Dezeen Watch Store: London-based startup Objest is launching its first range of watches, with faces featuring a hatched pattern instead of the usual hour and minute markings.

Available to pre-order exclusively from Dezeen Watch Store this week, Objest's Hach watch features a curved steel case and a face with no numbers or conventional markings.

Instead, a zigzagging pattern of contrasting hatch lines is used to divide the face, creating 12 points to help the wearer tell the time.

"We wanted to design a timepiece that imbued a sense of controlled precision without being technical or over-engineered," Objest founder Jared Mankelow told Dezeen Watch Store.

"Although the pattern adds visual interest to the dial it still has a functional role."

The pattern is etched into the face in two layers, with a two-tone colour treatment, creating a shimmer effect when it catches the light.

The watch is the first from Mankelow's London startup. Each version features a leather strap and a metal case with rounded edges and a domed glass cover.

The black and silver versions both have matching tonal faces and straps, while the blue edition features a copper-coloured case. There is also a model with a grey strap and a black face, and a gold-plated version with a nude strap.

Second and minute hands are in matching colours, while the hour hand is in a bright accent colour – white, gold, silver or yellow – to make it stand out.

"A quick glimpse should quickly show the wearing what hour it is," said Mankelow.

The name of the watch, Hach, is a play on both hatching, the pencil markings used to create light and shade in drawings, and the idea of something emerging like a chick from an egg.

"Hach has been inspired by fashion and architecture," said Mankelow. "Issey Miyake is a source of constant inspiration. His pleating, scoring and folding creates a sense of volume."

"Architects such as Toyo Ito, and John Pawson also resonate," he added. "Light, planar surfaces, and scale are aspects that can be played with in smaller-scale objects."

Mankelow, a product designer from New Zealand, worked with firms including IDEO and Conran + Partners, before deciding to launch his own multi-disciplinary studio earlier this year.

The studio offers consultancy services as well as designing furniture, lighting and electronics products.

"Each has its own set of constraints – scale, form, materials etc," said Mankelow. "This is where the germ of an idea came from. Could we use our learnings and knowledge of different sectors to produce a watch with personality, clarity and finesse?"

"Watches are one of those unique products that embody aspects of product design, fashion and engineering," he added. "It's a really interesting space to work in."

Pre-order Objest's Hach watch on Dezeen Watch Store »