Tokyo | Electromechanical display technologies are back in style, adding a retro touch to the digital world. Split-flap displays are making a comeback at Starbucks flagship stores as a retro design element, while Cartier uses flip-dot technology in its shop windows. Old school tech meets luxury jewellery and watches.
Retro technology is gaining new fans in Asia. In an era of 8K MicroLED screens, electromechanical display boards using flip-dot technology offer a refreshing change. invidis rediscovered flip-dot displays at Cartier in the Ginza Six department store in the heart of Tokyo.
The Cartier boutique in the luxury department store Ginza Six, which opened two years ago, is tucked away in a corner shop on the second floor. But the trip is worth it, because Cartier fitted the shop window with a large-format flip-dot display. The technology is not sufficient for moving images, but every few seconds the magnetically controllable metal plates rush to a new motif.
A soothing sound followed by a satisfying feeling when hundreds, if not thousands of round metal plates rotate on their own axis and change color. At Cartier, there are motifs and slogans in white and gold. It’s fun to watch and hardly any of the passers-by can escape the fascination of Flip-Dot. Whether MicroLED displays will exert a similar fascination in 30 years?
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We discovered another Flip Dot installation in Seoul at the airport. Much larger but similarly retro. It’s just fun to experience the change in content:
