Which is real and which is fake? Can't tell the difference? Well, that's because the fake watch is not just any old fakery, it's an award-winning falsification!

Every year, Museum Plagiarius Solingen, a German museum dedicated to showcasing the best of fake items, awards its Plagiarius Award to the world's best knockoffs:

This past year, a counterfeiter in Thailand replicated a Swiss Fortis watch (shown here) with such precision that it garnered a special award for falsification. The fake differs in details only the sharpest eye would notice—missing glow-in-the-dark paint on the face, smaller crowns that are buffed rather than brush-finished, and temperature scales with incorrect unit symbols. “The expensive details are left out, but the first impression is the same,” says Christine Lacroix, the museum’s managing director.

Link | Wired has the gallery

Oh, the fake one is the one on the right.

Doctor Who The Master’s Fob Watch – $64.95

Attention Doctor Who fans. Behold the deluxe replica of The Master’s Fob Watch from the NeatoShop. This is a working pocket watch with light effects. The Master’s Fob Watch makes a wonderful gift for any Doctor Who aficionado.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fantastic Doctor Who items.

Link

Here is a watch by Japanese designer Ryohei Yoshiyuki called the “Time of the Sky.”  It is designed to help you tell the time by the color of the sky. Although I think it would be confusing, really, it is interesting and does offer those of us who prefer indicators for hours and minutes the option of seeing what time it *actually* is. (I’m thinking perhaps a sundial would be a tad cheaper.)

Link -via My Modern Met

This EOLE concept watch is pretty cool. That red ring that looks like something from an electric razor commercial is actually a generator that creates the power needed to run the watch face when the wearer blows on it. I would think it needs a battery too or the time would be reset each time you stop blowing on the face. link

Attention Doctor Who fans! Behold the Doctor Who Projection Watch from the NeatoShop! This fabulous time piece has the ability to project the image of the 11th Doctor.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fantastic Doctor Who items.

Shown above is a very unusual watch owned by Helen Keller – it was originally made to tell the time by touch alone. Carlene Stephens of the National Museum of American History writes:

This unusual watch, originally made to tell time in the dark, made the perfect present for Helen Keller. Deaf and blind from the age of nineteen months, Keller (1880-1968) grew up to become an accomplished writer and renowned champion for human rights.

In 1892, when she was twelve, Keller met John Hitz, the superintendent of Alexander Graham Bell’s Washington, D.C. establishment for the deaf, the Volta Bureau. Hitz, a retired diplomat, was the proud owner of a Swiss-made “touch watch.” This uncommon watch has a case studded around the edge with pins that correspond to the hours on the watch dial. A revolving hand stops at a point between the pins that corresponds to the hour and approximate minute. With the hand and pins as locators, it was possible to feel the approximate time in the dark or, in the case of a diplomat like Hitz, discreetly. Hitz presented the watch to Keller, who prized it and used it her entire life.

F-Stop Watch - $35.95

Got a shutterbug in your family? Need a Christmas gift for a fellow photo enthusiast? Look no further than the NeatoShop's Gift Guide for Shutterbugs.

In addition to the really cool F-Stop watch (which tells time with relative aperture) above, we've got more photography-inspired stocking stuffers:

Camera Keychain	Camera Pencil Sharpener	Vintage Camera Keychain

Link: Gift Guide for Shutterbugs

Perfect for the photographer in the family: Link

See also: More Fun and Unusual Watches from the NeatoShop

What time is it? Why, let me consult MB&F‘s Horological Machines (don’t you dare call it a watch) HM4 Thunderbolt:

The sleek aerodynamic form of the Thunderbolt’s titanium and sapphire envelope has its roots in Maximilian Büsser’s childhood passion for assembling model plane kits. Every component and form has a technical purpose; nothing is superfluous and every line and curve is in poetic harmony. Articulated lugs ensure supreme comfort. Highly legible time is a fringe benefit.

The two pods resemble the turbines of the A-10 Thunderbolt (AKA Warthog airplanes). How much? Yours for a mere $158,000.

NotCot has all the photos: Link

Broke is the first watch design from Tokyoflash to be USB rechargeable, meaning enhanced brightness and long lasting battery life.

The striking interface design has an fragmented appearance and is simple and intuitive to read. After a short shattering animation, the outer ring of blocks represent hours in the same position as hours on a clock face, the inner ring of blocks represent five minute intervals in the same position as hours on a clock face. Four single minutes are shown in the center.

Got that? Maybe you can win it in our next Tokyoflash Treasure Hunt! Link – Thanks Paul!

The best thing is that all you budding product engineers can submit your design and give feedback to concept designs already listed. Who knows, they may even make one of yours! Link – Thanks Paul!

We’ve blogged about Howie Woo of WooWork before on Neatorama, but the genius goofball of crochet is back with this awesome Sat-Track Surveillance Watch (complete with Remote Bug):

The name is Woo. Howie Woo. As a dashing international spy, I enjoy good martinis, good suits, and good gadgets. My newest spy gadget is codenamed The Sat-Track Surveillance Watch

Excellent! Link – via Craftzine

As you all know, I’m a big fan of Tokyoflash and their nigh-unreadable watches (unless you’re a major geek and can count in binary in your sleep, of course). So it’s with great pleasure for me to tell you that Tokyoflash is featuring some new watch designs from Independent (very limited quantity). They told me that these designs are some of the best they’ve ever seen in terms of quality and originality – and it definitely shows. These watches are gorgeous!

Link – Thanks Paul Cooper! (Y’know, it’s time we run a Tokyoflash Treasure Hunt again on Neatorama, don’t you guys think?)

“And the funniest thing is that the watch was on time and still ticking,” Carish said.

Carish, who often hangs out at the private Port Allen Club with many other members, said in all of his 30 years on Kaua‘i he has never encountered anything this bizarre.

Link -via Fark

(Don’t miss the Zihotch telephone dial watch!)

Link

Jonathan Dillon was an Irish immigrant watchmaker who worked in a watch repair shop in Washington D.C.  He told his children that on the day the news arrived of the attack on Fort Sumter he was repairing Lincoln’s watch. 

He told them he had inscribed inside the watch these words: "The first gun is fired. Slavery is dead. Thank God we have a President who at least will try."

The watch was given to the Smithsonian in 1958.  No one has ever checked the truth of the man’s story – until now …

This morning, in a small conference room on the first floor of Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, officials decided to find out. Expert watchmaker George Thomas used a series of delicate instruments — tweezers, tiny pliers — to pull apart Lincoln’s timepiece. He put on a visor with a magnifying lens and talked as he worked. Some of the pins were nearly stuck, he explained. The hands of the watch were original with a case made in America and the workings from Liverpool. The Illinois rail-splitter had splurged: The watch, Thomas said, would be the equivalent to a timepiece costing “$5,000 or more” today.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Minnesotastan.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by whitespace.

It's been a while since we ran our last Tokyoflash Treasure Hunt - but the wait's worth it, because Tokyoflash has just released a number of really cool watches.

For those of you who haven't played before, the game is an online treasure hunt where you can win a free Tokyoflash watch of your choice.

The rules are simple: we'll give you 3 questions, for example:

1. What color is the "O" pebble in the Neatorama logo?
2. How many posts are on Neatorama’s homepage? (in numbers)
3. What’s the first insulting word in Neatorama’s article 10 Insulting Words You Should Know?

The answers (black, 30, frenchify) separated with dashes make a URL on Neatorama: http://www.neatorama.com/black-30-frenchify (go ahead, copy and paste this URL in your browser's address bar)

Got that? Easy, right? So let's get started! Here are the Tokyoflash Treasure Hunt #8 questions:

1. What is the name of the Tokyoflash watch featured above? (Not the brand, the model name)
2. Go to the Neatorama's Online Store and look for the Audio Bone Headphones page. What is the last color listed in the color option?
3. Go to the Neatorama Upcoming Queue and look for the Top Submitters page. How many are listed per page? (in numerals, for example: 10 not "ten") [By the way, top 10 submitters of this month will get a free Neatorama T-Shirt, the top submitter will get a Free iPod Touch - you still got time, if you're interested ;) ]
4. Go to Tokyoflash website, and find the watch with orange acrylic bars "inspired by the neon skylines of Shinjuku." What is the model name of the watch?

Visit Tokyoflash, and Neatorama's Online Shop and Upcoming Queue to find the answers, then string 'em together to make the URL (all words are lower case, separated by dash). Follow the instruction you'll find there.

Hurry (this contest will end tomorrow - remember to check back to find if you've won) and good luck!

Is it a bracelet or a watch … or both? Here’s a minimalist wristwatch by Hiranao Tsuboi of 100%:

The eye-catching watch uses LED digits built into the elegant black brushed-metal wristband, negating the need for a traditional watch face altogether.

Tsuboi’s watch also has no name – it’s a one of a kind exercise made especially for Tokyo Design Week 2008.

That may not be the case for long, though… reaction to the watch has been overwhelmingly positive and it’s likely one of Japan’s specialty retailers will introduce a version of the faceless watch sometime soon. One might say, it’s only a matter of time.

Link – via modernurbanliving

And to answer the obvious question: an alarm will be triggered if the watch is forcibly removed.

Link

Is it too much or just being a prudent parent in today’s environment?

Now, for the first time ever, they’ve released a new line of watches, the Tokyoflash Waku, that incorporate natural brown leather, raised black croc-effect leather and – get this – fur for that chic geek effect!

Check it out: Link – Thanks Paul!

In the 500+ entries that we got, one really stood out: GrouchieGrumbles (entry #128) told us that if he/she should win, then we should just donate the prize to Toys for Tots charity. A Neatorama reader who prefers only to be called "a retired US Navy radioman" pointed this out to me.

Both of us are touched at the gesture, so we’ve decided to both donate $100 each to Toys for Tots, in honor of GrouchieGrumbles (whoever he is). This Christmas, times are tough – so Toys for Tots and other charities need our help more than ever. I’d like to invite you go open your heart (and wallet) and donate a little something.

Thank you to GrouchieGrumbles for his kind offer, to the anonymous Neatorama reader who contacted me about it, and lastly, to all of you who have done your parts in helping the less fortunate this holiday season.

Here’s the link to: Marine Toys for Tots Foundation

It’s always "sewing time" for Claire Payne at Folksy. She made this cute clock pincushion for your wrist: Link – via Cuteable

Oobject, a neat visual directory of gadgets, has an interesting list of Memento mori watches. Memento Mori, latin for "Remember that you will die," is an art genre that span a wide range of styles, but has one purpose: to remind you of your own mortality.

This one above, the Skull and Bones pocket watch, is listed by Miles Pocket Watches as an original creation based on a form of watches made nearly two centuries ago.

Link

Woohoo! It’s time for the Tokyoflash Treasure Hunt on Neatorama!

For those of you who don’t know how to play (what? how could you!), here’s what it’s all about: it’s an online treasure hunt where you can win a free Tokyoflash watch of your choice, courtesy of the good folks at Tokyoflash.

Here’s the basic instruction. We’ll give you 3 questions, for example:

1. What color is the "O" pebble in the Neatorama logo?
2. How many posts are on Neatorama’s homepage? (in numbers)
3. What’s the first insulting word in Neatorama’s article 10 Insulting Words You Should Know?

The answers (black, 30, frenchify) separated with dashes make a URL on Neatorama: http://www.neatorama.com/black-30-frenchify (go ahead, copy and paste this URL in your browser’s address bar).

Easy, right? Let’s get started then. Here are the Tokyoflash Treasure Hunt #7 Questions:

1. What is the name of the Tokyoflash Kisai watch *model* pictured above? Go to Tokyoflash to find out!
2. Go to Neatorama’s Online Shop and look for Mike Jacobsen’s Wizard of Oz T-Shirt. What is the last word uttered by the cowardly lion?
3. One of Tokyoflash’s wonderful watches has an "always on" liquid crystal display with seven colors in one watch. What is the name of the watch?

Visit Tokyoflash and Neatorama’s Online Shop to find the answers, then string ‘em together to make the URL (all words are lower case, separated by dash). Follow the instructions you’ll find there.

Hurry (this contest will end soon) and good luck!

Haruo Suekichi is a Japanese artist who specializes in making wonderful steampunk watches. In the past 12 years, Haruo has made some 7,000 watches – he started out selling them in the flea market, but now his watches are very collectible.

Chief Mag has an interview with the master watchmaker, who recounted an interesting tale of how he got the whole idea because he wanted to design a watch for a one-armed man:

at the flea market, a one-armed man came up to me. And he said to me, well, with only my left arm, I can’t put on a watch. Wow, I thought, he’s right…I wonder if I could make a watch like that? So I made – and you can see one upstairs in the showcase – I made a watch that you put your wrist in it and it shuts around your wrist.

Link | Gallery of Haruo’s watches [in Japanese]