Elite Traveler March-April 2015

DISCOVER

Technology

The MadMax clock There’s something irresistible about a successful blend of old and new. With its Soviet-era East German technology, the Nixie Machine hints at a brilliant lost future. Six cold cathode tubes (glass tubes filled with gases, primarily including neon, at low pressure) house a wire-mesh anode and layered cathodes shaped like the numerals 0-9, which light up to tell the time or date. This is combined with GPS technology to ensure the local time is displayed with total accuracy. The Nixie Machine is the latest offering from Geneva’s M.A.D. Gallery (Mechanical Art Devices), the retail and gallery space curated by MB&F, creator of some of the most outlandish watches and music systems on the market. This is the latest in a series of Nixie Tube-based mechanical sculptures for M.A.D. by German artist Frank Buchwald, pictured left. Featuring an alarm, the choice of 24- or 12-hour clock, automatic time and date setting (as well as a manual option) and a night power-down mode (where the tubes and internal power can switch off for a pre-determined time to preserve the tubes and save energy, while the internal clock keeps running), this is a fully functioning clock that doubles as an amazing piece of mechanical sculptural art. Production will be limited to just 12 pieces. $26,000 mbandf.com/mad-gallery/creators/nixie-machine

CLOUD BUSTERS

help you see through the murk in real time, be it fog, snow, rain or even darkness. Additional credentials include a non-slip, dust- and water- resistant shell designed for use with gloves, not to mention an electronic compass, GPS and high-definition photo and video capability. Whether tracking iguanas on the Galápagos Islands or studying the form at the Kentucky Derby, these binoculars will give you the clearest view of the action, whatever the outlook. $4,200, ricoh.com

The chief gadget of any self-respecting explorer – binoculars – have largely managed to evade electronic embellishment in the digital age, preferring the superior eyeglass found in traditional designs to the de rigueur image-stabilizing mega zooms of contemporary cameras. But there is one scenario when even the best binoculars fail – namely bad weather. Ricoh’s NV-10A Enhanced Binoculars overcome meteorological intrusion by employing “atmospheric interference reduction” technology to