Don't Fake The Funk - Sō Labs

Every so often I clap eyes on something that renews my faith in watch town. And while I realize that more intrepid, curious and perhaps better informed outlets might have already shared news about Sō Labs, in the interest of trying to catch up, here you go -

While I can not claim to know a whole lot about Sō Labs, I can say I'm digging their ethos!  In their own words:

SŌ LABS IS A TEAM OF CHICAGO BASED WATCH DUDES STRIVING TO PUT THE FUN(K) BACK INTO TELLING TIME. 

We believe differentiation meant starting from the ground up. Our core design aesthetic of transparency drove the need for a fully custom watch to bring our concepts to life. Our name is meant to encompasses this vision:

SŌ ~ translates to 'Layer, or Idea/Thought/Conception'層/想 in Japanese. Having lived there for a short period, I was greatly influenced by their playfulness in design and minimalist aesthetics. Transparency through layering is central to the look of our timepieces.

LABS ~ innovation requires hypothesizing, tinkering and experimentation; all processes which we've put in place to launch our LAYER ONE Series and look forward to pursuing more through the future launch of our automatic pieces.

 

Our dials are intentionally logo-free so that our Pantone color combinations, transparent cases, gradient wheels, and printed disc handsets can remain the hero of the brand's identity.

Finally, each model we release will remain in limited quantities because Exclusivity is Never One-Dimensional, sō add another layer!

Courtesy of Sō Labs

Having lived in Japan for 3 years, I can absolutely agree, and needless to say I could easily see some sharp dressed youths in Kasukabe, fresh from a shopping excursion to Harajuku sporting one of these drip time machines.

To just pick one is challenging, but the Emerald Rhino speaks to me -

Courtesy of Sō Labs

Priced at a wonderfully accessible level -

$175.00

Here are the pertinents -

A chunk of emerald green, a punch of rhino grey, a dazzle of tiger orange and dot of prussian blue.

Emerald Rhino has a FULLY LUMED dial!

Comes with a 20mm dark gray suede Sō Labs strap, all packaged within our custom 'petri dish' packaging.

This inaugural collection from Sō Labs was designed from the ground up in the heart of Chicago. From the clear case to the die-cut dial and the handset discs, every element of the Layer One Series has been thoughtfully considered.

Limited to 500 pieces - each watch is uniquely numbered

38mm | Miyota Quartz | 3ATM | Acrylic Case | Fully Lumed Dial