Mutewatch Hits New England at Natick Brookstone

The latest in gadget watches is making its debut in New England right here in Natick, as Brookstone is now carrying the Mutewatch.

Mutewatch's debut in Brookstone comes after five years of hard work by a young Swedish woman who is determined to see her idea come to fruition and target the masses.

Mai-Li Hammargren was a student at the Stockholm School of Economics in 2007-08 when there was a competition in which the winner would receive 50 airline tickets. A lover of travel, there was no doubt she was going to enter. The competition: find an everyday problem and fix it.

Hammargren thought back to a boyfriend she had once had and how the sound of the alarm clock always annoyed him so much. With that, she used her background in fashion (she's modeled all over the world), electronics (she used to sell MP3 players for Sony) and project management to put her thoughts together to form a concept and then bring it to fruition.

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While she didn't win the competition (she came in second), an idea was firmly planted that she wanted to continue working on.

"Everyone started to support me," said Hammargren, who co-founded Mutewatch with Oscar Ritzen Praglowski and Gustav Hammargren.

So what is the Mutewatch?

It's a watch with a hidden touch screen that you can adjust the clock, alarm or timer by swiping or tapping the screen. The screen automatically adapts to surrounding light intensity. It has an adjustable rubber wristband. In addition, the watch plugs into a computer with a USB cable to charge the battery, which holds the charge for 3-4 days depending on use. It takes about two hours to charge.

"We've always thought of the user," Hammargren said about the process they went through when designing the watch. "Having a regular watch battery wouldn't be powerful enough."

Mutewatch was launched in 2011, and prior to being available at the Natick Brookstone, they have been sold mostly at design stores like the Museum of Modern Art Store.

Mutewatch has also received several accolades in its short history, including being names one of the top 20 new innovations by Swedish Innovations.

The Mutewatch retails for $259 and comes with the charger. In addition to being available at the Natick Brookstone, you can also purchase it directly from the Mutewatch website, where you can also find out more information on the product.