Horological Meandering

Ornatus-Mundi
[Zenith]
7136

• Show profile
• Show other posts

Zeitwinkel - Fine watchmaking with a sustainable touch!

Dear All:

every once in a while I feel blessed to witness the emerging of a concept, a brand which shows pure dedication to watchmaking, not to marketing. Being professionally involved in novel approaches to economic development, I am convinced that such concepts, albeit rare, bear the promise of long-term self-sufficienty also known as sustainability.

Luckily, I am not alone, and even more luckily during the ViennaTime exhibition last year I discovered a new brand that explicitly is built upon the notion of sustainability. I am talking of »Zeitwinkel«.

Companies like Zeitwinkel are rare today and often find themselves in danger of getting overlooked in the screaming state of affairs of the contemporary watch industry. Therefore I'd like to provide you with a introduction to this brand, its founders and of course its watches

The company was founded a couple of years ago in St. Imier, a village located in the Bernese Jura, and home (or foundation) of some of the most famous names in the Swiss watchmaking industry (e.g. Longines, Breitling). Last year, the first movement, Cal. ZW0102, a very fine handwound movement with 72h of power reserve was presented, cased in an elegant, 'timeless' 42mm case that only comes in steel. The latter is a direct consequence of the sustainability approach of Zeitwinkel, as the firm does not want to use materials that are either environmentally or ethically troublesome. Thus no gold cases (for the time being), no exotic skins for the straps.

Furthermore, Zeitwinkel watches do not come with a 'fantastic' price tag...

What was the idea behind the brand? Who are the founders? Please let me start with a short interview with Prof. Ivica Maksimovich, a professor for communication design, and Peter Nikolaus, the spokespeople of the founders (who are all private persons):


Left, Peter Nikolaus, right, Prof. Ivica Maksimovich

MB: What was the initial idea to found Zeitwinkel, and what encouraged you to center your concept around the issue of sustainability?
ZW: Starting point for us was our desire to create a honest, albeit high-grade product. A product that would resonate with people of a similar attitude towards life. We consider it worthwhile, for ourselves, to pursue provident action together with an assessment of the consequences and a thoughtful use of resources.

MB: Your practical implementation of sustainability rules out the usage of gold or exotic skins. How does the market react?
ZW: Well, we do not exclude the usage of these material a priori. However, we want to make sure that we can procure these in an environmentally and ethically acceptable form. For gold for example, its production has severe negative repercussions on the environment of the mining areas and the people living there. We might use recycled/recommissioned gold one day.

MB: The name »Zeitwinkel« is German (engl.: time angle). Why did you chose this name, particularly considering your company is located in the French speaking part of Switzerland?
ZW: A 'Zeitwinkel' is used to calculate 'true local time', i.e. the time that is measured at a specific location according to a sundial. The 12 o'clock point, i.e. the precise point in time at which a sundial shows that it is noon, varies naturally from place to place within a time zone. In addition, since the sun does not move at uniform speed on the ecliptic, but rather faster in summer and slower in winter, the »mean solar day« was introduced; this also serves as a basis for navigation. We were excited about taking on the challenge of 'true local time' and to name our brand based on the »Zeitwinkel«. Last but not least, most of the Swiss population is German-speaking!

MB: You are working together with Laurent Besse. What does you impress most with this master watchmaker?
ZW: Laurent Besse really understands our concept and is able to precisely translate our ideas into fine mechanism. Also, on a personal level, its simply a pleasure to deal with him.

MB: Zeitwinkel watches are named after distinct time angles, e.g. 181° or 273°. What is the specific meaning of those?
ZW: Each of those angles has a specific, but highly personal and private meaning to the founders ;-)

MB: Where do you see »Zeitwinkel« in five years time?
ZW: We hope that the goodwill for the brand will grow. This is for us a huge motivation to improve and develop!

Personally, I wish them all the best. I am sure that Zeitwinkel chose a difficult but most welcome approach. But finally let's take a closer look at the watches!



I selected the Model 032°, a central seconds watch with a simple date, as one of the most essential feature sets. Even more so as I can image that the company will attract many people who are not typical watch buyers (or do not even own a watch at all), but who are simply convinced by the Zeitwinkel concept. Thus, for them the Ref. 032° will be an obvious choice.

Like all Zeitwinkel watches, the Ref. 032° comes in a steel case of 42.5mm diameter.



The design is almost reduced to the max. The height is a well-specifed 11.7mm, giving the watch a flat, but not too fragile appearance:



The refinement is hidden in the detail, as exemplified with the Zeitwinkel logos on the dials, visible or disappearing depending on lightning conditions:



The case is finished with a matte treatment that contrasts nicely with the glossy bezel and lugs. Please also note the large crown:







The strap, available in rubber, calf-skin or calf-skin embossed with an alligator-like pattern, is fixed with a dedicated deployant clasp:



So what is missing? Right, the look at the back, and here the real horological marvel is revealed:



The Cal. ZW 0102 definitely rings a lot of horological bells. Let me name a few:
- 72h powerr reserve
- two mainspring barrels
- 13.5lines (30.4mm diameter), 5.7mm height
- plates made of German Silver
- Straumann hairspring
- bi-directional rotor
- developed by Laurent Besse (remember MB&F HM4?)



I have to admit that I was tremendously surprised to see this movement. We are talking here about a <5000€ watch! The finish is elaborate (for the price range), with many delights such as black-polished steel parts, Geneva stripes and anglage.



The heart of each watch of course is the escapement. Here a view on the balance (Glycidur) and the Straumann hairspring:





Note how finely made the escapement is:



The rotor carries a gold weight and features finely decorated internal flanges:



Even the script is totally unique:



So how does it wear? Well, very discrete:



Uops, sorry, wrong pic ;-) Here are the correct ones:





Besides this model, Zeitwinkel also offers a time-only model, a model with sub-seconds are 6 and a top version with double date and power reserve. As I said, the prices are very attractive, starting with €4850 (time only), €4950 (central seconds and sub-seconds) and finally going up to €7490.- for the double date.

For me, I consider Zeitwinkel to be a most welcome enrichment. I'd wish they would elaborate a bit more on their exterior designs, which I think could better match the vivant expression and lustrous glow of the movement. Furthermore, there is the danger that such restrained design goes unnoticed or is, even worse, mistaken for another brand. This means sales forgone.

But these are just my personal impressions. The concept is convincing and I hops to see much more in a not so distant future!

I hope you enjoyed this little report!

All the best,
Magnus This message has been edited by AndrewD on 2011-03-12 21:25:39 This message has been edited by MTF on 2011-03-14 10:50:32 This message has been edited by MTF on 2011-03-17 04:01:56

Site Info.