Wearables

Screw-drive titanium watch tells time in straight lines

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The MECEXP MS1001-Ti is presently on Kickstarter
MECEXP
The MECEXP MS1001-Ti is presently on Kickstarter
MECEXP
The MS1001-Ti is 50 mm tall by 42 mm wide (2 by 1.7 in) and comes with a fluorine rubber strap
MECEXP

If you're looking for a weird watch, you'd be hard pressed to find anything more unique than the MS1001-Ti. Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, it uses two auger-like screws to tell time.

Made by Hong Kong manufacturer MECEXP, the MS1001-Ti is actually the company's second watch to incorporate the quirky time-keeping technology.

Whereas the firm's previously crowdfunded MS1001 had a stainless steel body, though, the MS1001-Ti goes with titanium. As a result, even though this second model is larger than its predecessor, it's also lighter – 86 grams as opposed to 100 (3 vs 3.5 oz).

Its proprietary mechanism was inspired by the leadscrews that 3D printers use to move their nozzles back and forth across the print bed. In a nutshell, a leadscrew is a long, thin screw with a component threaded onto it, and which is turned via an electric motor. The component is held down in such a fashion that it can't simply turn along with the screw.

This means that as the motor turns the screw in one direction or the other, the threaded component moves along its length accordingly – either up and down or back and forth, depending on whether the leadscrew is positioned vertically or horizontally.

The MS1001-Ti is 50 mm tall by 42 mm wide (2 by 1.7 in) and comes with a fluorine rubber strap
MECEXP

In the case of the MS1001-Ti, there are two such screws arranged vertically side-by-side, each one with an indicator arrow that moves along it. The arrow on the left lines up with a numerical hour display and smaller minute markers, while the arrow on the right simultaneously lines up with a numerical minute display and smaller second markers.

Once every 12 hours (for the left side) or 60 minutes (right side), the arrows flyback to the beginning of their respective runs.

The display is protected beneath a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass face, and can be illuminated when necessary by an integrated LED. Power is provided by a rechargeable 270-mAh lithium-ion battery, which is claimed to be good for 35 days of use per charge. Pressing the watch's function button twice in one second causes the left arrow to temporarily display the charge level.

The whole rig is rated as being water-resistant to 30 meters (98 ft), which really just means it can withstand being splashed.

Assuming the MS1001-Ti reaches production, a pledge of US$319 will get you one. You can see it in time-telling action, in the video below.

Read more...

Source: Kickstarter

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8 comments
stevendkaplan
That has to be the stupidest, ugliest, and most unnecessarily complex watch I’ve ever seen.
Captain Danger
@stevendkaplan
Maybe so , but I find it strangely compelling.
oldpistachio
Unusual watch ... hmmm ... does time go 'round in circles? ... or in a straight line? ... hmmm ... maybe somebody will come up with a watch where the indicator stays in one place and the numbers go past ... or circle around ... time is a one way linear street ... you can't go back ... errr, no one has ever gone back, yet
oldpistachio
Yeah, the indicator stays is one place, the numbers move. AND! The indicator is an image of the timepiece's owner. Yes, way symbolic there :-(
Global
Because a sundial, or sandglass timer won't work on the go....
Nelson
It would be a good weapon in a bar fight, you could backhand your openet and not them senseless with that thing on your wrist.
JeJe
Their idea of a "very long" battery life is 35 days... the cheap Casio I'm wearing has a 10 year battery in it. No mention of accuracy on their Kickstarter... that matters for a watch...
AV
@JeJe I also wear a Casio with a 10 year battery life.
That watch is compelling to look at though.
I grew up with digital watches, so "tick tock" time is just too much of a shlep to read.