PARIS, June 24 — The Veldt Serendipity hides its digital capabilities behind a classically-designed analogue watch face, complete with hour and minute hands.

It doesn’t have a touch screen, nor does it have a built-in SIM card or tiny camera in its buckle. Instead a circle of LEDs that run around the watch face light up in different patterns and in different colours based on notifications, and a small, lozenge-shaped display near the watch’s base relays the contents of texts and other messages like a digital news ticker.

Developed by Japanese wearable tech company Veldt and announced yesterday, the Serendipity will be going on sale just in time for Christmas in the US, Europe and, of course Japan, and will come with its own personal assistant app.

Compatible with the iPhone, the app, called Veldt Life Assist, can be used to tailor notifications and alerts and as a motion and activity tracker thanks to the Serendipity’s integrated sensors.

It also connects with an iPhone’s notifications centre so that information such as schedules, missed calls, emails and the weather forecast can all be displayed on the watch.

Veldt says that the concept behind the watch is simply to reduce the number of times every day someone needs to look at his or her smartphone display. “By having more time to lift one’s eyes, [the] chances of finding something new, something special in our daily lives will increase,” says a company spokesperson.

As well as an analogue face, the watch has a stainless steel bezel and a sapphire glass crystal. It is also available in a range of colours with different face designs that should help it to appeal to women as well as men.

In terms of battery life, all Veldt is so far saying is that it is good for a week on standby, that the watch is charged via micro USB cable and that the battery itself is guaranteed for four years.

And what it lacks in overt digital technology, it makes up for in price. The top specification Serendipity Model R will retail for ¥148,000 (that’s over €1000 or RM4500) when it goes on sale. However, for that premium, owners in Japan at least will get a special integrated taxi allocation service as standard. — AFP Relaxnews