Fascinated by time

Time is unstoppable. It cannot be touched. It can neither be traveled nor measured.” Such an abstract view of time coming from a watch designer is rare. Whereas others would talk about movements and bezels and things beyond the regular consumer’s understanding (or concern), Kenneth Cole watches’ director for design and development, David Smordoni, prefers to wax poetic — quite understandable, since he is also a musician, a Spanish crooner. “In God’s perspective, a thousand years is like yesterday. I believe that one day our notion of time will be the same as God’s time.”

His abstract, cosmic views of time are not to be dismissed, however, as mere mumblings of a hopeless romantic — Smordoni’s résumé is legit. Straight out of college, he began working for luxury Swiss watchmakers such as Baume & Mercier and Piaget, before working for the Swatch group in the US. He joined the Geneva Watch Group in 2002 and became the director of design for Kenneth Cole watches. Since then, he has applied his concept of time to the brand’s timepieces, creating wearable and dreamy designs.

“I’ve discovered that the philosophy behind designing for one brand versus another is different. The priorities are different. For a high-end brand, it is important to make sure that the specs in terms of functionality are as important as the design and perceived value. For a fashion brand like Kenneth Cole, the design comes first — the priority of a Kenneth Cole consumer is to look good, smart and cool, and have a watch to wear on any occasion. I personally try to have a good balance in my designs, knowing that some Kenneth Cole consumers are like me,” says Smordoni.

This wearable but design-driven concept is applied to Kenneth Cole’s holiday Watch Collection, “Fascination,” and further, to the updated and best-selling Women’s Transparency watches, the Women’s Classic collection, and the Men’s Genuine Diamond collection.

The Women’s Transparency collection is updated with crystal-encrusted additions on rose gold and stainless steel with transparent dials. “For this collection, it seemed clever to be able to mix the sparkling effect of the stones with the transparency, in order to bring something innovative and different. Sometimes innovation is all about mixing what we own rather than reinventing the wheel, so to speak,” he says.

The Women’s Classic collection features crystal accented dials, three-hand movements, and a feminine bracelet. The men’s collection is elevated with a genuine diamond marker at the 12 o’clock position and two dial colors of black and silver, as well as bracelets in stainless steel or premium leather — they look good on women, too.

For Smordoni, what makes Kenneth Cole appealing is its ability to mix style and wearability through elevated designs. “We own the most famous collections for modern men and women. In other countries, we have also been very successful with collections that aren’t available in the Philippines yet, like the Automatics and Technology collections, which are all about digital watches incorporating touch screen and Bluetooth technologies. Kenneth Cole provides stylish and versatile pieces that can be worn on any occasion — from desk to dinner, and they also play well at night.”

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Kenneth Cole Watches are available at L Timestudio, Wristpod, and selected Chronos boutiques.