(Continued from Part 2) I really don’t recall the first time that I met Fredi Brodmann at Basel, but he’s always around in some capacity or other because Fredi is, amongst his many talents, a watch designer. I say many talents because the designer tag is very appropriate in his case since in addition to having designed watches for many leading watch companies internationally, he has also designed chairs, cuff-links, written books and created the Brodmann Blades – a remarkable ping pong bat without a handle. Check it out when you have a moment.
Born in Vienna, Fredi Brodmann attended the Academy for Applied Arts, then moved to New York where he founded Visual Visions Inc., where he developed his style and styling, which he terms as “When Bauhaus meets Dali.”
But back to the watch business. Teaming up with Modex Time & Jewelry, Ltd. Fredi Brodmann has created and developed a new timepiece called Angolo Suisse that he de-scribes as his “first high-end jewellery object that also tells time”. In fact it is a bangle watch available in 18 carat white, yellow or rose gold that “parallels modern high-tech and architecture with surrealism”. It comes with a variety of surface treatments from leather inlays, to wood veneer and guilloché to a variety of diamond settings, all of which are made to order for a client.
However, the Angolo features an exclusive, first time patented bent sapphire crystal. Milled out of a solid block of sapphire to create a 90º angle—“twenty break before one comes out perfect” —the watch is equipped with an ETA quartz movement or, if requested, a mechanical movement.
By definition, each watch is unique and as Fredi explains, “The Angolo Bangle watches are Swiss Made and individually numbered. They are served in an egg shell piano lacquered luxury gift box and range from US$ 50,000 to 150,000, depending on the model and the finishing.”
As Fredi says, “Give me luxury, the rest I can live without.”

I usually pop into Ritmo Mundo to see Ari Soltani and his latest collections because he always has something a little different. Last year it was the Puzzle watch, this year it’s the Reflex, a “fun” watch made up from a colourful silicon strip that is slapped on so that it wraps itself around the wrist. Although the concept is not new, the Reflex is new because it has an ultra bright colour LED digital display that shows the time and the date.
There are two buttons on the strip marked Set and On. By pressing the On button the LED numbers light up for five seconds with the hour display in the left column and the minute display on the right. By pressing the On button a second time, the LED numbers light up to display the month on the left and the day on the right. After five seconds, the watch returns back to the a.m/p.m display mode.
The Reflex comes in seven colours: white, red, black, green, blue, yellow and pink, is washable with a mild soap and water and a clean cloth and is water resistant to 10 metres, making it ideal for land sports and an eye-catching adornment if you’re feeling in a disco mood. The wearer gets around 3000 readings before a change of battery is required – which is easily done via a small screw-down back plate.
Ritmo Mundo also produce watches in partnership with the Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation to license men’s and women’s watches under the IZOD brand. The 2012 Collection offers inexpensive (US$75 to 300) and colourful timepieces in a spectrum of ten bright colours featuring simple three-hand models and chronographs with sporty rubber, canvas and leather strap options.
Sizes range from 41.1 mm to 55 mm depending on the model and are in stainless steel and aluminium and stainless steel and polycarbonate. Water resistant to 30 metres the watches are fitted with Miyota quartz movements.
And as an added bonus, Arnold Schwarzenegger visited his pal Ari Soltani on the stand at Basel-World and he wears Ritmo Mundo watches – when he’s not visiting Audemars Piguet that is. (Continued... Part 4)

Source: Europa Star June - July 2012 Magazine Issue