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Francis J.
This is an interesting example of cross-disciplinary design, where virtual cues from one discipline are adapted to another disciplin. The team of designers and engineers responsible for the award-winning truck Volvo FH was given the task to develop driver gear that drew inspiration on the vehicle.
The Driver Performance Watch has been designed by Patrick Palovaara, Senior Designer at Volvo Truck’s studio in Gothenburg, Sweden.
“The watch design has been inspired by elements from the new Volvo truck, such as the pattern of the truck’s interior and the signature Volvo fonts in the truck’s instrument cluster. The watch’s proportions and the way it sits on the wrist has also been designed to give the watch a stance reminiscent of the new Volvo FH.”
The movement is likely a Swiss Parts Ronda 5021.D.
Available on VolvoMerchandise.co.uk at GBP 132.00. Apparently all models are already sold out!
At Watchprojects.com, we like to discuss watchmaking in the second part of the XX century. A lot of trends have appeared during that era, and their precursors don’t always get the recognition they deserve. In 2010, editor Francis J. had an interesting correspondence with Mister Brendon Nunes, founder of Trintec Industries Inc. , which led to the publication of several entries about Trintec’s current and upcoming “instrument” watches. As much as we described Mister Nunes as one of the precursors of the “instrument” watch style, we would like to introduce Formex‘ founder Hans Peter Grädel, another visionnary entrepreneur who was one of the precursors of what we call the “industrial” watch style.
The Formex official web site is located at: www.formexwatch.com
In 2001, Richard Mille sucessfully launched the eponymous company that made the “industrial” watch style popular. The designs of its first model, the RM 001, borrowed cues and materials from the fields of automotive racing and aviation, with a profuse use of hollow parts and visible screws and bolts. Mister Mille’s first collection was also distinctive because of its solidity, and the entrepreneur liked to throw his prototype across the room during press releases to demonstrate its ruggedness. Younger brands like Cvstos, Rebellion or Vergo Avius (reviewed on Watchprojects.com), followed a similar artistic path.
However, back in the 1990′s, engineer Hans Peter Grädel had already been working on the idea of an indestructible watch. The comparison with Richard Mille stops here, because Formex uses standard ETA movements, while Richard Mille features high-end custom movements. Herr Grädel wanted to integrated a suspension in the case construction, to allow it to better withstand shocks and vibrations.
Hans Peter Grädel launched his own watch company in 1999 and released the 4Speed collection with a very distinctive design. The watch used sand-blasted metal surfaces and bolts to remind of automotive and aviation technology. The design met with success and allowed Mister Grädel to expand his collections into Air, Land and Water sub-categories.
Targeted at motorpsorts, the second collection featured a new suspension system that allows to rotate the case on itself to mainain an optimal reading angle onboard a vehicle. The HPG collection features the Fast Track 900 model, available with a standard and a skeleton chronograph. The Grand Prix collection uses Formex’ signature “bullhead” crown located at 12 o’clock.
The Fast Track models start at USD 4’900.- and the Grand Prix at USD 8’400.-.
Designed as an entry-price option, the 4Classic collection does not feature the suspension system. It relies upon new automatic calibres designed and manufactured by Miyota, Citizen Watch’s movement factory. Regarding this novelty collection, engineer Grädel had this to say:
“I wanted to showcase the excellent quality of Miyota calibers as an alternative to our Swiss movements. The challenge was there for the taking: to find a common denominator for Swiss Design and Japanese technology. We look forward to the market’s response to our very first collection without the patented suspension system”.
Models use the Miyota 9015, an automatic “high-beat” (28.800 A/h) movement designed as an alternative to ETA’s 2892-A2, the Miyota 90S5 (an open-heart, date-less version of the 9015), and the Miyota 9100 (which uses a complication module on top of the 9015 platform).
Personnally, I have always found the early 4Speed collection a bit too cluttered. However, I must admit that the level of technology involved is quite impressive. The watches go beyond mere looks to feature patented constructions. The pricing of the 4Classic collection is somewhere below the USD 1’000.- mark, which give it a lot of appeal.
I suggest browsing through Formex’ web site to get a better idea of their range of timepieces.
Located near München, Germany, ROTOR Uhren is specialized in affordable German military timepieces.
Being a lover of watches himself, founder Frank Schiffner began selling watches with his own brand in 2004 through Direct Marketing (mail order). Herr Schiffner has connections with local suppliers, and he tries to source the finest components to build watches at affordable prices.
The movements are Swiss, but Herr Schiffner has no problem with signing them ”Made in Germany”. The German industry has an excellent reputation, and watches entirely made in the country are perecived as being top grade.
The designs are hardly something off the beaten paths: ROTOR Uhren replicates some of the most significant pieces of German watchmaking History that were developped for the national armed forces. The collections are divided into 3 categories: Flight watches, Classic watches and Diving watches.
The Direct Marketing approach allows ROTOR Uhren to remove middlemen between factory and consumer, and thus keep prices low. Prices go from EUR 299 for an automatic watch to EUR 799 for the automatic chronograph. I found the website Uhrbox.de, where ROTOR watches can be purchased.
I usually don’t write about quartz watches, but a US-based company called Bertucci caught my attention with their very nice field timepieces.
Incorporated in 2003, Bertucci watches gradually specialized in titanium timepieces. They now offer 5 distinct surface finishing on the high-performance material: matte titanium, high polish titanium, black titanium, brushed titanium and “earth” titanium.
Their 2004 collection A-2T Original Classics was a success and the design implemented several details previously found in field military watches, notably:
Bertucci’s crown at 4 o’clock has become a signature on most of its collections, with the exception of the G-1T Durato, which is a digital watch, and the analogue A-3T Vintage 42.
Some models like the A-2R DX3 Field use resin for the case, and the brand also designed an elastomer cover aimed at better protecting the watch from scratches. The Pro-Guard is available in several colour, including two luminescent tones.
To complement the watch heads, the brand has a broad range of matching single-piece straps in various materials and colours.
Overall, the reason why I instantly like this brand is the fun factor of their watches. Not only are they designed to be legible and utilitarian, but it is also possible to match head design with straps to have a personnalized, well-built timepiece for the great outdoors.
All Bertucci watches are engineered and assembled in the USA. The brand mostly uses original designs, which are appropriately registered for copyright protection.
Sadly, no mechanical movements are to be found, but Bertucci uses all-metal Swiss movements which should be easy to repair, however unlikely for that to happen.
Prices start at USD 59.99 for the A-2R DX3 Field, and the most expensive piece will be the A-4T Vintage 44, which features a sapphire crystal and self-luminous tritium vials for USD 399.99. I warmly recommend browsing through their Website to get an overview.
A couple of years ago, watchmaker Christine Genesis launched her own watch brand. Trained in the German metalsmithing city of Pforzheim, Genesis spent three years working on watch repair before moving to an important after-sales workshop, where she got to play with all kinds of high-end mechanical watches for seven further years.
During their training, watchmakers learn to build a watch from scratch, from the smallest cogwheel to the full metal case. This enables them to rebuild any component needed for repair, but it also conditions the way they draw watches. Tipically, a watchmaker-turned-designer often gives priority to crafsmanship. The customer wants to buy something exclusive, so the watchmaker usually tries to reflect that in the amount of detailing involved: the result often showcases the various crafts and operations involved: beveling, blueing, casting, enameling, graining, lathing, and so on.
In the case of Christine Genesis, the watchmaker seems to have put the exclusivity in the design and quantities (every collection does not go beyond 50 items). She seem to have started with the graphical design first,which could explain why her dials are uncluttered and extremely easy to read. Genesis watches are exclusive yet understated.
In terms of movements, the watchmaker didn’t try to reinvent the wheel. She relies on ETA movements (which allowed to keep her prices well below 3000 EUR), and she complemented them with custom complication modules from suppliers like Dubois Dépraz or Soprod. On some collection, like the Genesis Lemania, the watchmaker got hold of two dozen pieces of one of the World’s nicest slim movements: the Lemania 8810 with double barrell and automatic winding.
To add fun to the experience, Christine Genesis also organises seminars where watch enthusiasts spend 2 days learning basic watchmaking skills and testing on awatch that they will bring home.
The trade mark RundenMeister was successfully registered in Summer 2008. I don’t know if the brand ever existed before, but the current owner Herr Thilo Figaj cleverly decided to specialize it in motorsport timers. Perhaps the most representative product from RundenMeister is their Sequence Timer, which allows drivers to simultaneously operate up to 3 pocket stopwatches.
The accessory is designed to mount chronographs measuring between 50 and 55 mm in diameter. The brand also offers mounting accessories like a wrist clip for pocket watches. Not only is this a great accessory to their products, but it could prove very useful to every owner of a pocket watch, allowing to adapt it to the wrist.
In terms of pure timers, the brand has a broad choice of mechanical stopwatches measuring 1/5th, 1/10th, 1/50th or 1/100th of a second, which are also fitted with a custom dial to allow measurement of distance covered at average speed.
Most of their pocket and dash watches feature an extra pusher that allows to hack the mechanism for synching. Herr Figaj also worked on designing a wrist watch with the iconic RundenMeister dial.
Overall, the timing instruments are very competitively priced, starting at € 95 for a 1/5th timer up to € 625 for the gold-plated Marine wrist watch.
Located in Morteau, in the French part of the Watchmaking Valley, Designer and watchmaker Mikaël Bourgeois established his business in June 2008 with the mission of manufacturing bespoke watches for discerning customers.
To embark in such an endeavour in late 2008 was very courageous: the finantial world had started collapsing, and consumers were then thinking twice about investing in luxury goods.
Four years down the road, MB Watches is still running and has expanded its catalogue to 8 stock designs. The first 7 pieces are named after the 7 Cardinal Sins of Catholicism.
The latest piece to draw the editor’s attantion is the Thunderbird, a mechanical chronograph that will be released in an exclusive edition of 8 pieces.
Built with a Valjoux 7751 calibre with a custom rotor, the watch measures 43.0 mm in diameter with a thickness of 13.8 mm.
The case construction use a PVD-coated bezel and caseback that also serves a structural purpose. Double-head screws located at 2:30, 3:30, 8:30 and 9:30 o’clock hold the case together and keep it watertight. This type of construction undoubtly takes cues from engine design, but at the same time it remains simple and unobtrusive.
The dial layout is minimalistic, with a chapter ring showing the minutes track and bevelled indexes for the hours. The registers have the least markings possible although they still a llow to tell time. The hands are hollow to allow reading even when they overlap.
No information on pricing, but Mister Bourgeois can be contacted through his Website.
Working above some of the deepest oil fields across the world , Lorne Gifford often finds himself in extremely hostile climates and environments. Having wreked several watches himself, the professional subsea engineer decided to create OFFSHORE Professional Classic Chronographs Ltd. to design timepieces that could withstand his extreme lifestyle.
The result is the Field Engineer, a 44 mm stainless steel chronograph built with a customized ETA 7750 calibre. Gifford used Fibonacci_numbers to achieve a perfect balance between the different elements of the case and the display. Sapphire crystal is used on the front and the back of the case.
The crown and the pushed have been engraved with a “pineapple” texture that guarantees optimal grip even when the watch is covered by a fluid like water or oil. Instead of using a black background, Gifford decided to have a silvery finish cutout by segments of one hour. In low light condition, the large hands filled with Super-Luminova do still offer a good visibility.
Roman numerals would normally not be expected on such a technical watch, but it looks like the engineer wanted the timepiece to look elegant even though it can dive as deep as 300 meter. The mathematical rigor through which the watch was designed gave up a result that is worthy of any respectable horological designer.
The Field Engineer comes with a steel bracelet and a hybrid strap made with a rubber frame and some silicone-impregnated leather that provides great resistance to tear and humidity.
Judging from the official pictures, Gifford also paid a lot of attention to the packaging: the watch box has a very nice leather-like finish, and it comes with a comprehensive instructions manual.
The rotor has been cutout without compromising structural integrity to feature the company’s logo… which vaguely reminds of a certain Italian sports car.
The watch can be bought on the OFFSHORE website at the price of GBP 1475.00.
Amongst micro-brands, Prometheus (www.prometheuswatch.com) is very prolific. After the Ocean Diver, Recon 5 and Manta Ray, this microbrew brand has been expanding their collection range with new additions:
Featuring tritium vials, this nautical watch uses an ST2130 movement made by Tianjin Seagull. Tritium vials use the radioactive decay of tritium to keep the compound shining. The effect is 10 times brighter than non-radioactive compounds and it lasts 25 years. The vials are built to keep radioactivity well below minimum rates, making those watches perfectly safe.
The ST2130 is considered to be a clone of the ubiquitous Swiss ETA 2824-2. Selling between 279.00 EUR and 299.00 EUR (TAX excluded), the watch is available with black, orange or white dial. The finishing is available in brushed steel or black PVD. The compatibility between the ST2130 and the ETA 2824-2 leaves owners of a Baiji the possibility to upgrade to the ETA 2824-2.
Selling at 409.00 EUR (TAX excluded), the Trireme is a Swiss Made nautical watch featuring the Swiss ETA 2824-2 movement. The timepiece is available with black and white dial, and either is available with “sword” or ”plongeur” hands. The “sword” hands became famous thanks to the iconic 1976 Rolex Submariner 5513 “Milsub” and Omega Seamaster 300. The “plongeur” hands were made popular after their use on the Omega Seamaster 600 “PloProf”. Prometheus apparently took inspiration from the Seamaster Jacques Cousteau (named after one of the pioneers of SCUBA diving) to created this 1970′s themed design.
The Signatura is a Swiss Made automatic watch featuring a Sellita SW220 movement, a Swiss Made clone built with ETA 2836 tooling. The Signatura is available at 389.00 EUR (TAX excluded) with a black dial or a white dial. The case back dispays the movement and the custom rotor.
The brand has also developped a limited version of its S80 model for the Spanish-speaking Relojistas.com forum.
Based in Barcelona, Spain, watchmaker Sergio Fernandez Pons named his company after the Spanish name of a shark species: Tiburón Watch. The brand’s mission is to offer high quality diver, dual-time, military and classic watches. Their motto is “Swiss Heart and Barcelona Design”.
Their first collection, the HammerHead Shark, is built in Germany and features a Swiss automatic ETA 2824-2. Measuring 43 mm in diameter by 14 mm of thickness, the watch is water-resistant to 20 bar.
The design features an inner rotating ring that is controlled by the crown located at 10 o’clock. The watch is sold with both the stainless steel bracelet and the matching orange silicone strap.
Selling at 499 EUR, the HammerHead seems to represents a very good value for money. The orange dial is the first model available on their website, and it is released as a limited edition of 50 pieces.
