Nooka Watches Crowdfunds A Cool New Custom Chronograph

Nooka is one of my favorite watch brands. The creator, Matthew Waldman, originally worked for Seiko and then built his own company, creating a unique line of watches that depended on dots and gauges to tell the time and date. His pieces, which prefigured the rise of weirdo watchmakers like Tokyoflash, were geek chic before there was geek chic.

Now the company is trying something a little different. They’ve taken to Indiegogo to create the NOOKRONO, a quartz chronograph that looks like the CV joint of a Tron Light Cycle.

The company is creating a custom quartz movement for the watch and has taken cues from the 1950s space race in styling the hands and face. They’re asking for $250 for the NOOKRONO Multi, a black or steel watch with silicone strap. Five hundred smackers gets you a PVD-coated model called the NOOKRONO NIGHT.

Why is Nooka so cool? They’re one of the only small watch makers in America these days and, while Waldman and his team are based internationally, he has the street smarts and drive of a real hardware entrepreneur. It’s been cool to see Nooka grow over the years and this campaign, which is already way over its goal of $10,000, looks very nice. I’m not a quartz man, myself, but if you’re looking for a timepiece to complete your Max Headroom costume, this might be it.