As the observant among you may have noticed, we’ve just launched a new watch called Ore. Undoubtedly our most minimalist timepiece yet, the latest addition to the Bulbul design family has been whittled down to its bare essence through a comprehensive process, creating an aesthetic that looks to the future while respecting watch design’s, rich, craft-based heritage.

As any experienced designer will tell you, designing minimalism is a much more complex undertaking than most people think. Aesthetically pleasing simplicity more often than not involves complexity as well as a good deal of research, development and design-related thinking before the final product lives up to the aims set forth in the brief.

In the efforts to provide some insight into the design trajectory behind Ore, we sat down with Lars Holme Larsen, our design partner from KiBiSi, for a chat about the idea-driven process actualizing our latest watch.

Could you talk us through the design process behind Ore?

Seeing as Ore is a close family member to Pebble, KiBiSi's debut design for Bulbul, the core has already been defined through an extensive process. This is somehow a tribute to pebble, but the new watch comes with a more classic, minimalist overall shape.  Ore has a basic, symmetric geometry, but it still carries the asymmetric crown placement that we know from Pebble. It combines simple soft shapes and fine Italian-crafted leather with the industrial feel of the injection-molded silicone loop, creating an international hybrid of heritage and openness. Swiss movement and sapphire glass are high quality components designed to last with the design.

Could you talk about similarities and differences in relation to the rest of the Bulbul design family? 

It’s essentially a circular Pebble; A simpler and classic watch, designed for the Pebble enthusiast who appreciates a more minimalistic approach.

What makes Ore unique?

The balance between heritage and contemporary appearance. We are planning a number of new designs to follow in the coming years in the efforts to build a more diverse family of watches. Ore was actually not a planned child. It was, however, a design that made sense in so many ways, meaning that everybody wanted to realize it. 

What are the benefits of having an analogue watch? 

A unique opportunity to feel craft and analog machinery on your wrist, which also adds character to your appearance. You might say that it's a piece of jewelry in disguise. Also, we think that watches have a potential of reducing your interaction rate with phones and other digital noise  - not a bad thing, in our opinion. 

What kind of person could you see wearing the Ore watch?

People who enjoy the heritage of timepieces in a modern interpretation.