The ubiquity of the smartphone is slowly but surely making the wristwatch an obsolete accessory. And this is sad, because they have a long and rich history, and most expensive wristwatch are real works of art.
In this rating, we have collected 10 most unusual watch movementsthat exemplify creative and innovative design in the modern era. And they all strive to maintain our love for watches.
10. Ora Unica
Price - $ 155
These inexpensive (compared to most of the other participants in the rating) watches were created by the Swiss company Nava Design. And looking at them to answer the question: "What time is it?" not so easy. Indeed, instead of the usual hours and minutes, the Ora Unica dial displays a curved line that looks more like a casually twisted rope.
As time changes, this "rope" rotates, rearranging the entire shape of the dial design. Its inner end is responsible for hours, the outer end for minutes.
This constantly revolving piece of art is both accurate and funny - perfect for creative people with a sense of humor.
9. Roger Dubuis Excalibur
Price - $ 270,000
If you love stories about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, then this watch from the Excalibur collection is for you. The limited edition includes 28 watches in a 1-carat rose gold case.
The dial design is inspired by a reproduction of the Round Table made for King Henry VIII and placed in the Great Hall of his Winchester Castle. On the dial, there are 12 miniature golden figures of knights, replacing the traditional hour markers. Each of them is hand-carved and represents one of the characters in the legend of King Arthur.
On the back of the watch, the solemn oath of the Knights of the Round Table is engraved in a circle, and in the center is the lacquered coat of arms of King Arthur.
8. Jaquet Droz Bird Repeater
Price - $ 493,500
This watch is not only one of the most beautiful and unusual in the world. It is also a real masterpiece that presents us with the most complex combination of a minute repeater and mechanisms that "animate" mechanical figures. The result is a miniature world living its own mechanical life.
When the gong sounds, the titmouse figures come to life. The mother feeds the cubs, and the father lovingly covers the newly hatched baby with a wing. And in the background water flows slowly. What to tell, see for yourself!
Bird Repeater is released in two versions (8 pieces each): with a case in white and red gold. Watches with white gold are more expensive, as they are additionally encrusted with diamonds.
There are other variants of Bird Repeater, with a peacock spreading its lush tail, a leopard resting on a branch and a hummingbird, whose wings make 40 beats per second. It's hard to imagine how long it took the watchmakers to create such a miracle.
7. Dragon Gate Legend
Price - $ 130,000.
This creation of the Swiss company Cornelius & Cie is perhaps the most beautiful engraved watch in the world.
The dial of this unusual watch tells the story of a carp who saw the top of a mountain and decided to reach it. He swam upstream, climbing rapids and waterfalls, not letting obstacles hinder his resolve. When the carp finally reached the top, he found the mythical "Dragon Gate", and, jumping over them, turned into a dragon.The legend of the Dragon Gate is often used as an allegory of the drive and effort required to overcome obstacles and achieve success in life.
There is a bulge in the lower part of the case due to the powerful spring in the barrel. Thanks to her, the watch has a power reserve of 8 days.
6. Hand-Painted Poetic Wish
Price - $ 390,000.
This is the perfect watch for rich romantics. Their dial depicts a young man standing in the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris on a starry night. The Eiffel Tower is visible in the background. When the automatons are triggered, a shooting star made of diamond appears. With every minute and with every blow, the star brings the young man closer to the Eiffel Tower, where his beloved is waiting for him.
The case of this magnificent watch is made of white gold, and the back case is made of sapphire crystal. All details on the dial have been hand made.
There is also a women's version of the watch. On their dial, you can see a figurine of a girl who stands on the Eiffel Tower. In the background is Notre Dame - complete with stained glass windows. Together, this pair of hours demonstrates a true love story about a couple who longingly looks at each other from a distance.
The trick of Hand-Painted Poetic Wish is that activating the repeater is the only way to see the time on the dial. The figurine follows a linear path indicating the hours, while a star or kite (in the female version) moves across the sky indicating the minutes.
5. Geeky Equation
Price - $ 49.95
These are the most inexpensive of the weird watches on our list. However, the low price does not prevent them from being one of the most intricate and even geeky (if you are seriously interested in mathematical formulas).
For aspiring mathematicians and victims of accidental memory loss, we attach a cheat sheet for each hour:
- i is equal to the square root of -1, so i ^ 2 = -1. The absolute value of -1 is 1.
- It is 2 in binary.
- Cubic root of 27.
- It is 4 in ternary number system.
- Log (20x) = 2 is equivalent to 20x = 10 ^ 2 or 20x = 100, where x = 5.
- Euler's formula: phi (p ^ k) = (p ^ k) (1- (1 / p)), where (p ^ k) = 9.
- This is a binomial coefficient, so by the formula n / k = (n!) / ((K!) (Nk)!), N / k = 7.
- This is the natural logarithm, where ln (e ^ x) = x, so ln (e ^ 8) = 8.
- This summation is 3 (1) +3 (2) = 3 + 6 = 9.
- Since the clock makes a “circle” every 12 hours, the digital countdown starts after the hour hand reaches 12. This is the arithmetic value modulo 12. 10mod12 is 10:00 and 16mod12 is 4:00.
- This is a Legendre Constant of 1, so this equation becomes the square root of 121, which is 11.
- It is 12 in hexadecimal notation.
4. Wingt Mille
Price - $ 213.
In tribute to the courageous Captain Nemo, the Vingt Mille watch shows the terrifying attack of a huge squid from the book "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". And two people, held by a squid, indicate the hours and minutes.
3. Boombox
The price is $ 90.
If you are eager to become the owner of the most unusual retro-style wristwatches, check out Boombox Watch. As the name suggests, this is a boombox watch with a red LED display and buttons. Their body is made of black or silver metal.
Just don't expect Boombox Watch to play music. This is just a stylish and unusual accessory that looks cool and knows how to show the time.
2. MB&F Horological Machine No. 6 Space Pirate
Price - $ 230,000.
MB & F watches were originally designed for a narrow circle of people, not for the general public. They are produced in limited editions and are estimated at tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is a small company that mixes contemporary art with watchmaking and the result is things like Horological Machine # 6.
Their appearance was inspired by the animated series Capitaine Flam. The main character had a spaceship "Comet", which consisted of two interconnected spheres. Now a miniature spaceship in a titanium case can be worn by 50 lucky ones (this is the edition that Space Pirate came out in).
1. Midnight Planetarium
Price - $ 245,000.
The first number in our rating of the most amazing watches in the world is a model, looking at which one wants to exclaim: "You are just space, baby!" Midnight Planetarium watch allows real-time monitoring of movement six largest planets in the solar system... Each of them is conveyed by a gem:
- The earth is turquoise;
- Mercury is serpentinite;
- Venus - chloromelanite;
- Mars is red jasper;
- Jupiter - blue agate;
- Saturn is lavulite.
There are no Uranus and Neptune, since the first planet will take 84 years to orbit the Sun, and the second as much as 164.
It took the watchmakers 396 details and about three years of painstaking work to create this beautiful accessory.