Press Release
William Volcoff Receives the Golden A' Design Award for Janus Watch in Jewelry Design
The international grand jury of the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes William Volcoff of Wy&p for jewelry design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2020 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Janus Watch by William Volcoff of Wy&p, designed for Wolkov, has been granted the Golden A' Design Award in the Jewelry Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Golden A' Design Award
The Gold A' Design Award is granted to designs that demonstrate a high level of innovation and a significant impact on their intended audience. Recognized as a major achievement by the A' Design Awards, these designs are characterized by their visionary approach and the exceptional skill of their creators. Winners of the Gold A' Design Award are noted for their ability to push the envelope in art, science, design, and technology, delivering solutions that not only meet but exceed expectations. These designs serve as benchmarks for excellence, encouraging further innovation and inspiring future generations of designers.
Regarding Janus Watch
Janus is a wristwatch with two dials and an interchangeable strap. Both sides can be used, so the wearer can flip the case, switch dials and change straps to suit daily clothing and activities. One dial is driven by an automatic movement and the other by a quartz movement, which allows two time zones to be read. The case and the oversized lugs are made of stainless steel and receive a long polishing process. A concealed clipping system in the lugs holds the strap without extra moving parts. The straps are made of genuine leather.
About William Volcoff
I wore several hats for many years: managing my own design agency, doing business development and being the creative director behind each projects, mentoring and training my team while improving my own skills. I served different clients: from luxury power houses to technology start-ups to large scale government funded projects. Very different, and yet very similar: one common denominator during all these years was the need of being creative within a defined budget and, usually tight, time frame. Controlling budget and timeline while being creative is a challenging position where I excel.
About Wy&p
We are holistic design experts connecting products and brands into memorable experiences, online and offline.
Award Record
William Volcoff of Wy&p is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.
About the A' Jewelry Design Award
The A' Jewelry Design Award is an international jewelry design competition recognizing good jewelry designs by best jewelry designers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to jewelry designers, jewelry brands, jewelers and goldsmiths from all countries. Typical entries include rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, brooches and pendants. The awarded jewelry designs are published at https://desingers.org/design-category/jewelry
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://desingers.org/103203
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/103203
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!103203
- Laureate Profile: https://desingers.org/d/274873
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.wolkov.design/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Janus Watch
- Function
- Watch
- Category
- Jewelry Design
- Discipline
- Fashion Design
- Industry
- Luxury and Fashion
- Colors
- Black, Dark Slate Gray, Dark Olive Green and Dim Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Wolkov
The Recognition
- Laureate
- William Volcoff
- Country
- China
- Brand
- Wy&p
- Recognition
- Golden A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2019 - 2020
- Design ID
- #103203
Credits
- Team
- Kang Jing and Bastien Henry
- Image Credits
- Images #No1 - No 5: Photographer Kang Jing, 2018
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- This is probably the world first Automatic watch combining dual-dials with interchangeable strap. User can flip and/or switch dials, change straps to match their daily outfit and activities. With its iconic case and oversized lugs, it has charisma and provides extra functionalities for analog watch lovers.
- Inspiration
- Janus was born from this deep satisfaction of holding a high quality product. Something that feels right when wearing it. Not everything must be connected. The extra boost you need sometime to get things moving the way you want and to connect with a distant past where machines were crafted.
- Research
- Heuristic design research based on guts feeling that something could still be improved in the watch industry. Initially our design had only one dial but we soon realize the potential to duplicate dials and offer dual time zones. The final clipping system for the strap with our semi flexible lug took over 2 years of refinement. We tested ourselves prototypes by wearing them and then adjusting details.
- Challenge
- Key challenge was to convince watch factories to produce prototypes and test again and again the various ideas we had. We designed every details, from the screws head to the handles so we had to run prototype for each parts, opening molds and doing refinements a the same time.
- Realization and Technology
- We offer a mix of automatic and quartz movements within one case. One side is powered by Chinese Peacock automatic caliber SL1701 while the other side is powered by Japanese Myota quartz. This gives the opportunity for dual time zone and double the space to develop creative dials. Our unique clipping system has no extra moving parts and only use specific material resistance (from an invisible insert made of PP) to create the clipping spring feature. The design solution is striking visually and drove the design style from inside out, as we didn’t try to conceal it.
- Operation and Interaction
- Operate the watch like a normal watch, use the crowns to set time on both sides. Un-clip the lugs to change strap.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in September 2014 in Shanghai and finished in November 2018 in Shanghai.
- Specifications
- Watchcase: 34mm x 14mm x 43mm Watch strap: 180mm x 24mm Watch box: 180mm x 185mm x 65mm
- Keywords
- Dual-dial, Automatic, Analog, Wristwatch, Light luxury, Man accessory
