Watches with exposed parts of the mechanism, popularly known as "skeleton watches", are very popular among connoisseurs of Haute Horlogerie. I myself joined their ranks in 2000, when I first went to the Geneva Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) and saw these works of art live.
It is interesting that the first skeletonized mechanism appeared at the end of the 17th century and its creator was Andre-Charles Caron, the watchmaker of King Louis XV. Further development of technology contributed to the reduction in the size of watches and made it possible to pack them in a sealed case, which eliminated the need to decorate the details of the movement. And it was logical - who will see them there?
However, in the mid-1970s, a sharp rise in the popularity of skeleton watches (or as they are also called “openwork” watches) began, in contrast to the quartz watches that flooded the world market. To understand the reason for this phenomenon, it is enough to imagine a sports car Porsche 911 or Bentley Continental GT with a transparent body.
What's the point? So that everyone can not only admire the smooth contours of the body, but also see how the powerful motor works inside - the cooling system fan rotates, the pistons move together, transferring energy to the cardan shaft, and through it to the wheels of the car. Well, a watch is as much a mechanism as a sports car, and it is also incredibly interesting to watch them work. But, as you understand, this is possible only if you have a “skeleton” in your hands. The craftsman removes all excess metal from the platinum and bridges (doing the so-called “lacework”), polishes and engraves the details. One of the most beautiful models of this type for me is the Neo-Tourbillon Three Bridges Skeleton with three bridges from Girard-Perregaux, released in 2014.
Modern technology and numerical control machines have made the incredibly complex art of making such mechanisms quite accessible to many. As a result, skeleton watches turned from the category of unique devices into simply “complicated ones”, but on the other hand, this allowed watch engineers to create many interesting and unique designs in their own way. One of these is The Electricianz's The E-Gun Hybrid, which came to me for a test drive.
As you understand, the skeletonized dials mainly demonstrated the work of mechanical watches, which the manufacturers were justly proud of. Few "quartz" skeleton watches have attempted to imitate the look of mechanical movements. But it didn't look very convincing. Yes, on the one hand, there is nothing special to surprise with quartz movements… Or is there anyway?
It seems to me that, until recently, designers simply could not get out of the usual framework and look at quartz movements from a different point of view, seeing in them unique elements that could become key in design. Well, finally there is a brand that has done it and very successfully. Meet The Electricianz.
The new brand owes its existence to the Swiss designer Lauren Rufenacht, who at one time, together with Arnaud Duval, created the popular SevenFriday watch series. In 2017, they founded The Electricianz brand in the city of Biel. The design of their watches maximizes the electrical aspects of quartz movements - the battery, microcircuits and cables that transmit current.
“We will create watches that reflect the phenomenon of electricity as the main symbol of the coming new world,” Laurent Rufenacht said at the start of the project, “with all its transcendences and singularities!”
The idea was launched on the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform and was a success. True, while The Electricianz watch shows quite a conservative time (hours, minutes, seconds) with the help of hands. However, the electronic modules for these watches are developed and manufactured by the company on its own, so apparently a revolutionary breakthrough is yet to come.
Watches The E-Gun Hybrid (The Electricianz ZZ-B1C/07-CLB) turned out to be quite a unique novelty. Unlike previous models of the brand, this is not a pure quartz, but a hybrid mechanical watch. They combine an automatic movement (8N24 Skeleton Miyota) and an exclusive electronic module of their own production. In fact, it turned out to be skeleton version 2.0. If in ordinary transparent watches parts of a mechanical caliber (wheels, levers, etc.) are visible, then these also show electrical elements - wires, electronic chips, etc. They look very interesting, made at the highest level and at the same time a very affordable price.
The perfect watch for an IT director or a successful programmer. By the way, the dial is a board with LEDs, which is powered by a lithium battery. The result was a kind of hour cyborg in the spirit of the early Terminator performed by Arnold Schwarzenegger (fortunately, in a less brutal version).
The model is quite large (case diameter 43 mm), however, it should attract attention. Packaged in a PVD coated stainless steel case. The dial is protected by a mineral glass of increased strength with a double-sided anti-reflective coating. Beautiful and layered architectural dial revealing a balance wheel. By the way, The E-Gun Hybrid reminded me of the avant-garde Armin Strom and some models of the classic Glashütte Original with its shifted to the right side of the case dial.
An excellent design solution that allows you to use a small movement without masking it with any spacers to secure it in a large watch case, as is done in my Big Pilot (diameter 54 mm) from Zeno Watch Basel.
Key Point: The Electricianz is a brand obsessed with light, which is why Lauren Rufenacht implemented his concept of “night vision” into The E-Gun Hybrid. By pressing the button at 9 o'clock, you can activate the "retrograde seconds" function and start the light of ten red LEDs that flash for 5 seconds before returning to their original state. According to the designer, this helps watch wearers to "chase the dark".
Summarizing. The Swiss made very unusual watches. Yes, this watch isn't for everyone, and it's not an all-rounder like any of the traditional three-handers. I have no doubt that conservatives and retrogrades will criticize both the look and the concept, but progressive innovators and connoisseurs of non-mainstream design will really like it.
