Kronaby Apex
A smartwatch for people who hate smartwatches
“The philosophy behind Kronaby is to put design at the centre of watchmaking and then add relevant smart features”, says Sarandis Kalogeropoulos, co-founder of the Malmö-based brand. “Connected, not distracted.” Kronaby has been in business for barely 18 months, yet has found a niche for creating watches that look great and offer just the right amount of “smartwatch” tech, demonstrated by its partnership with bPay, Barclaycard’s wearable payment system, with a range of leather straps embedded with a tiny hidden chip that allows the wearer to purchase goods and services contactlessly on the go.
Along with other clever features like automatic time zone alignment, two years of non-stop (chargeless) battery life and the ability to find where you left your watch via the Kronaby app, the Apex is also a thoroughly well-made piece of Swedish engineering. “We have created the Apex using premium materials such as scratch-resistant double-domed sapphire crystal, a water resistance of 100m and Super-LumiNova markers and hands,” says Kalogeropoulos. “Along with Italian vegetal leather on the strap and our Kronaby connected movement designed and developed in-house in Malmö.
“When we started, we defined three things,” he says. “First, there cannot be any compromise on the design. Often when you put technology and antennas in products like this you end up with a bulky item. If you buy and wear a product, it must look and feel good.
“Second, durability and quality. The watch must have high quality and last for many years. We have selected electrical components and a technical solution so the watch doesn’t get old and slow like phones or computers tend to.
“Third, the ‘smartness’ should be relevant. We realign technology to make it work for the user, not the other way around. It should help the user for real.”
Proud “disruptors” within the wearable tech industry (set to be worth £18bn in 2019), Kronaby’s Swedish pragmatism is to the fore. “Fundamentally,” says Kalogeropoulos, “a watch is jewellery you wear because it’s beautiful and reflects your style and personality. We don’t want to lose sight of that.”
£515; kronaby.com