WHAT WE LOVE: Ikepod was founded in 1994 by Marc Newson — the Australian industrial designer who would go on to design the interior of Air Force One, the interior of the Qantas A380, and eventually become part of Apple's product design team under Jony Ive. The original Ikepod watches were designed by Newson in the same period he was producing the Lockheed Lounge chair and the Pod of Drawers — objects that occupy a specific moment in late-twentieth century design history and that have only appreciated in significance since. When Ikepod was revived in the early 2020s, the design brief was unchanged: watches that look like nothing the rest of the industry is making, built to a specification that earns the design. The Seapod Jacques is named for Jacques Mayol — the French free-diving pioneer who in 1976 became the first person to free-dive to 100 metres on a single breath, and who was immortalised in Luc Besson's 1988 film Le Grand Bleu. The name is a statement of intent: this is a diver's watch for people who understand what diving actually means. The pebble-shaped case — lug-free, fully rounded at both the top and bottom edges — is what makes the Seapod immediately recognisable. Without lugs, the strap tucks directly under the bezel ring, creating a case-strap integration that is entirely its own. At 46mm the case diameter sounds imposing; on the wrist, without lugs, it wears closer to 42mm and sits flatter and lighter than the numbers suggest. The pure black dial with its 3D blue dot indices — the same sandwich-dial architecture as the original 1994 Ikepod Seaslug — allows LumiNova to glow through from behind the indices rather than sit on top of them, creating a lume experience that is visually distinctive in daylight and exceptional in darkness. The white hands outlined in blue and the blue seconds hand complete a colour composition that is vivid without being decorative. WHAT'S INSIDE: The Seapod Jacques is powered by the Miyota Calibre 9039 — a Japanese automatic movement of 24 jewels, beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour with a power reserve of 42 hours. FIVEFORYFIVE SIX MONTHS WARRANTY
