July 10, 2008 Wrist watches long ago gave up any pretense of pure practicality, and for an accessory that's now primarily for style it's interesting to note how conservative their designs have remained. Design student Nicolas Lehotzky feels that there will soon be a shift in the market away from the more traditional look towards more creative watches - and he's put his money where his mouth is with three spectacularly bizarre prototype timepieces that he has built from the inside out to reflect the brand and product values of Caterpillar, Brembo and SRAM.

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Lehotzky's Caterpillar watch (pictured) takes the concept of the bulldozer track and extends it into a faceless watch in which a fabric belt with the hour numbers on it is slowly rotated around the entire wrist, with the current hour presented on a raised platform.

His SRAM watch (see the image gallery) is built from components that mimic the brand's bicycle parts. A fixed block reminiscent of a derailleur drives a chain that slowly turns a chain ring inside a fixed ring. The time is indicated by numbering on the chain ring.

The Brembo watch (see the image gallery) is the most literal of all - the band is molded rubber in the shape of a performance car tyre, and the time is indicated through numbers on an aluminium ventilated brake disc that's driven from within a unit shaped to represent a Brembo brake caliper.

There's also a Singer Sewing Machines watch in development. These are interesting ideas executed well. We wish Lehotzky all the best and look forward to seeing more of his designs.