For all their handy functions, many smartwatches are lacking in serious style, making fashion-conscious consumers reluctant to wear them. Watchmaker Olio Devices is looking to change that, offering a series of watches that combine couture-ready looks with high-tech features.
Resembling a classic analog watch in overall form, Olio Devices’ signature timepiece is the Model One, available as part of the Steel, Black, Gold and Rose Gold Model One Collections. The wearer can customize the pattern and colors of the watch in each collection. One iteration, for example, features a clear-sky background with sun-yellow accents. Another blends the deep indigo of a nighttime sky with ice-blue flourishes. The watches come with either Italian-leather or hand-finished link bands.
Photo source: Olio Devices
Beyond its aesthetics, with the Model One, Olio Devices’ primary goal is to make it easier for the user to curate his busy schedule. Employing a cloud-based “personal assistant” called Olio Assist, each watch monitors the user’s calendar, contacts and other personal information, tracking how he responds to and interacts with that data. Over time, it adapts to the user’s preferences, only pushing through relevant alerts and reminders. Wearers can respond to this information with the swipe of a finger.
Olio CEO Steve Jacobs. Photo source: Fashion Times
“I am really interested in taking the lifestyle products we already love and empowering them with modern technology that can allow them to do more for us,” Steve Jacobs, founder and CEO of Olio Devices, told the Fashion Times in a recent interview about his inspiration for creating the Model One. “[The watch] should be reflective of who we are and what we are and what we care about. We liked blending the functional aspect of it with the aesthetic aspect of it.”
Photo source: A Blog to Watch
Consumers seem to be responding to this. When Olio Devices first made the Model One collections available in late March, the Model One Black and Steel Collections sold out quickly. Its Model One Rose Gold and Gold watches are also doing a brisk business.
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