The Horopod is the latest new watch model from Ikepod, a watch brand originally founded by Marc Newson (and Oliver Ike), that celebrated 30 years in 2024. Now in its third phase of ownership, the current strategy for Ikepod is to revisit some of its older or iconic models and re-imagine them for new audiences. Remaining luxurious in form, today’s Ikepod watches are still “high-end” but more accessibly priced packages than Ikepod watches in the past. Think $3,000 versus $15,000 (for example). The Ikepod Horopod is meant to be a fashionable daily-wear bracelet-style watch for urban dwellers. It wants to be both pretty and design-centric with an emphasis on showing that the wearer likes nice stuff but isn’t limited to popular nice stuff.
In many ways, the Horopod is the new Ikepod Horizon. Ikepod took a classic Ikepod model released about 15 years ago and asked independent watch designer Adrian Buchmann to come up with a modern version. That’s the basis of the Horopod design and product name. As of this writing, there are seven versions of the Horopod on Ikepod’s website, the differences among them being the colorways. Each has a Grade 2 titanium case and matching bracelet, as well as an aging “NOS” (new-old stock) Swiss Made ETA 2824 automatic movement. Why use old movements, and why do brands stockpile movements? Mainly because sourcing movements can be both expensive and challenging. For example, the Swatch Group’s ETA company does not sell caliber 2824 movement to many companies today, and that includes Ikepod. Thus, using older movements that have been stockpiled is the only way for many companies to include ETA 2824 movements in watches today. Outside the Swatch Group brands, this has become a common problem. This is why it has been so common to see Sellita and La Joux-Perret movements everywhere.
Ikepod sent me four of the first seven styles of the Horopod timepiece, in pre-production form, for the purposes of this article. The Ikepod Horopod, and by the time you read this article, production versions of the watch (usually with better detailing) will be on people’s wrists. Overall, I think Adrian Buchmann (who has done a lot of stuff recently for Christopher Ward) did a great job taking a very high-end and difficult-to-manufacture watch case shape and created something very elegant and wearable but not wildly priced. The case is 44mm wide, 16.65mm thick (much of that is the crystal so it doesn’t appear that thick), and water-resistant to 50 meters. 44mm might sound big, but the watch wears smaller given the lugless case design and the pebble-style curve of the case.
The rose gold-tone dial is slightly different in texture (not my favorite), but the other colors have the Horizon-style perforated dials. It is a nice look, even if legibility is not its main appeal given the lack of markers. Clean, textured dials like this are, however, very pretty. (Note how the Ikepod logo is printed in white or another color discreetly on the underside of the crystal floating over the dial.) This is a fashion and aesthetic decision. Each of the dial colors has its own name, which is fun. The silver dial Horopod is known as the Udaipur, and the blue is known as the Jodhpur. The green dial (not pictured) is known as the Neom, and my favorite dial is the Puxi, which is the only multi-color dial and includes white, orange, and gray. The original Horizon dials were a sandwich of two layers. The Ikepod Horopod dials appear to be stamped, which makes them less costly to produce. This is an example of something that allows the modern Ikepod watches to be more affordable. The hour and minute hands are painted with luminous material for darkness viewing. Over the dial is a domed and AR-coated (though there is still glare given the show) sapphire crystal.
I really like the little viewing window on the back of the UFO-shaped titanium case that offers a glimpse of the ETA 2824 automatic movement. It operates at 4Hz with about two days of power reserve. The case isn’t entirely thin but is a good hybrid of presenting an interesting shape on your wrist with plenty of wearing comfort, especially on the bracelet. Ikepod mentioned that the first batch of Horopod watches will come with a black rubber strap, which you can swap out. After that, future batches of the Horopod will come just on the bracelet, and the strap will need to be purchased as an accessory. Marc Newson was hired by Apple, and his designs became both the Apple Watch and the Apple Watch’s original strap with its funky enclosure. The Horopod has a sort of new version of that. It looks nice on the wrist and wears comfortably, but it requires a bit of fiddling to put on and take off, and isn’t the most convenient strap even if it looks like the sporty option.
While I like almost all of Ikepod’s new-generation products, the Horopod (despite the name, which might make a few teenagers laugh) is perhaps the most mainstream in terms of appeal. It has a design that most people can understand (and you can appreciate the design more by understanding its history) and is fashionable and approachable while not feeling generic. This is not a sports watch or about chronometry but a design-lover’s watch that has real pedigree without a big-name brand. That makes Ikepod as a company, and its current products, quite interesting, if you ask me. I think Ikepod and Buchmann did a pretty good job with the Horopod. It isn’t perfect, but this is a generally appealing timepiece that isn’t boring but isn’t too radical. The Ikepod Horpod is priced at $3,490 USD. For more information, please visit the Ikepod website.
