Michael Bastian to launch luxury smartwatch with Gilt

Set to launch this fall, the Michael Bastian Smartwatch is a new men’s watch featuring a 44mm stainless steel case and some smart new tech features.

The key feature is the personalizable aspect, from the interchangable watch bands (black rubber, brown leather and olive green webbing) to the customizable digital faces and modes, which were inspired by luxury car dashboards.

“A watch like this should provide men with quick, simple, accurate information at a glance, much like the displays and dials of a car dashboard — you can almost think of it as a personal dashboard for your digital life,” explained Bastian.

Created with tech firm Hewlett-Packard, the iOS and Android compatible watch can sync via your smartphone with an app to control music and calendar appointments, as well as displaying social media, text and email messages, and boasts 7-day power reserves and water-resistant construction. There will also be an all-black limited edition version with extra luxury touches, part of a concerted effort to focus on the watchmaking and style aspects of the timepiece, rather than the tech.

“With the early devices I’ve seen, the design and feel of the watch take a backseat to the technology,” added Bastian. “I really felt there was a need for a device that looked and felt like a stylish watch first.”

Awarded CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year in 2011, the New York City-based designer has previously collaborated with US brand Gant, but this is his first foray into watches and wearables. The watches will be available exclusively via Gilt this fall. We’re excited to see how it shapes up against recent releases from Samsung and LG built on the Android Wear platform.