Independents
Bernard Cheong's enthusiastic 2008 post introduces the TIME ENGINE01, a watch he describes as 'one helluva watch.' His detailed breakdown of its unique case, crystal, dial, and movement highlights its unconventional design and advanced materials, positioning it as a significant piece for collectors interested in horological evolution.
Now you guys know wgy I don't have any $$$$$$ left for a watch to buy for my wife!!!
Chuickles.
The price must be PUNISHING, which is why the Bulgari 303 is still a good thing for all who want a damned good watch, but just don't wanna part with hard earned $$$ during these times.
Case
This elongated case has been designed to form an extension of the arm, a rare harmony for a watch of this size. Space shuttle or tortoise, when one looks at it from above with its asymmetrical horns and its crown, one has to admit that the watch also looks like a beetle. And an ergonomic beetle what’s more. Since the arm is always slimmer at the wrist joint, the watch is therefore thicker on the crown side.
"It's a grand complication case", Kapshitzer likes to say, “as the middle-piece is made entirely of compressed carbon fibre, the unusual formulation of which makes the case both very shockresistant and very light. It takes up to 25 minutes to machine it, compared with only three for most conventional middle-pieces".
Moreover, carbon fibre makes it possible to use other materials such as gold, for example, for the shaft and the bezel. Being asymmetrical and more spaced-out on the crown side, the horns guide the lines of the watch so that it fits more snugly with the shape of the arm.
15 parts in the case - using a total of 34 screws. And the crown consists of 20 pieces.
Crystal
the convex crystal was a real nightmare to make.
"You should make it shorter, this bit serves no purpose!", is the remark that Arny Kapshitzer heard most frequently.
Nevertheless, this famous “bit” of glass that gives the watch its characteristic shape, despite the extreme complexity of manufacturing it.
Dial
It looks like something straight out of the Star Trek series, uncannily reminiscent of the weapon or gun?
Located eccentrically towards the right of the dial, a cut-away metal piece reveals the jumping hours and minutes on two superimposed discs. The seconds are displayed at 3 o'clock on a cylinder linked directly to the crown.
Made of the same metal, it bears the name of the watch and is punctuated by a totally off-centre dot, where the brand logo is engraved.
Movement
The basic automatic movement is the Time Engine 001 (the 00 is the coaxial movement in preparation), made in cooperation with Concepto.
28,800 vibrations per hour, its oscillating weight is made of iridium alloy with a carbon-fibre plate. The telescopic crown has a bayonet fitting, is mounted on a titanium shock-absorber and directly linked to the movement.
The jumping hours and minutes module and the seconds module on the cylinder, on the other hand, are proprietary. Nothing is superfluous here: all the pieces, which are interlinked, are useful.
Although its design is complicated, this movement is simple and reliable to use. It benefits from a chamfered, a microshot-blasted and satin-lustred finishing.
Bracelet
The perfluorinated, hypoallergenic rubber that resists all acids, it is more expensive - but also unique and much more reliable over time - than the vast majority of rubbers currently available.
In addition, the clasp is recessed into the inner surface of the bracelet (an innovative system on which a patent is being filed), so as not to injure or impede the wrist. Better still, with this clasp and the profiled case the watch becomes an integral part of the wrist.
AK Geneva is currently manufacturing the watch and the first pieces will be delivered in November.
Many thanks to our friend at Star Trek...Ronald Held!!!
It is an over-the-top watch which might double as a weapon of some sort. I can envision it coming out of the proverbial "skunkworks" and serving a double agent well. Thanks for showing us but not my cup of tea. I am not sure I can even imagine how it would look on the wrist! tempusfugit
to mind, has a very 80s spacy feel to it S
I feel as if whenever I strap this Voltron looking watch on, I would need to wear some colorful vinyl skin tight spacesuit to match :P Maybe one of those suits that the characters on SpeedRacer wear. - AT
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