I have featured Yema twice before on these pages. On both occasions, I reviewed watches heavily influenced by models from the brand’s storied past. We’re talking about the box crystal, creamy lume, fancy script kind of vintage design. But “vintage” means different things to different people. After all, the 60s ended over 50 years ago and Yema kept producing new models through every subsequent era. One of the watches I reviewed, the Traveller, borrowed design cues from a 1980s model. Clearly, there is a lot from which to choose and no reason to keep going back to the same swinging 60s well. So when it was time for a new limited edition model, Yema’s design staff returned to their secret laboratory atop the Eiffel Tower (probably), dialed the Wayback Machine to about 1979, and brought forth the gleaming, glowing retro-futurist unit I have today, the Yema LED Kavinsky.
The Yema LED Kavinsky launched on Kickstarter today and like other Yema crowdfunding campaigns, blew past its target goal by a factor of ten in a matter of hours.
This is not the first Yema digital throwback we’ve seen. The brand already has a sleek 70s LED reissue for sale, but this model has a different case, a slimmer bracelet, and of course Kavinsky. Now, being an American and no longer even remotely young or hip, I had no idea who this guy was. I now know that he is a French DJ and electropop artist whose music sounds for all the world like the closing credits of an 80s action movie. Not coincidentally, his work has been featured in a few soundtracks. He describes his character as “a zombie who came back from the dead after his Testarossa crashed in 1988.” He also used to open up for Daft Punk, and that scores more than a few points in my book.
For this collaboration, they started with Yema’s digital module, a red LED with a decidedly old-school look. LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) were the norm in the early days of digital watches. They looked cool, but were notoriously inefficient. To prevent them from eating the battery, the display remained off until the user pushed a button to activate it for a couple of seconds. This handicap is one of the reasons more efficient LCD displays (which can remain on all the time) became the norm for digitals, although they are impossible to read in the dark, requiring the user to push a button to briefly illuminate it. This two-handed process is one of the reasons I’ve never warmed up to digitals but complaining about it is like saying your mechanical stopped running because it wasn’t wound. It’s just the way the device works. You deal with it or you buy a different kind of watch.
Press the side button (I can hardly call it a “3 o’clock” position on a digital) to briefly illuminate the time. Press more to scroll through the various functions: time, seconds, and date. Use the red button below it for setting and selecting a 12- or 24-hour display. Fun fact: LED watches are a bear to photograph.
You will notice the diodes are slim and widely spaced. This exaggerates the segmented effect, making the watch appear like even more of a throwback.
The Kavinsky’s case is an angular affair that appears to hail from the folded paper school of design so popular in the late 70s and early 80s (think Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Lotus Esprit S1). It is brushed and polished stainless steel and buyers have the option of black PVD. While its clipped-corner shape is similar to Yema’s standard LED watch, it is considerably narrower measuring 35.5mm wide, 42mm long, and 10.5mm thick, giving it a sleeker look. Horizontal grooves frame the dark red lens and bisect the Yema logo.
The case back is brushed and engraved with both the Kavinsky and Yema brands. It seals the watch for 50m water resistance. This is out of tool watch territory but perfectly serviceable for an everyday piece. Still, having seen how efficiently Casio seals even their cheapest watches, I do have to wonder why it is so low.
Those tiny lug boxes mean no strap swapping, so you had better like the bracelet. Fortunately, Yema supplied a good one. The brushed links echo the crisp-edged case and taper to an 18mm signed (with A Kavinsky “K”) low-profile clasp.
I found the Yema to be remarkably lightweight. Granted, this was not a surprise as digital modules weigh nothing, but it always takes me by surprise when I try one on. The watch was a nice fit on my 6.75″ wrist.
The 80s may have been a time of excess, but the Yema LED Kavinsky ships in a rather sensible package. A simple black drawstring bag holds the warranty card, catalog, and a vinyl pouch containing the watch. No pointless display box, no wasteful packaging. I approve.
All around, the Yema LED Kavinsky is a pretty cool piece that absolutely crushes its 80s retro-futurist brief. If the silver Cylons from the original Battlestar Galactica made a watch for the old Sharper Image catalog, it would probably look like this.
You can get yours via Kickstarter for €195 (about $217 US). Shipping is free and delivery is expected in June 2022. For more information or to back this project, head over to the Yema LED Kavinsky Kickstarter page. The campaign ends March 31.
