SteamPunk

Romain Jerome Steampunk Tourbillon Watch Hands-On

One of the more "interesting" options when it comes to acquring a high-end timepiece is to get something from Romain Jerome. The collection that put them on the map was the Titanic DNA range of watches -and this Steampunk Tourbillon is the newest flagship for that collection. Available in gold (as seen above), the watch is mixed with oxidized steel that is meant to look like metal harvested from the actual Titanic. According to Romain Jerome, a small percentage of the metal is actually from the sunken Titanic ship. This is why they use the "Titanic DNA" term.

The Steampunk collection takes the concept further to make the dial look inspired by the ship's engine room. There are piston-like elements on the highly detailed dial that look like a diorama. It is quite fun to inspect all the little details. The hands of the watch are meant to look like anchors. At 46mm wide, the case is still quite comfy although it is large. The polished 18k rose gold mixed with the oxidized steel makes for a very interesting look. Inside the watch is a Swiss Concepto made automatic tourbillon movement. Look to the back of the watch for another anchor - here done in gold as the rotor of the movement. Really an amazing talking piece and cool addition to a high-end collection. Price for this model is 169,000 Swiss Francs.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Romain Jerome Steampunk Tourbillon Watch

Tags: dna, hands-on, review, Romain Jerome, steampunk, titanic, tourbillon, watch

New Show To Highlight Steampunk In New York City

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

Steampunk merges with modern style at The Architectural Design Magazine Home Show coming March 17-20 , 2011 in New York City. Art Donovan of Donovan Design will launch his first NYC show with a collection of "Steampunk Modern" illuminated designs and will also be signing his newest book, "The Art of Steampunk." Steampunk combines modern technology with a style sensibility taken from the Victorian era.

There's a Facebook page for the exhibit that shows a few designs and highlights and Donovan has promised that if it gets up to 2500 "likes" for this page everyone will be entered into a raffle to win one of his Steampunk lamp designs. The final log on date is midnight, March 12. There will be five runner up prizes of the original, Signed Steampunk posters from the Oxfords' University Museum exhibition. That exhibit was the world's first Steampunk Art Exhibition taking place at the Museum of the History of Science, the University of Oxford, UK.

Tags: art donovan, donovan design, SteamPunk

The iRetrofone Steampunk for iPhone

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

This is one of the first iRetrofone designs I've seen where the iPhone actually blends into the design and isn't immediately apparent or sticking out like a sore thumb. 'Fusing art with function' is the aim of artist Scott Freeland with this creation, which although it's awesome to look at will certainly require a very specific decor scheme to pull off. Each iRetrofone Steampunk is hand-sculpted, hand-cast in urethane resin and then hand-painted. They're each a fully functional iPhone dock complete with USB compatibility for syncing and charging and an enormous (but also functional) old-fashioned handset for conversing like grandma used to while reducing your radiation exposure. Get yours for $350 on Etsy.

Source

Tags: iphone, iphone dock, iretrofone, retro, steampunk

Art Donovan's La Luna Torchieres

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

My favorite lighting and steampunk genius, Art Donovan recently contacted me to show off a new set of one-of-a-kind pieces. The piece above is the 'La Luna' Torchiere. It is made of cast bronze and with a hand-painted shade that looks like a big full moon. The posts of the lamps are solid bronze and cast acrylic. The lamp shade is painted on the sides in what he calls "Museum Blue" (textured, translucent tones of burnt umber and phthalo blue). Each of the two Rococo lamp bases are mirror images of each other with slight variations. They are signed and dated by Art Donovan.

Art says the pair of torchieres were inspired by the time he spent curating the world's first Steampunk Art Exhibition at the Museum of the History of Science, the University of Oxford, UK. Over the last couple of years he got bitten by the steampunk bug. Steampunk combines modern technology with a style sensibility taken from the Victorian era. These torchieres capture a bit of an Art Nouveau sensibility with a slightly spooky edge. I could easily picture them in a movie lighting the lab of some madly brilliant and misunderstood scientist. The pair of torchieres measure 33" tall x 13" wide and are $9500.

Tags: art donovan, lamps, lighting, steampunk, torchiere

Siddhartha Pod Lamp

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

Today, my friend Art Donovan from Donovan Design out in Southampton, New York sent me pictures of his latest design. This new lamp is his first in a style known as Steampunk. Steampunk combines modern technology with a style sensibility taken from the Victorian era. The new lamp is called the Siddartha Pod Lantern and Art reports that is it the most labor intensive lamp he has ever worked on. He spent several months designing and creating the lamp from solid bass, copper and mahogany. It is over four feet tall and signed and dated, engraved in brass at the top. The lamp sells for $23,000.

Check out The Steampunk Home for more interesting Steampunk designs.

Gallery: Siddhartha Pod Lamp