Packaging Inspired by the Asphalt of the Nürburgring

Motorsport fans who like nostalgic things  could be in for a treat: The newly founded Stuttgart-based company Coblor has developed an „asphalt clock.“ A drill core from the road surface of the legendary Nürburgring is used to create the dials of the mechanical watch called „Nürburgring Asphalt 1.“ The packaging was adapted to the theme.

Coblor approached „the paper nerds“ from Braun Denk & Werk with the request for a suitable special solution for the packaging of the Nurbürgring watch. Nikolas Radis, managing director of Coblor, wanted Braun to provide packaging that both „rocks“ and is an innovation, the company informs. Through the choice of material, the so-called multilayer packaging is visually and haptically inspired by the rustic, valuable, and very durable road surface. It is made from European FSC-certified through-dyed cardboard and hardboard. Just as the asphalt of the Nürburgring’s road surface is made up of many overlapping layers, so is the packaging, the company says. „Layer upon layer of anthracite through-dyed recycled hardboard, 2 mm thick, each individually and precisely die-cut into shape and  laminated,“ it tells the story of the race track.

Packaging as a stage

The square packaging is an eye-catcher. When you open the cuboid, increasingly smaller centric steps, like the tiers of an arena, draw your eye to the watch. The Coblor brand color, a striking red, has been incorporated into the layers of the packaging with solid-colored premium cardboard – not printed on it. The compartments for the certificate of authenticity and the information brochure are an integral part of the packaging and have multiple functions. They form the lid, act as the closure and provide a precisely fitting space for storage. As a reminiscence of the traces that the real asphalt bears as a distinction of every race run, the typography and graphic elements of the packaging are foil-stamped into the material. A dimensional sketch of the race track is the final closing element. This new packaging works both lying down and standing up. It consists of over 90 percent recycled material, which can be returned to the Recycling loop.