Tadao Ando's Green Apple Watch Leads designboom's August Drop of Architectural Time

A watch that renders the roundness of an apple into the language of time — this is Tadao Ando's experiment for the wrist.

Cauny x Ando stands as the most narrative-driven piece in designboom shop's August selection, part of the "architects of time" series. The watch translates Ando's signature minimalist spatial vocabulary onto the dial — indices are stripped away, leaving only leaf-shaped hands and a rounded case that echoes the natural geometry found throughout his architectural work. Inspired by the green apple, a symbol of youth and curiosity, the timepiece comes in two versions: a vivid apple green, and a brushed steel finish that responds to Ando's signature exposed concrete texture. Priced at $318.

This month's curatorial theme, "structure + temporal precision," sees designboom assemble seven pieces that trace a path from architectural thinking to wearable scale — with Ando's watch serving as the most literal expression of the concept.

Danish brand Lawa Design's Gradient Watch splits time into two rotating gradient discs, with the hour and minute hands each corresponding to continuously shifting color tones. The result is a watch with no fixed pattern, but rather a visual state that flows with time itself. Available in black, navy, silver, gold, and rose gold, with straps that can be swapped by hand — priced at $239.

GesineDoelle's Monolith ring begins with a solid block of natural stone and high-performance acrylic, first CNC-milled into sharp geometric facets, then hand-polished throughout to finish. It condenses furniture-scale volume into finger-scale form, starting at $135.

Japan's monocircus continues the brand's signature technique, using nylon 3D printing to create a seamless, hollow tubular structure whose surface mimics knitted texture — visually reading as both soft and sharp at once. The necklace can be custom-dyed on request and comes packaged in an acrylic display case, priced at $162.

The remaining selections each contribute a distinct material dimension: Angular Moment's Maze Earrings draw from Art Deco stepped geometry, available in stainless steel and 14K gold-plated stainless steel across two lengths, starting at $48; A.pair's Flip lenticular square earrings use micro-lens sheets that shift flat imagery instantly with viewing angle, priced at $38; Carla Morrison Fine Jewelry's 18k Gold "Chubby Babies" Studs feature solid-cast petal forms, each set with a 1.3mm white diamond, with 18K white gold and rose gold versions available to order, priced at $1,280.

The seven pieces range from $38 to $1,280, with designboom shop offering them as a curated limited release. Full purchasing details are available on the official page.