They say that less is more, and Hong Kong-based watch firm Swiss Reimagined has taken the adage to heart with its SNGLRTY wristwatch, which uses a single hand to display both hours and minutes. The Swiss-made chronometer uses a combination of a single moving hand and counter-rotating minute dial that frames the minute readout next to the current hour.
When the first mechanical watches were crafted in the 16th century, they were so inaccurate that they only had an hour hand. As portable timepieces became more sophisticated, a minute hand was added and then a seconds hand. This gave a more accurate account of the time, but it also introduced the problem of how to display the time clearly and with little chance of error.
In fact, it's a common failing of watches that many designs have hands that are very easy to confuse for one another at a glance. Some watches, like the Rolex Submariner, use very distinctly shaped hour and minute hands to avoid confusion, but the consonant-heavy SNGLRTY takes a different approach called One Hand Indication (OHI).
Instead of using two hands, it has a single hour hand with a circle in it to frame numbers in a rotating minute disc that's designed to line up with the current hour. In this way, it's possible to read the time at a glance. Meanwhile, a separate seconds disc on the dial axis and a date window at 6 o'clock complete the set.
Engineered by Le Cercle des Horlogers SA and using movements by Sellita, SNGLRTY comes in three versions with a choice of calibre and finish options. The OHI4 is available with an automatic, 25-jewel, 28,800 vph (4 Hz) Sellita Premium Execution Fully Decorated SW300-1 movement with a 42-hour power reserve. It's available in 90 variations of finishes, as is the middle-grade OHI3 series, which differs in sporting an Elabore Execution Sellita SW300-1 with similar performance and specifications.
The most economical is the OHI2 series with a Standard Execution Sellita SW200-1 movement with 26 jewels, a 38-hour power reserve, and a more restricted choice of finishes.
All models of the SNGLRTY line are set in a 40.50 mm stainless steel case water resistant to 100 m (330 ft, 10 ATM). The premium grades have a double-domed or flat sapphire crystal and a mineral glass back. The single hand is made of diamond-cut brass with a rhodium or PVD blue finish, while the second hand is also brass with red printing.
Price and availability have not yet been announced, but the company plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign at the end of February that will run through March.
Source: Swiss Reimagined
They say that less is more, and Hong Kong-based watch firm Swiss Reimagined has taken the adage to heart with its SNGLRTY wristwatch, which uses a single hand to display both hours and minutes. The Swiss-made chronometer uses a combination of a single moving hand and counter-rotating minute dial that frames the minute readout next to the current hour.
When the first mechanical watches were crafted in the 16th century, they were so inaccurate that they only had an hour hand. As portable timepieces became more sophisticated, a minute hand was added and then a seconds hand. This gave a more accurate account of the time, but it also introduced the problem of how to display the time clearly and with little chance of error.
In fact, it's a common failing of watches that many designs have hands that are very easy to confuse for one another at a glance. Some watches, like the Rolex Submariner, use very distinctly shaped hour and minute hands to avoid confusion, but the consonant-heavy SNGLRTY takes a different approach called One Hand Indication (OHI).
Instead of using two hands, it has a single hour hand with a circle in it to frame numbers in a rotating minute disc that's designed to line up with the current hour. In this way, it's possible to read the time at a glance. Meanwhile, a separate seconds disc on the dial axis and a date window at 6 o'clock complete the set.
Engineered by Le Cercle des Horlogers SA and using movements by Sellita, SNGLRTY comes in three versions with a choice of calibre and finish options. The OHI4 is available with an automatic, 25-jewel, 28,800 vph (4 Hz) Sellita Premium Execution Fully Decorated SW300-1 movement with a 42-hour power reserve. It's available in 90 variations of finishes, as is the middle-grade OHI3 series, which differs in sporting an Elabore Execution Sellita SW300-1 with similar performance and specifications.
The most economical is the OHI2 series with a Standard Execution Sellita SW200-1 movement with 26 jewels, a 38-hour power reserve, and a more restricted choice of finishes.
All models of the SNGLRTY line are set in a 40.50 mm stainless steel case water resistant to 100 m (330 ft, 10 ATM). The premium grades have a double-domed or flat sapphire crystal and a mineral glass back. The single hand is made of diamond-cut brass with a rhodium or PVD blue finish, while the second hand is also brass with red printing.
Price and availability have not yet been announced, but the company plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign at the end of February that will run through March.
Source: Swiss Reimagined
