The saying you get what you pay for contains a touch of cynicism, but is often true. It almost always means something cheap in price is bound to disappoint. To expect anything else is naive.

Alba model AABS028 is an encouragement to those who wish to think differently. It was designed by Riki Wantanabe, one of Japan’s most important post-World War II industrial designers. Wantanabe, like others of his generation, undertook his work in a spirit of idealism born out of the Werkbund, Bauhaus, and Functionalist movements of 20th century design. The watch, released in 2005, is a perfect example. It’s a mature statement of the 95-year-old designer’s philosophy.

Watanabe, born July 17, 1911, is from the first generation of Japanese industrial designers. The dial on Riki Watanabe Alba model AABS028 is a good example of tastes of his generation, which according to a book on design are a “penchant for natural materials, and a crisp, undecorated appearance.”

The face is so clean, with the small ALBA brand logo the only word to grace the dial. The pencil lead hour, minute, and second hands, combined with the large numerals, make the time easy to read.

The numerals are one of the things that makes the watch special. They hint that a lot of design went into it. The font used is Monotype Garamond, based on a font that takes its name from master designer Claude Garamond.

The Garamond font matches the 20th century progressive design ideal known as Functionalism. According to George H. Marcus in his book Functionalist Design, An Ongoing History, the theory expresses:

The notion that objects made to be used should be simple, honest, and direct; well adapted to their purpose; bare of ornaments; standardized, machine-made, and resonably priced.

Watanabe and Alba achieved these ideals with this watch. It features a quartz movement, and a beautiful domed crystal that casts complex shadows on the dial in the right light. Yet it’s always easy to read the time, fulfilling its main function. The crystal is bevelled to make it appear there is a black ring of rubber between it and the stainless steel case. But there’s not, it’s just an interesting illusion created by the design.

The watch retails for 5,250 Japanese Yen, but sells for around $30 US in Japan. The Alba packaging, including the tags and box, feature simple graphic design reminiscent of the Bauhau philosophy so influential to Wantanbe’s style.

Japanese industrial designers were keenly interested in Italian design shortly after World War II. One of highlights of Watanabe’s career was winning a gold medal at the XI Milan Triennale in 1957 for a bamboo stool he designed. The stool was high quality yet affordable, so ordinary people could purchase one. These features, along with a sense of optimism, and sometimes a touch of humor, are keys to his style. I suggest the humor in the design of this watch comes in the form of the slightly over-sized numerals on the dial.

The leather strap on Riki Watanabe Alba model AABS028 is made of Italian leather, and the case lugs, and strap tang, are drilled to make changing the strap easy. This goes back to the functionalism of the design.

At 34mm in width, with a quartz movement, I know this watch will not be appreciated by many Japanese watch enthusiasts. Fans of the so-called Seiko Sumo divers watch (Seiko model SBDC001) probably won’t get it. Perhaps they can’t see, or appreciate, the design, the spirit, that went into this watch. I’ve owned one for two years. Although I have watches that cost many times more, I have none I enjoy wearing as much. Only a true master could design a watch with so much quality in every regard, and only a manufacturer like ALBA could sell it for so little.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, May 10th, 2007 at 10:16 pm and is filed under Alba. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.