SOS watch lights the path to safety

In Buenos Aires, Victorinox launched its Night Vision watch in the dark cellar of a bodega. In the Emirates, it made sense to head into the desert at sunset to demonstrate the timepiece's power of illumination.

"I believe there is no better place to launch than here in the desert, where only the essential matters," says Alexander Bennouna, Victorinox's chief executive for watches.

Victorinox, known for its Swiss Army knives for the past 125 years, diversified into watches in 1989. It first launched the Night Vision timepiece in 2003. But the relaunch of the watch coincides with Victorinox's partnership with the local distributor Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons.

"We have updated on features and design," Mr Bennouna says. "The design is much more timeless. If you look at the timepiece, unless you activate the device you wouldn't realise there are all these electronic functions."

New functions include an emergency rescue light that will flash continuously for three weeks - useful in the unfortunate circumstance of getting lost in the desert.

Victorinox tests conducted in the Swiss Alps showed that the light is visible to the naked eye one kilometre away.

"You will miss first food, then water, then your family before you miss the battery," says Thomas Baillod, Victorinox's regional manager for the Middle East, as he demonstrates the watch. "Three weeks is a lot. During these three weeks, the watch will be flashing constantly."

With normal usage, the battery's watch will last from one year to 18 months.

Other functions include dial illumination, an LED light for showing the way and a "strobe" light for alerting those nearby to the wearer's presence. The company also decided to allow the wearer to be able to deactivate the red light that blinks every 10 seconds to help the owner locate it should they take it off in a darkened room.

It is on sale for Dh2,600 (US$707) at Seddiqi stores.

lgutcher@thenational.ae