Collaboration watches are nonetheless all the trend proper now, and I discover it fascinating to see the result when a watch model and a designer work collectively on a recent concept. Most of these have been about males’s watches, however we’re seeing increasingly more watch model/designer collaborations for ladies’s watches. This SevenFriday x Papa Don’t Preach timepiece assortment is certainly one of them. It additionally introduces a brand new wristwatch platform from SevenFriday referred to as the “C-Collection,” which the corporate says is a “canvas” (what the “C” in C-Collection stands for) for this and different inventive collaboration merchandise. The 2 watches I take a look at are the SevenFriday C1/01 PDP in pure metal with the pink leopard on the dial, and the SevenFriday C2/01 PDP.
Many individuals know “Papa Don’t Preach” because the title of a Madonna tune, however it is usually the title of a Mumbai, India-based trend and equipment designer. Papa Don’t Preach was based in 2010 by Ms. Shubhika Sharma, who apparently crossed paths with SevenFriday at a social occasion. What I feel is fascinating about watches like that is that the collaborators by no means know on the outset who the merchandise will attraction to. Will SevenFriday purchasers first take curiosity within the Papa Don’t Preach (PDP) collaboration watches, or will Papa Don’t Preach model followers take a major curiosity? That’s the enjoyable of many of those collaboration watches as a result of, by nature, they’re a stability of two completely different aesthetics, two completely different worlds, and two various kinds of audiences.
Regardless that the C-Collection case has a well-recognized SevenFriday cushion-style form, it was engineered to be fairly completely different from most present SevenFriday watches. To my information, that is maybe the primary watch designed by the corporate with girls in thoughts as the first wearers. I modeled the SevenFriday C1/01 in polished metal with the pink feline on the dial, and I can see a person, beneath sure circumstances, pulling this off. That mentioned, the rose gold-toned C2/01 with its pink floral dial doubtless received’t garner a lot curiosity from males. However the C-Collection case, whereas designed as a extra compact wristwatch platform, might be worn by males, as properly.
The C-Collection can also be appreciably thinner than most different SevenFriday watches, however it is usually geared up with a quartz motion (versus mechanical). SevenFriday additionally designed the C-Collection to suit on an identical metal bracelet, which is one other factor I’ve not but seen from the model. The SevenFriday C-Collection case is a roughly 42mm-wide sq. and is simply 8.5mm thick, with 30 meters of water resistance. Over the dial is a hardened (maybe with a sapphire coating) K1 mineral crystal, which I feel ought to have been a sapphire crystal (sure, I do know the non-round form makes it dearer) at this worth level. Contained in the watch is a Swiss Made Ronda 712 quartz motion. The dial on this watch solely reveals the time with hours and minutes.
SevenFriday engineered the C-Collection to be as versatile as potential for this and future collaboration items. All the level of the dial was to permit for inventive canvas house, and thus, it made sense to have restricted problems and palms. The case has a bezel channel that may be crammed with coloured lacquer (that we see in both blue or pink on these two watches), in addition to extra channel coloring choices on the facet of the case. The left facet of the C1/01 and C2/01 even have particular “7F loves PDP” branding for the Papa Don’t Preach and SevenFriday relationship.
Each the pink leopard and pink flower dial are impressed by trendy Indian decor themes, based on Papa Don’t Preach. What I discovered fascinating was the manufacturing strategies used to make the dial. SevenFriday didn’t need to simply print designs on flat dials as a result of the corporate knew it could look low-cost and uninspired. How, then, to make an interesting-looking dial that’s additionally versatile for a wide range of designs and ideas? SevenFriday opted for a novel laser engraving and coloring method, as I perceive it. A 3-dimensional design is created utilizing a computer-controlled laser. Novel strategies additionally enable for a coloration course of, which is likely to be a part of the laser engraving or a further course of after that. The result’s fairly good at this worth stage as a result of it combines a level of industrialized manufacturing with the attract of artisanship.
I wouldn’t name the C-Collection PDP watches probably the most legible on the earth, however they do have precise full markers for the hours and minutes in case you can see that sharply. That mentioned, SevenFriday watches should not precisely identified for dial readability being of major concern, however slightly a creative impression. I feel, largely, it succeeds in that. I’m wondering what Papa Don’t Preach’s founder thinks of the ensuing watches? She seems to be carrying the watches rather a lot in pictures on its web site, so I think about that Sharma is a fan.
Worth for the SevenFriday C2/01 PDP is a little more than the C1/01 PDP due to the PVD rose gold tone utility on the metal case and bracelet. Neither of the watches seems to be a restricted version, although they won’t be produced ceaselessly. Observe that many SevenFriday watches have an NFC chip constructed into the caseback (together with the C-Collection), which is definitely a reasonably strong manner of authenticating them if that ever turns into a problem. I’m very curious to see what comes subsequent within the SevenFriday C-Collection. Worth for the SevenFriday x Papa Don’t Preach C1/01 PDP watch is $1,410 USD, and worth for the C2/01 PDP is $1,520 USD. Be taught extra on the SevenFriday web site.
