Any kind of celebration is a good occasion for renowned brands to show off their skills in the form of products or services that are closely related to the celebrated notion. Hublot is here to prove it, in the form of a movement tribute to the Antikythera mechanism. They’ve unveiled the project on the occasion of the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris, half an year ago.
Describing the positions and movements of our moon and the soon, the mechanism was first discovered in 1900 within Greek waters, and reportedly dates back to the second century BC. It used to be a highly astronomical calculator, now being honored by the exquisite watch manufacturer Hublot.
They’ve crafted a replica of the mechanism in miniature, what came out being a mechanism so light that you can wear it on the wrist. A tourbillion escapement system has been added, along with a powerful 5-day power reserve that reflects the advanced technology of our times, minutes and hours.
The Antikythera Watch was presented recently at Baselworld 2012. Jean-Claude Biver has strictly related that the timepiece will only be produced in a limited edition of just 4 identical pieces. They will be distributed to four lucky owners, as shown in the following description.
The first one, now being shown at Basel, will be given to the Athens Museum, where it’s to be exhibited alongside the actual fragments of the ancient Antikythera Mechanism. The second one will be auctioned, the sum earned for it due to being sent to the Archaeological Museum of Athens, the third watch will serve as display-piece at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris, while the fourth will be held by Hublot and exposed at their own museum.
In terms of detailing, the timepiece resists to a water pressure of 3 atmospheres, equivalent to a depth of around 30 meters, and presents 2 facetted sapphire crystals which beautifully display the twin-sided movement. The original Antikythera movement used to be shaped as a cross, thus the two crowns the watch sports are both decked with a cross.
The first crown sets the time and winds the watch, being positioned at 6 o’clock, while the second one corrects the mechanism’s astronomical indications at lies at the 12 o’clock spot. The correction mechanism works by indexing the moon’s age in direct relation with the actual position of the sun. In addition, the crowns are both secured in order to prevent accidental changes in the settings, the complexity of the data being very high.
To protect the mechanism, the manufacturer placed it within a micro-blasted titanium case (49.9 mm long, 49.05 mm wide and 20.83 mm thick) with facetted finish, to go with the sapphire crystals. As an elegant and useful addition, the strap is made of rubber and was strictly designed for this model only. One last thing that needs mentioning is that the crowns, bezel, case, lateral inserts and case-back are all made of highly-durable micro-blasted titanium.
This extremely exquisite timepiece will probably join history along with other extremely rare units. With only one piece to be actually worn, the figure who’ll be the lucky auction winner will surely have a strong cause to brag about.
[Hublot]
