Nocs ‘Seconds’ Watch
The Swedish brand forays outside of audio for the first time with an affordable, minimalist timepiece
Stockholm-based Nocs established a name for themselves the good old-fashioned way: through positive reviews of their understated, considered design of consumer audio products. Their wireless NS2 Air Monitors V2 were a particular hit for its versatility (connecting via Bluetooth, AirPlay and Spotify), uncluttered look and surprising sound quality relative to its compact size—and they come in seven different colors. Using these years of experience, Nocs forays outside their comfort zone to launch Nocs Atelier, which will design unique non-audio products the way they’ve explored earphones and speakers: a clean, minimalist approach using top-quality materials. The debut product is a stunner of a watch, named Seconds.
The name references the color choice: the 40mm sandblasted steel 316 case and matte-finish dial are black, but the gliding seconds-hand stands out in either silver or rose gold. Japanese-made three-hand quartz Miyota Movement keeps things ticking. It’s slim—just 7.3 mm in depth—and with an accompanying NATO nylon strap, a water-resistance rating of five ATM, and four-year battery life, the Seconds timepiece is meant to be used while being easy on the eyes.
“It was quite simple actually,” Nocs CEO and founder Daniel Alm tells CH on launching Nocs Atelier. “We needed another division in order to let our creativity out. We are fascinated by watches and Seconds is a new take on time, in our opinion.” He adds, “I personally started looking at movements back in 2013 because of my own interest. It’s been a tough process to find a manufacturer that could deliver a quality based on our requirements. We are true to the materials and use PVD-coated stainless steel for the case.”
“Back in 2008 when it all started, the key word was ‘simplicity’ and it still is,” says Alm of Nocs’ mission. “We are true to the materials we are working with and our challenge lies in the blend of simplicity, functionality and the aesthetics.” Alm expresses his interest in diving deeper into the world of timepieces, but how might this affect the audio side of Nocs? “I would say we have enough power at this moment to maintain the development tempo for our audio business; it’s a challenge though,” he admits.
In this first production run, only 500 of each color have been made. Both colorways are available from Nocs Atelier online for $280.
Images courtesy of Nocs
