Philosophy of time

Bjorn Kartomten, the designer of the Zulu (and other YES watches) says that he wanted to create a watch that connected the user to the ancient, planetary rhythms of time. These rhythms, the cycles of the moon and the planet Earth in the solar system are, of course, behind the standard 12/24h time used globally. The way these cycles are brought together in Zulu is fascinating and I must admit that wearing the watch really does seem to produce a different way of "seeing" time.

My experience is that the Zulu effect is twofold. First of all it gives me a "bigger picture" of time, distancing me from the exact moment and making it easier to see and make plans about longer periods of time. At the same time, somewhat paradoxically, it appears to make time more intimate, making it "my time". I can see my day in the dial and easily visualize various events. The ever changing day length and phases of the moon provide a gentle reminder of the passing time. It urges me to make the best of it.

To read more click: WatchUSeek: YES Zulu 4.0 review

The YES Watch - a wrist watch for landscape photographers.

It's a cliche that sometimes still needs repeating. Photography is as much about light as it is about subject. For the landscape and nature photographer light means the sun. The quality of light is determined, of course, by the time of day as well as atmospheric conditions. We also know that directional light is dramatic, and the warmth of early morning and late afternoon light can make an otherwise so-so foreground come to life.

Just wandering out to do some shooting at any old time of the day is not likely to lead to anything terribly exciting. And when planning a location shoot, whether in the next county or the other side of the world, knowing when sunrise and sunset will take place, and planning your travels and positioning accordingly can make the difference between "Nice" and "Oh Wow!".

To read more click: Luminous Landscape

The YES Zulu is a sophisticated timepiece. The design allows the wearer to instantly see seven pieces of temporal information at once. From looking at the watch, we can tell it is 8:02 AM. Sunrise was at 5:20AM. High noon is at 1PM. It will set at 8:00PM. The moon will rise a bit before noon and will set around 11PM. The phase of the waxing moon is about 30%.

We have had the YES watch for a few weeks now. Some one has worn it each day. As we all compared notes on our user experience, the one common denominator is how well conceived the interface is on this multi-function watch.

One feature we especially like is the ability to switch off the digital time display...it gave the Zulu an entirely different feel. We suggest our readers try going through a few days knowing only the "approximate" time. It is stressful at first, but strangely liberating once you get into that mindset.

Read the entire review as an Acrobat PDF: YES Zulu Features

It is not unusual to see cool new features and functionality packed into digital watches these days: MP3 players, infrared remote controls, cameras, compasses, flashlights, PDA’s.

Telling time has even become secondary for many companies like Casio, Timex, Suunto, Fossil and dozens of small new high-tech watch manufacturers. What is unusual, however, is to see a new and innovative high-tech watch whose primary function is not only to tell time, but to do so in traditional and even ancient ways.

The YES watch combines fine Swiss quartz movement with Japanese chips and complex algorithms to provide the most complete and comprehensive picture of time that I have ever seen in a watch.

To read the entire report click here

Upon first glance of this watch, my eyes opened wide. I have never seen titanium finished to such a beautiful silvery white on any watch before. I now have a new standard."

Joe Urich
Editor,
Hr. Watches Magazine

Perhaps the most incredible aspect of this watch is the LCD “line” along the main dials outer edge. At a glance you can see the times for moonrise and moonset. The day and night display will give sunrise and sunset. This watch gives a graphic representation of the most basic information all astronomers want: the moons location and its relationship to the sun.

Raymond Shubinski,
Director,
East Kentucky Science Center