Story
The Alterum story begins with a lesson in simplicity — designing less, cutting away the chaos, to simplify. Simplicity is beautiful. It is brutal, it is harsh, but when nothing else can be added or removed, it becomes truth. And the truth endures.
At the core of Alterum lies a philosophy that values clarity over complexity, where every detail serves a purpose. Inspired by the clean lines and understated beauty found in modern architecture and early examples of industrial design, Alterum is a testament to the belief that less can be more.
Minimal design, meaningful philosophy.
With this premise, we set out to create a hybrid American-Swiss watch brand that expresses the beautiful, brutal simplicity of American design and the expertise of Swiss watchmaking.
Inspiration
The images below are icons in design and art. Each one of these pieces of design revolutionized the way people interact within the world. They changed people's understanding of how objects can change us. These icons made us dream. They made the world interesting, and they made the world better. These designs stood out not only because they were interesting and different, but because they were beautifully simple in their execution. The beauty of these objects, buildings and designs, lies with the simplicity of form.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum in New York opened in 1959.
Norman Fosters Apple Park / Steve Jobs Theater.
Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings. 1950’s.
The Leica M3 designed in 1954 by Heinrich Janke revolutionized the way cameras were designed. He brought the camera into the modern era.
1952 the first Rayban Wayfarer prototype was designed by Raymond Stegeman and produced by Luxottica.
Steve Mcqueen’s classic, effortless style. The definition of cool.
Marcel Breuer’s B3 chair aka the Wassily chair debuted in 1925.
1966 Paul and James Van Doren open the Van Doren Rubber company in Anaheim California and sold shoes directly to the public. Sold 12 pairs on the first day!
These are the inspirations behind this brand. These are the products and designs that make us want to design differently and make us want to try to simplify design to make watches more beautiful and interesting.
