Okaynown for his industrial watch aesthetic, Japanese designer/watchmaker Jiro Katayama has created an intriguing tourbillon-equipped timepiece, impressed by classic Japanese electrical meters.
The Otsuka Lotec No. 9 incorporates a 30 mm x 13 mm rectangular-shaped case, with a lug-to-lug measurement of 44 mm, and a footprint much like that of a Reverso or Tank.
Visually, the design and ending don’t signify Haute horology. The horological issues and the value tag, nonetheless, do veer into the realm of luxurious watchmaking. Technically, the watch presents a powerful mixture of issues, together with leaping hours, rewinding minutes, a tourbillon, hour-striking, and an influence reserve indicator.
Hours are indicated digitally, by way of a translucent mechanical leaping hours disk mounted within the higher proper quadrant of the dial. Overlapping the hours is one other translucent disc, mounted within the middle of the dial, indicating minutes. Curiously, the minutes “rewind” in an identical strategy to a retrograde minutes mechanism, and it could finest be described as the way in which an analog physique weight scale goes again to zero, in accordance with the model. A hairspring on the middle of the disk serves because the driving drive, snapping the minute disk again to zero on the change of every hour.
Cleverly, as a manner of studying the time in low gentle, a luminous block has been embedded beneath the disks, illuminating the numerals from under.
One other complication of this distinctive piece of horology is an hour-striking perform that prompts a hammer that strikes a pipeline-shaped gong on the left aspect of the dial, producing what the model refers to as “a crisp, industrial chime.” This may be heard on the brief brand-produced video embedded under.
The ability reserve is displayed by a slim indicator on the suitable aspect of the dial, represented by a rod that strikes in or out (just under the POWER label arrow), and has a 40-hour most reserve.
Driving the features is a manually wound caliber SSGT, which is reportedly made in-house, and that measures 26.4 mm x 41.3 mm with a thickness of 10.35 mm. The 3Hz motion has 39 jewels, a free-sprung stability wheel that’s housed inside a rotating tourbillon cage, and consists of 287 complete elements.
For the central shaft of the hour disk and the hammer pivot of the hour-striking, {custom} ruby ball bearings made by MinebeaMitsumi, particularly designed for this timepiece, are used. In accordance with the model, the motion makes use of 2.5 mm ruby ball bearings custom-made by MinebeaMitsumi and 1.5 mm ball bearings (the world’s smallest), additionally made by MinebeaMitsumi.
The sapphire glass and high of the case, which is secured to the caseback by 4 distinctive double round slotted screws, is uncovered on the aspect, permitting for higher extra views of the mechanical elements and the facility reserve indicator. A big, knurled industrial crown on the highest left is used to wind and set the watch, and a push button on the decrease left flank lets you flip the automated hourly chime on or off.
The caseback is machined from a strong block of 316L stainless-steel and formed with a mild curve to suit comfortably on the wrist. The watch is water resistant to 30 meters. A black calfskin strap, that tapers on the buckle, attaches to the 26 mm extensive lugs.
“I got here up with the thought of designing this wristwatch that, very like an induction electrical meter, would allow you to see completely different mechanical components organized inside a clear case and watch them in movement. So, I got down to design the motion fully from scratch. The way in which the uncovered components current themselves would possibly remind you of issues like vacuum tubes, a digital camera viewfinder, and even the cityscape of an industrial space. With № 9, I wished to create a watch the place each transferring half underneath the sapphire crystal provides off the sensation of business equipment — its textures, vibrations, and sounds.”
The retail value is roughly $108,000. It’s unclear if that features US import tariffs.
Be taught extra at Otsuka Lotec.
Photographs by Otsuka Lotec.
