Ikepod Gives The Horopod 12 Unique Artistic Dials by Tom Christopher

The revival of Ikepod has been met with a lot of enthusiasm, especially seeing the brand develop from ‘just’ another resuscitated name to a full-fledged return of the unmistakable and iconic Mark Newson design style across a range of collections. Ever since the takeover by longtime Ikepod-fan Christian-Louis Col, we’ve witnessed a return of the Duopod, the Megapod, the Skypod and more recently, the Horopod in faithful yet creative executions. Some of these involve the American expressionist painter Tom Chrisopher, renowned for his vibrant style of urban paintings and murals, often depicting scenes from life in the city. With the dial as the canvas, literally this time around, Ikepod now launches a series of 12 Horopods with unique hand-painted elements from Christopher’s most famous paintings. 

It’s not the first time artwork by Tom Christopher has found its way onto the dial of an Ikepod, as back in 2021, the brand and artist collaborated on the Megapod Skaters in the Sky series. However, with this one, Ikepod has gone the extra mile by not using a screen-printed image of one of Christopher’s paintings, but working closely with him to create unique handpainted dials. Christopher used a circular mask to personally select each image depicted on the dials, which were then meticulously painted by hand. The artist’s vibrant style easily shines through thanks to minimal ‘obstructions’ like a logo or hands, which are lume-filled, by the way. So, in the end, you get an almost unobstructed view of skaters, yellow cabs, red busses, and other scenes from life in a wristpiece that also happens to tell time. Pretty cool!

Since these are based on the Horopod collection, introduced not too long ago, each of the hand-painted dials is installed in a perfectly round and smooth titanium case. It’s the Ikepod DNA, really, so it makes perfect sense to use the flying saucer-like design for this artistic series of twelve. It measures 44mm across, yet thanks to the hidden lugs, it wears smaller in reality. The exterior, and the bracelet for that matter, is fully brushed and has a partially recessed crown at 3′. The sapphire crystal on top follows the curvature of the case so as not to part from the pebble-like profile.

Of course, such a watch needs a movement to work, and Ikepod has used New Old Stock ETA 2824 automatics to do the job. These movements were found in stock when the brand’s current owner, Christian-Louis Col, took over all the assets of Ikepod. It runs at a frequency of 28,800vph and delivers a let’s say period-fitting 38 hours of power reserve. A porthole in the caseback reveals the movement and shows you if it’s running or not as it is placed over the balance wheel.

Similar to the regular models, these 12 unique Ikepod Horopod watches come on a titanium bracelet that tucks in underneath the pebble-like case. In addition to that, you also get a black rubber strap with it. Each one is priced at EUR 6,350, which is quite a bit more affordable than a full-sized Tom Christopher painting! Plus, this will tell time too, and that’s a bonus of course!

For more information, please visit Ikepod.com.