Tokyoflash watches aren’t built to tell you the time instantly; they make you work for it. The new Tibida model ($140) offers a choice of three obtuse methods by which to decipher the hour. If you understand the 0s and 1s of computing, read your watch in binary mode: The base-2 number system runs from right to left across the top (pictured: 11:34). Sound like a bit much? Try one of the alternate methods instead. Use the top 12 lights to see what the minutes are (each represents five minutes) or what the hour is. Then use the bottom array of LEDs to read the hour or the minutes, displayed as mercifully simple digits. If you’re investing in a watch this deliberately complicated, though, why take the easy way out?
How many times smarter you’ll feel while wearing it: 4Likelihood you’ll miss an appointment because you forgot how to read your own watch: 6/10Coolness factor, in a fashion kind of way: 3Coolness factor, in a geeky kind of way: 10
