. The other thing is that the company doesn’t at all anticipate their watches appealing to people who like and know about watches.
Image: Rogue Retro on Etsy.com
Which one is it with the Kamawatch? I am not really sure, but I know that I was excited to use a timepiece to reference thermochrome (the basic substance in color changing items which has a pigment change with temperature). I knew that the watches more than likely had an Asian quartz movement and, as timepieces, aren’t anything special. With that said, I am not offended by the sport styling and legible dials. The Kamawatch logo isn’t bad either. The level of restraint and modern simplicity for the dials is… well, appreciated.
Like I said above, the trick of these simple fashion watches is that they are applied with a “thermic technology” which is just the thermochrome pigment paint that changes color. The watches start as one color and then change colors when portions of the case increase (or decrease) in temperature. Like Hypercolor shirts, the color changes when the temperature changes, only in the area where it changes, and then changes back when the temperature goes back.
Kamawatches offers a range of styles with colors that are very different, such as yellow and green or yellow and black. So yes, consider these the mood rings of wrist watches – with all the same sense of style (or lack thereof, depending on your perspective). “Is your watch telling me that you are happy to see me?”
Kamawatches are a the brainchild of Italian designer Raffaele Petruzzelli who now lives in Brazil. In my experience, when a European designer moves to Brazil, the result is… well, a lot of color. Success for the Kamawatch will be due to the fact that the core design is that of a classic sports watch, the dial is legible, the color changing is fun, and the colors are bright. Currently Kamawatches are available in Italy, with distribution starting in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and the United States soon. Price for each is 69 Euros. kamawatch.com
