Alessi — Neko AL24001 | SANAA polyurethane wristwatch

There is something deliberately soft and organic about the Neko, a wristwatch that forgoes the hardness of metal to embrace the tactile warmth of polyurethane. Its burnt-earth-colored case, just 3 centimeters in diameter and less than a centimeter thick, rests on the wrist with the discretion of a detail found by chance - and yet designed with absolute precision. Brown, a shade that evokes natural materials, Japanese ceramics, and polished wood, gives the object a rare intimacy in the world of design watchmaking. The Neko was created through a collaboration between Alessi and SANAA, the legendary Japanese studio founded by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa - winners of the 2010 Pritzker Prize, the same year this watch was presented to the public. SANAA brings to the world of everyday objects the same philosophy that guides its architecture: subtraction, lightness, and boundaries that dissolve. The result is a piece that seems almost weightless, both physically and visually. We chose it for Stilmobili because it tells a story that goes beyond function. The Neko is not simply an instrument for measuring time: it is a quiet aesthetic statement, suited both to those who know SANAA before even wearing it and to those who discover the studio by wearing it. It is the perfect gift for the design collector who does not expect to find a work of art on their wrist - and does. Now classified as a discontinued item, it is one of those objects that time inevitably transforms into a rarity. Project notes: Diameter 3.40 cm, thickness 0.80 cm. Polyurethane body, brown finish. Designed by SANAA for Alessi, presented in May 2010. Code AL24001. Discontinued item.