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Phosphor Appear 'review'

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Kasper

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Phosphor Appear 'review'

Post22 Nov 2012, 23:31

For almost 3 years in a row now, the icewatch is the watch to buy for youngsters who think they are trendy :-D, i personally think it,s :~# but we all have to admit that it,s good marketing.
So the wife said a few times that some of her friends also have one so i ask her if she liked it and she said 'No Way'. It looked to cheap for her :-D

So i said i will buy something for her in the same style but more professional looking without spending to much, so i bought her the Phosphor Appaer in Black.

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The Phosphor Appear™ watch utilizes miniature sized rotors adorned with Swarovski™ crystals that mechanically rotate to "reveal" numerical or chronological information. With each changing minute, an electrical pulse generates an electromagnetic field through the tiny electromagnetic coils positioned beneath each corresponding rotor. A micro-magnet located within the rotor is then repelled by the magnetic field produced and faster than the eye can see, less than 10 milliseconds, it rotates 180 degrees into its new position elegantly displaying the passing time, while producing a distinctive clicking sound unique to the new Phosphor Appear™ digital watches.

It,s a new style of digital watch with Micro-Magnetic Mechanical Digital™ (M3D) Technology.
Infinite Display Appearances: The rotatable rotors can be oriented in a variety of different layouts, while any material can be affixed onto the rotatable rotors ranging from Swarovski™ crystals, to precious metals or gems, to almost anything imaginable.
Ultra High Contrast: Depending on material or paints affixed to the rotatable rotors the M3D display technology can achieve the highest contrast of any digital display available today matching that of ink on paper in some configurations.
Low Power Consumption: The M3D display technology is bi-stable meaning that the display requires no power to maintain an image, as power is only needed when transitioning from one time to another.
Wide Viewing Angle: With a viewing cone of 180°, the M3D technology overcomes the disadvantages of conventional displays when it comes to off-axis viewing. Together with its high contrast, it allows the user to read the time at a glance from any angle.

After almost a year she still thinks it,s an incredible watch. It's made very robust and feels expensive. And it,s a big crowd pleaser.
So for me this watch is worths every bit i,ve paid for it.

some more shots and some closeup movies of the mechanisme....check them out!

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click the link to see the movie --> https://dl.dropbox.com/u/441239/kopters ... video2.wmv 2.17 mb

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click the link to see the movie --> https://dl.dropbox.com/u/441239/kopters ... video3.wmv 3.56 mb

have fun all :-D

edit.. i forgot the fun part...you can hear the crytals turning..it,s like an old typewriter :-D
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cobra007

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Re: Phosphor Apear 'review'

Post23 Nov 2012, 10:35

Nice watch, nice review Kasper. I was wondering if you can set it to inverted mode so that the numbers are made of diamonds and the rest of the face is black?

It's an amazing technology to make a flip dot display so tiny. Would like to see a magnification of this mechanism!

Ah wait a minute, I just noticed that they are not flip dots but the whole segment flips in one go. I see.... that answers my previous question as well :-)

Michel
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Re: Phosphor Apear 'review'

Post23 Nov 2012, 23:01

I came across these a few months back, but didn't understand how they work or what they really looked like.

Excellent review Kasper, these are really neat electro-mechanical watches, and it does seconds too!!

The only problem is they don't make a version for us guys, at least yet anyways. :-)

This would be a good excuse for me to get one for my sister, or mom for Christmas though. :-D
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Re: Phosphor Appear 'review'

Post26 Apr 2013, 01:32

I could not resist and had to take a peek inside the Phosphor Appear...enjoy!

http://www.crazywatches.pl/phosphor-appear-swarovski-crystal-micromagnetic-mechanical-2011

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abem

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Re: Phosphor Appear 'review'

Post26 Apr 2013, 02:03

Neat view of the module. This would be a great watch if they did away with the "bling". I wonder if there's room for additional miniaturization? The module looks relatively expensive to build. Based upon the fact that there have been no new models for some time, I'm guessing it may be the end of the line which would be unfortunate for such a promising technology. It would be nice to see a model with yellow on black like a real European railroad sign.

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Re: Phosphor Appear 'review'

Post26 Apr 2013, 07:20

the module is really neat and very well built despite being made in PRC.
there might be some room for miniaturization but different materials would need to be used e.g. aluminum machined dial with flipping digits.
Phosphor has an interesting business case but I see them on Kickstarter with their new e-Ink watch....that might either be a deliberate financing model or they are a very small startup without much support from 3rd parties.

the bling is the reason why this watch is not that popular as to most people it must look pretty cheap although they will be nicely surprised with the quality.
the custom swapped version I made is all matte black with only orange crystals for the digits.
I wear it with the power saving mode with blank dial and push the button every time to show time....it feels like a LED watch :)
the Swarovski crystals reflect light easily even in the dark and I'm very much surprised with how the time is easily read on my version....not so easy on the all-crystal versions due to lower contrast of the digits vs the dial.

Darth Vader would be pleased with this watch :)
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abem

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Re: Phosphor Appear 'review'

Post26 Apr 2013, 07:27

Piotr,

I like the orange on black. How is your version different from the version pictured in the link below? Did you paint the black crystals matte black?
http://www.phosphorwatches.com/Phosphor ... 003043.htm

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Re: Phosphor Appear 'review'

Post26 Apr 2013, 07:31

You can always paint the segments to your preference or apply rubies or diamonds...
I went the easy way and simply swapped the black+orange module from the shiny plastic bracelet watch to a matte PVD steel case with matte leather strap.
I had to buy two of these but will give away the other one as a gift.
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Re: Phosphor Appear 'review'

Post26 Apr 2013, 22:01

very nice review Peter, Imagine these tiny crystals lighting up :-D
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Re: Phosphor Appear 'review'

Post27 Apr 2013, 16:27

Ooh! Did someone say give away? I'll take the other one as a gift, for my sister. She loves these mechanical digitals, and unfortunately all the bling. M:)W:)M


I always wanted a electro-mechanical watch like the one abem describes, sort of like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lHkuu99b00
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Re: Phosphor Appear 'review'

Post28 Apr 2013, 22:17

he, he ;)
well, I also considered doing some DIY as it would be fairly easy to modify this watch to look like a railroad clock.
all you would need to do is remove the crystals, fill the segments to a flat surface and paint them in bright yellow or even the super liminous paint "Luminova".
that would look super cool so I'm a bit surprised by Phosphor does not consider other styles or a square case.
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Re: Phosphor Appear 'review'

Post29 Apr 2013, 18:40

That does sound good Piotr, if you do make such a modification you have to let us see the pics. That Luminova paint would be wild with the electromechanical display of this watch.

All The Best!
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Re: Phosphor Appear 'review'

Post12 Jun 2013, 18:25

just started to mod a phosphor watch (amber / black). Not starting well. I have first tried to sand away the crystals. I bought some really fine sand paper, but it is diffcult to hold the rotors to sand them properly without damaging them. Now I am trying to paint white onto the crystals. Applied the first coat of tamiya paint, but it is not opaque enough. I will do one more coat.
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Re: Phosphor Appear 'review'

Post12 Jun 2013, 20:14

sanding the crystals will be timeconsuming so I'd rather remove them as they are simply glued to the plastic.
then I'd fill in each segment with a few layers of luminova until a flush surface or fill in the holes with epoxy and then luminova.
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Re: Phosphor Appear 'review'

Post12 Jun 2013, 20:18

Goodluck...always looking forward to see the results.

and welcome to this incredible board :-D
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