The Bradley Tactile Watch
- Mondaine Magnetic Watch - $110.00
- 1.8" Touch Screen Watch Cell Phone - $83.99
- Vestal Digichord Polyurethane Watch - $54.00
- Atomic Talking Watch - $34.95
- Casio Gold Tone Calculator Watch - $53.00
Although I'm largely an insensitive bastard, even I was puzzled to hear that visually impaired people currently have only 2 types of watches available to them: those that talk, and those with removable covers that allow for touching the hands of the clock face. Both have major drawbacks, such as an inability to hear them in noisy places, or damaging/breaking the delicate analog hands during use.
The Bradley, a tactile watch for the blind as well as the sighted, cleverly circumvents these issues with raised hash marks encircling its body, and a pair of ball bearings that rotate to designate hours and minutes. It allows one and all--whether they have permanent loss of vision, want to check the time in a dark room or theater without blaring a watch or cell phone backlight, or are in painfully boring company and don't want the poor saps to see them counting down the minutes to a planned escape--to determine how many of today's 24 hours have gone by using no more than a finger.
Those with functional sight may also approve of the Bradley's simple, elegant design. A brushed titanium body pairs with the buyer's choice of a stainless steel mesh or leather & fabric band in yellow, olive green, or silver blue.
A precise Swiss Quartz movement controls Bradley functionality, which features the aforementioned ball bearings connected by magnets to a watch movement beneath the face. The top ball bearing indicates minutes, and the one on the side hours. The magnets serve to maintain accurate time--if fingers move the ball bearings while checking them, a gentle shake of the wrist will allow the magnetic force to draw them back to their appropriate place.
The Bradley blows it up on Kickstarter through August 15, 2013.
November 2013 Update: The Bradley exceeded its crowdfunding goal and is now available for direct purchase--follow the link above.
DudeIWantThat.com is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more.
/chronodevfd-cyberpunk-18152.jpg?mode=crop "Budget Your Time: The 10 Best Men's Watches Under $100")
Budget Your Time: The 10 Best Men's Watches Under $100
Wearing a watch gives you one less reason to check your phone. Wearing a watch that costs less than $100 gives you one less reason to ask your girlfriend if she could maybe pick up dinner. For the next 6 months. Here...
/worlds-thinnest-watch-11386.jpg?mode=crop "World's Thinnest Watch")
World's Thinnest Watch
The new name in ultra-thin? It's...no, not the chick who's playing Carrie in the prequel series to Sex and the City. Hint: It's an inanimate object. It's...no, not Nicole Kidman. Mom, stop trying to guess! You're messing...
Anti-Kidnapping Watch Band
Mark Greenman has seen the TIHK and raised it a ceramic razor blade, a 4' Kevlar friction saw, and one trip to the lower hemisphere. In his own words: I designed the A-K Band because I plan on traveling to South America...
Iron Samurai Blue LED Watch
As if the opportunity to wear a segmented steel LED-lit wristband that might make people wonder if you're under house arrest isn't reason enough to complete this purchase, the fact that the Iron Samurai also possesses...
Recon 6 Utility Watch
The Recon 6 may be the only useful thing ever to come out of watching reality TV. Tim Ralston created his utility watch following a conversation he had with friends about being stranded on a remote island. A conversation...
/ritot-projection-watch-13323.jpg?mode=crop "Ritot Projection Watch")
Ritot Projection Watch
August 2014 Update: Sadly, it appears that the Ritot watch is yet another crowdfunding scam. Thanks to commenter Bea Foroni for posting this article summarizing why Ritot technology isn't currently possible, and the bizarre...
iWatch 2
It's sleek, it's svelte, and it will make your wrist look a mile long. It even redefines the concept of little black box with its glide-to-reveal top lid. The iWatch 2 has all of the classic features of the iWatch: WiFi...
Tesla Watch
Induction motors, X-ray experimentation, the world's first RC boat. Nikola Tesla's contributions to the world were numerous and thrilling during his nearly 6 decades of scientific pursuit in New York. So it's strange...
Grindrite Weed Watch
I thought it would do something cutesy like stay frozen on 4:20, but nay. The Grindrite keeps real time too! Though usually after a few tokes of the good stuff my friend Victor procures I'm not really able to comprehend...
/hm6-space-pirate-watch-14859.jpg "HM6 Space Pirate Watch")
HM6 Space Pirate Watch
You gotta have some balls to call your watch an "horological machine" and charge over $200 grand for it. And MB&F's HM6 Space Pirate is definitely a watch with balls. Five of them, to be exact. The timepiece's transparent...
TAWATEC Tactical Tritium Watch
Tritium watches might be the most attainable alternative to the elusive tritium keychains we showed you last year, as well as to the even more elusive tritium girl I tried to make out of a 3D printer, a Barbie doll, and...
Devon Time Belt Watches
Devon Timepieces has harnessed the raw, industrial, I-Love-Lucy technology of conveyor belts in their Time Belt series of watches. Each wicked, steampunky wrist ornament has a five-piece belt assembly mounted on a central...