As a compliment to the introduction of the 2016 Product Road Map, TW Steel Chief Design Officer Ton Cobelens took time out from his creative duties to download his thoughts on the fresh new Maverick Collection being introduced for 2016:
What inspires you as a designer? Are there influences outside of the watch world that inspires you?
“Ideas and inspirations literally come from anywhere. From a walk in the park to the technical elements of a motorcycle engine that led to the unique piston design of the pushers of the new Maverick collection”.
What trends do you see going forward for TW Steel during 2016?
“I closely follow all trends in the industry and what it means for TW Steel. We know our consumer tastes and which designs work in terms of being a good fit for oversized executions. My vision is ultimately to execute a watch that sacrifices nothing but holds true to the DNA of the TW Steel brand each time. I think we’re unique in that respect, we never waver from that philosophy. Oversized is our heritage, that’s what we’re known for”.
Why have you decided to develop the Maverick collection?
“The hugely successful Son of Time project brought us together with Amsterdam based custom motorcycle builder Roderick Seibert. The collaboration exploded with creativity, delivering a unique one-off custom motorcycle and matching unique timepiece, The Son of Time. The project created so much noise it was clear the market was ready for a full TW Steel collection to mix their bold attitude and big styling with a new take on the Sport Heritage world. There we found inspiration to make our Maverick Collection a reality, bringing TW Steel’s unique style and emotion to a new audience”.
Can you describe a few of the highlights of the new Maverick Collection?
“Inspired by the ground-breaking Son of Time masterpiece, the new Maverick Collection takes TW Steel’s bold attitude, blends in cool vintage styling and twists it all together to deliver a totally fresh take on time. The Maverick Collection features a total of 42 different executions with each model offered in both 45mm and 48mm size. Each Maverick timepiece design comes in a 3-Hand, Chrono and Automatic movement edition.
The stunning collection is set off by a choice of either a premium quality, very exclusive vintage inspired leather strap with bold stitching detail, or equally impressive steel Milanese bracelet for which no tools are needed to shorten the bracelet.
All leather strap models feature the popular and practical Capsa/Quick Change Construction. The icing on the cake for the Maverick Collection comes in the form of double-layered sandwich dials on all leather strap models, bringing the digits and indexes into sharp focus and giving head turning depth and feel to the brand new collection”.
How does the Maverick Collection fit within the brand’s growth plans?
“Just over ten years ago, we began our company by launching an iconic timepiece collection that shook up the market and established us as a bold new attitude in the watchmaking world. Now ten years on it’s only appropriate that we shake the market up again with the launch of a new design icon. Of course our new designs still carry our trademark attitude and boldness, but take a new direction, perfectly blending our TW Steel style with vintage appeal from the Sport Heritage world. We really enjoyed working with Roderick to bring the Son of Time to life, smashing two worlds together! It’s very exciting for TW Steel to take these first steps of our adventure into this iconic, sports heritage world. With the Maverick Collection being a reality now we can bring emotion and speak up to a new audience”.
Do you plan to have additional collaborations, similar to the Son of Time in the future?
“I know there’s a lot more still to come from TW Steel. We have ideas for future designs and new partnerships. Naturally these things take time to come to fruition, but I can tell these will be as exciting as the Son of Time project. I love showcasing new models to our partners and seeing the excitement on their faces. That’s ultimately very rewarding for me knowing they can’t wait to take them to market. It comes full circle when you hear of the enthusiasm from consumers for one of your designsor projects. The future holds that next wave of excitement and enthusiasm, you can never get there fast enough”.
