The Bradley ball bearing watch

Ball bearings: prominent in Yo-Yos, the domestic terror of Kevin McAllister, and now the face of a splendid new watch.

Named after ex-US Navy officer Bradley Snyder who lost his eyesight in Afghanistan in 2011 before going on to win gold and silver medals at London’s 2012 Paralympic Games, the Bradley Watch was originally designed to aid the blind using two ball bearings on different tracks to replicate minute and hour hands.

The thoughtful and ground-breaking concept was conceived by David Zacher and a team of fellow students at the Rhode Island School Of Design, who put up on Kick-starter where it's since attracted a hefty backing from not only the visually impaired but the regularly sighted, too.

Thanks to this successful campaign, the Bradley Watch is getting a general release in June, and is to be marketed as a gentleman’s watch ‘built for discretion, given on that wearers will be able to check the time without anyone noticing.

Stealthily checking your wrist during tedious office meetings will never be the same again.