Feature: Top Four Futuristic Watches
Sat here in the present, it's hard to tell just how quickly the future has come upon us, yet a cursory glimpse into the past tells an interesting story. Imagine a world just a hundred years prior and it comes as quite a shock to realise that indoor plumbing and electricity were only just being introduced, and that the average life expectancy was less than fifty. In the last ten years, however, technology has grown at a frightening rate, making one thing very clear: the future is now, and that includes watchmaking.
De Bethune DB28 Aiguille d,Or
Our first taste of the world of tomorrow comes courtesy of De Bethune, watchmaker, futurist and purveyor of some of the most mind-blowing watch designs this side of the technological singularity. Appreciating the DB28 you see here is a feat that must be attempted in several sittings, drinking in the details that appear layer upon layer, shapes that evolve and grow from every angle. It is, quite simply, a masterpiece, and I'm not the only one to think so, because the DB28 is a winner of the coveted Aiguille d'Or award.
There's not a detail here that doesn’t benefit from the space-age touch of De Bethune: the balance wheel is made from white gold and silicon; the moon phase is a suspended ball; and the lugs are spring loaded to fit perfectly to the wrist. Whichever way you look at it, the DB28 is a picture of sumptuous elegance in curving, polished titanium that comes straight from the future. It's going to be a hard act for the masters at De Bethune to follow, and I look forward to seeing what they come up with next.
Watch Spec
Case: Titanium Dimensions: 42.6mm dia Crystal: Anti-reflective coated synthetic sapphire Water Resistance: N/A Movement: Cal. DB 2115, manual Frequency: 28,800 vph Power reserve: 6 days Functions: Time, moonphase, power reserve
Did You Know? Despite its immense capabilities, De Bethune has only been in existence since 2002. In that time, founders David Zanetta and Denis Flageollet have filed nine patents, made thirteen calibres and premiered fifteen innovations, an exceptional track record for a watchmaker of a hundred years, let alone eleven.
Romain Jerome Moon Orbiter
Romain Jerome's Moon Orbiter is the deep-space mining vessel to De Bethune's sleek galactic yacht, an imposing industrial titan that's every bit as forward-thinking. What you see is the flying tourbillon, the digitalized star field punched into the dial, the power reserve sweeping across the bottom portion of the case. All's well, but what's even more impressive is what you don’t see. The name 'Moon Orbiter' isn't just an arbitrary title based on its space-age aesthetics - this RJ has been to the moon. Well, parts of it have, because melded into the case is genuine metal from Apollo 11 and actual fragments of moon dust (although the conspiracy theorists may have their doubts).
It's easy to visualise the future as a sleek, chrome-plated utopia, but what Romain Jerome have done here is imagine the realism of a future where hulking craft are needed to do difficult, dirty jobs, and that sense of gritty engineering is imbued spectacularly. Right down to the thick compressors under the flexible lugs, the Moon Orbiter is a treat to make any sci-fi nut drool.
Watch Spec
Case: Steel Dimensions: 44.5mm x 48.5mm Crystal: Anti-reflective coated synthetic sapphire Water Resistance: N/A Movement: unnamed, automatic Frequency: 28,800 vph Power reserve: 42 hours Functions: Time, flying tourbillon, power reserve
Did You Know? Romain Jerome has used a variety of weird and wonderful materials in its 'DNA of famous legends' collection, including pieces of the Statue of Liberty, ash from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, metal from the infamous DMC DeLorean, fragments from the Titanic and genuine alien bone. We may have made that last one up.
SevenFriday P1-2
Our next otherworldly visitor from the distant future heralds from a galaxy known as SevenFriday, but there's something a little different about this ultramodern offering. It doesn't have a laser that shines the time directly into your brain or anything like that, but its trump card is equally as impressive: the P1-2 costs less than £800. That's not a typo; this watch can genuinely be yours for less than £800. SevenFriday openly admit to saving costs by using a Japanese Miyota movement and mineral glass instead of sapphire, but instead of absorbing these savings as profit, they're passed on to the buyer.
A gracious and refreshing business model no doubt, but does the watch stand up in present company? Well, no, of course it doesn't, but it is by no means a bad watch. In fact it's very good, and would still attract sales at three times the price. What makes it a winner is the intuitive styling (even though some people take a while to work out how to read the time) and the attention to detail, which holds up well to close scrutiny. It is a very impressive watch indeed.
Watch Spec
Case: PVD coated steel Dimensions: 47mm x 47.5mm Crystal: Anti-reflective coated mineral glass Water Resistance: 30m Movement: Miyota 82S7, automatic Frequency: 21,600 vph 8Power reserve:* 40 hours Functions: Time, 24hr
Did You Know? Having only just celebrated its second birthday, SevenFriday is the youngest of the young here, but don't let that fool you into thinking the brand is naïve. Founder Daniel Niederer spent a year and a half perfecting his design, creating, as he calls it, an 'impressive mechanical display of visual complications'.
Urwerk UR-210
It's hard not to be excited by an Urwerk. The name, the look, the complications -everything is about drama, digging deep into the pleasure centres of any budding engineer's brain. What's surprising is that the UR-210 is actually quite dainty, making its ingenious display even more remarkable. It certainly looks cool, but how do you tell the time? Very simply: the hour satellite slides around in the needle-nosed carrousel, which points to the minute as it travels. When the carrousel meets the end of the minute track, it snaps back to the beginning, ready to receive the next hour. Technically, it's a digital watch, and seeing it all work together so flawlessly makes for a head-scratching moment.
All these futuristic watches are absolutely fantastic, but the Urwerk has something about it that feels the most special. It can't compete with the De Bethune's beauty, nor the Romaine Jerome's exotic construction, and especially not the SevenFriday's price, but what it does do is take everything that's great about mechanical watches and pump it up to eleven. I don't know what the future holds, but I sure hope it's as extraordinary as this Urwerk.
Watch Spec
Case: Titanium and steel Dimensions: 43.8mm x 53.6mm, 17.8mm thick Crystal: Anti-reflective coated synthetic sapphire Water Resistance: 30m Movement: UR-7.10, automatic Frequency: 28,800 vph Power reserve: 39 hours Functions: Revolving satellite time with retrograde minute hand, power reserve indicator, winding efficiency indicator, winding efficiency selector
Did You Know? In 2003, Harry Winston CEO Maximilian Büsser commissioned Urwerk founders Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei to create number five in the Opus range, which they did, admirably, introducing their now trademark cuboid satellite complication. Since then, Max founded MB&F, and collaborating again with Urwerk, created the C3H5N3O9 ZR012 experimental watch.
