by Kyle Stults on January 25, 2010
Check out this new watch from Thomas Prescher – the “Mysertious Automatic Double Axis Tourbillon”. I recently wrote about Thomas Prescher and another exciting timepiece he created (see Qatarwatch by Thomas Prescher, 12/20/09), and I must say that this is a man whose work I admire more and more with each new timepiece I see from him. Perhaps this is his most bold timepiece yet – I’ll tell you more about it, and some good pics now, after the jump:
Aside from its obviously unique design, there is a lot to this watch, technically speaking. Note that there are two crowns on the watch – in order to keep the symmetry of the watch intact. One is for winding, the other for setting the time and the calendar. At the top of the case are the time functions – hours on the left, minutes on the right. In between them is a three dimensional (round) moon, as you see here:
Below this, in the middle of the watch is a tourbillon (a flying double asix tourbillon, to be precise):
At the bottom of the watch is a rather interesting calendar.
Now, where is the movement on this watch? Wtih the exception of the tourbillon (a flying double axis tourbillon, to be precise) and the oscillating weight, the entire movement is hidden by the bezel. Most curious – or mysterious – to me is the aforementioned calendar function on this watch. According to Prescher, the calendar can be read regardless of which side of the watch is up. This is because the calendar is integrated with a horizontal swinging oscillating weight that relies on gravity. Now while I think I understand this concept, I can’t quite fully visualize it. But basically this seems to imply that the calendar rotates on a horizontal axis such that it always faces up.
So now you know another reason why Thomas Prescher is described as a horological visionary! I can only imagine how exciting and mesmerizing this watch must be to see in action – that centrally mounted tourbillon (and it is “front and center”!) is surely the first and primary thing that grabs the attention of its wearer.
In summary, I think Thomas Prescher summed this watch up best – “A mesmerizing kinetic sculpture is born.” Indeed!
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