The renaissance of the mechanical watch has led to some very innovative new complications. John C. Ermel, an architect and designer, decided to focus on creating a watch that would indicate the current time on a 24 hour scale - rather than follow the conventional route of utilizing an hour hand that makes one revolution every 24 hours instead of 12, John invented and patented a mechanism, dubbed the Cyclos DualPhase module, that would systematically extend and retract the hour hand over the course of two revolutions around the dial. Utilizing this mechanism and an arrangement of numbers on a 'Pascal's Spiral' - a sine curve of sorts with a cycle of 24 hours that defines the passing of one calendar day, Ermel created a watch that clearly defines the exact time of day or night in a very innovative yet succinct way.
I really like the fact that unlike all other 24 hour watches, you can instinctively ascertain the time with a quick glance at the dial of the Cyclos since the hour hand is always in a conventional space (it's just longer at 10 AM than it is at 10 PM).
The Cyclos a.m./p.m. utilizes arabic numerals arranged on a scale that is half blue and half red - the blue half denotes post meridian time (PM) and the red ante meridian (AM). Set against a black field, these colors also add a lot of panache to the dial.
The powerplant of the a.m./p.m. DualPhase is an ETA caliber 2892-A2 automatic movement. It is modified to incorporate the DualPhase module, finished with perlage, decorated with Geneva stripes and COSC'd.
The case of the Cyclos a.m./p.m. is stainless steel and 39mm in diameter, it is water resistant to 50 meters and has both a sapphire crystal and display back.
The MSRP of the Cyclos a.m./p.m. is $9,600 USD - a real value given the technical complexity and excellent fit and finish of this watch.
Comments