What self-respecting action film fan hasn't wanted a giant LED watch like the one worn by fictional soldier of fortune Snake Plissken in the 1981 classic Escape from New York? Filling this need is Lifeclock One, a fully functional replica of the timepiece worn in the movie that not only recreates the dramatic countdown, but now has a suite of smartwatch functions for everyday use.
An action movie with a satirical take of the urban decay that plagued US cities in the 1970s, Escape from New York was directed by John Carpenter and follows the adventures of an ex-US Special Forces soldier turned convicted bank robber Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), who in 1997 is forced to rescue the President (Donald Pleasance) after Air Force One crashes on the island of Manhattan. The island has been turned into a gigantic maximum security prison that's more like a guard-free penal colony, where felons are exiled for life and left to fend for themselves between monthly government food drops.
As an incentive, the rebellious Plissken has two micro-grenades implanted in his neck by the United States Police Force that will explode in 22 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds if he doesn't come back with the President and the vital cassette tape that he carries. To remind him and the audience of the deadline, he has a wrist timer that counts down the time he has remaining.
The original watch was a basic film prop made out of solid brass with a standard LED kitchen timer stuck behind the crystal. In use, it was either a dummy or was powered by a cable running from the watch to a battery strapped to the actor's body. In 2014, the makers of Lifeclock One decided to produce a replica that would not only work, but would also incorporate 21st century smartwatch functions.
Where the original prop only counted down, the Lifeclock One does that, plus it shows standard and military time; eight world clocks; the date in five formats; has a 1/100 second stopwatch; 18 display animations and eight character animations; a smartphone camera shutter release; push notifications for incoming and missed calls, voicemails, SMS, and iMessage; app notifications for Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, and LinkedIn with more to follow; an activity monitor; and a customizable daily alarm.
Available in two variants, the Snake and the Gullfire, Lifeclock One may seem like a cosplay accessories, but it includes some serious digital horology. The more authentic Snake is made of 360 brass alloy machined using CNC technology with a yield strength of 15,000 psi. The back is of 316L stainless steel or anodized aluminum and is held together with a beryllium copper stabilization frame and stainless steel 0/80 x 3/32 screws. There's also a leather band available with with Velcro or buckle.
Where the prop had a seven-segment LED display, the Lifeclock One has 77 independently controlled LEDs set 0.39 in (10 mm) high. This is protected by a coated glass crystal with a red 640 nm filter for maximum brightness.
The Lifeclock One has a 3.7-V, 480-mAh battery capable of three to six days operation, depending on optimization, a magnetic connector for direct USB charging, and a power and overheat circuit controller. Inside is a 32-bit ARM Cortex M0 CPU with 256 kB flash and 32 kB RAM, an embedded 2.4GHz Bluetooth transceiver, and an Abracon AB1805-T3 real time clock.
While the Snake is more authentic, the Gullfire is a more modern take made out of 7075-T7 aluminum and finished with a MIL-A-8625 Type III Class 2 aluminum anodized hard coat in black. In both variants, the backs are available in a choice of basic, premium, and bespoke engravings.
The Lifeclock One is priced starting at US$399.
The video below introduces Lifeclock One.
Source: Lifeclock One
