The common denominator that all independent high-end watchmakers share, is, in my opinion, a talent in playing with geometry and mathematics, and in breaking every rule about traditional hour visualization.
These watchmakers represent indeed the present (and the future) of Swiss watchmaking. MCT, an acronym for Manufacture Contemporaine du Temps, has played from its very beginning with the number 3 and with digital hour visualization.
Four small machines are placed at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock, and they are made with 5 triangular prisms that support 3 numbers each. The central minute hand activates the hour change. The first 30 minutes on the clock activate the mechanism for the following hour, and the second 30 minutes allow the next hour to be visualized through a C-shape that rotates counter clockwise; watch this video:
This timepiece therefore supports a 12-hour visualization. I do admit that I haven’t quite understood how day and night are split, but since I am curious, I can’t wait to discover it at Baselworld. For the first time, this complication is being enclosed in a round case made of pink or white gold in the MCT Sequential Two S200, a new timepiece which upholds the distinctive elements of the MCT timepieces: the shape of the lugs and the sapphire crystal inlay on the case in order to enjoy the beauty of its mechanics. Mechanics in this timepiece are the absolute protagonists.
It is not by coincidence that the MCT Sequential Two S200 is the result of consistent improvements in gearing’s efficiency through an updated teeth profile design, as there are many gearings and they are more important in this timepiece than in any other mechanical timepiece: their precision and efficiency are crucial.
There are 507 parts needed to assemble the first automatic in-house caliber which winds thanks to a gold micro-rotor which in turn creates little inertia and no winding noise on the wrist.
A seemingly foolish question would be: is this timepiece “Swiss made”? No it is much more, since 100% of the MCT Sequential Two S200‘s components are made in Switzerland. High end watchmaking that watch enthusiasts and connoisseurs are looking for is here!
(Photo credit: MCT)
Gaetano C. @Horbiter®
