The ubiquity of smartphones is slowly but surely making wristwatches an obsolete accessory. And this is sad, because they have a long and rich history, and the most expensive wristwatches are true works of art.
In this rating we have collected 10 Most Unusual Clock Mechanisms, which exemplify creative and innovative design in the modern era. And they all strive to keep our love for watches alive.
10. Ora Unica
Price - $155
These inexpensive (compared to most other participants in the rating) watches were created by the Swiss company Nava Design. And looking at them, answering the question: "What time is it?" is not so easy. After all, instead of the usual hours and minutes on the dial of the Ora Unica, a curved line is visible, more reminiscent of a carelessly twisted rope.
As the time changes, this "rope" rotates, reshaping the entire design of the dial. Its inner end is responsible for the hours, the outer end for the minutes.
This constantly rotating piece of art is both precise 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 castle in Winchester. The dial features 12 miniature gold knights replacing the traditional hour markers. Each is hand-carved and represents a character from the Arthurian legend.
The back of the watch is engraved in a circle with the solemn oath of the Knights of the Round Table, 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 true masterpiece, showing us a 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 young, and the father tenderly covers the newly hatched baby with his wing. And in the background, water flows slowly. What's there to tell, see for yourself!
Bird Repeater is released in two versions (8 pieces each): with a case made of white and red gold. The watch with white gold is more expensive, as it is additionally encrusted with diamonds.
There are other versions of the Bird Repeater, with a peacock spreading its magnificent tail, a leopard resting on a branch, and a hummingbird whose wings beat 40 times per second. It is 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 determination. When the carp finally reached the top, he found the mythical "Snake Gate" and, jumping over it, was transformed into a dragon. The legend of the Dragon Gate is often used as an allegory for the drive and effort needed to overcome obstacles and achieve success in life.
The lower part of the case has a bulge due to the powerful spring in the winding barrel. Thanks to it, 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. Its dial depicts a young man standing in the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral on a starry night. The Eiffel Tower is visible in the background. When the automatons are triggered, a shooting star made of a diamond appears. With each minute and with each stroke, 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 is made of sapphire crystal. All the details on the dial were made by hand.
There is also a women's version of the watch. On its dial you can see a figure of a girl standing on the Eiffel Tower. In the background is Notre Dame - complete with stained glass. And together, this pair of watches shows a real love story about a couple who look at each other longingly from a distance.
The trick to the Hand-Painted Poetic Wish is that activating the repeater is the only way to see the time on the dial. The figure moves along 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.
This is the least expensive of the weird watches on our list. However, the low price does not prevent it from being one of the most intricate and even geeky (if you are seriously into mathematical formulas).
For budding mathematicians and victims of occasional memory loss, we've included 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.
- This is 2 in binary.
- Cube root of 27.
- This is 4 in the 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 "circles" every 12 hours, the digital countdown begins after the hour hand reaches 12. This is an arithmetic value modulo 12. 10mod12 is 10:00, and 16mod12 is 4:00.
- This is the Legendre Constant, which is 1, so this equation becomes the square root of 121, which is 11.
- This is 12 in hexadecimal.
4. Wingt Mille
Price: $213.
In homage to the courageous Captain Nemo, the Vingt Mille watch depicts the terrifying attack of the giant squid from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. And two men held by the squid indicate the hours and minutes.
3. Boombox
Price: $90.
If you are looking for the most unusual retro-style wristwatch, check out the Boombox Watch. As the name suggests, it is a boombox-shaped watch with a red LED display and buttons. Its body is made of black or silver metal.
Just don't expect the Boombox Watch to play music. It's just a stylish and unusual accessory that looks cool and can tell time.
2. MB&F Horological Machine No. 6 Space Pirate
Price: $230,000.
MB&F watches are designed from the ground up for a small circle of people, not the masses. They are produced in limited editions and are priced in the tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is a small company that mixes contemporary art with watchmaking, resulting in things like the Horological Machine No. 6.
Their appearance was inspired by the animated series Capitaine Flam. The main character had a spaceship called "Comet", which consisted of two spheres connected to each other. Now, 50 lucky people can wear the miniature spaceship in a titanium case (this is the number of Space Pirates released).
1. Midnight Planetarium
Price: $245,000.
Number one in our rating of the most amazing watches in the world is a model that makes you want to exclaim: "You're just space, baby!" The Midnight Planetarium watch allows you to watch the movement of the six largest planets of the solar system in real time. Each of them is depicted by a precious stone:
- Earth - turquoise;
- Mercury - serpentinite;
- Venus – chloromelanite;
- Mars – red jasper;
- Jupiter - blue agate;
- Saturn - lavulite.
Uranus and Neptune are missing, since the first planet would take 84 years to revolve around the Sun, and the second would take as much as 164.
It took watchmakers 396 parts and about three years of painstaking work to create this beautiful accessory.
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