At first glance, the De Grisogono Meccanico DG, looks like your good-quality digital watch. Look again!This hand wound watch is actually entirely mechanical, with absolutely no digital components.
How does it work? The upper half of the watch is your conventional analog display, and the bottom portion is a numerical display controlled by 651 mechanical components. 23 cams connected to a set of gears collaborate in unison to trigger the change of hours and minutes The digital display utilizes 23 horizontally and vertically positioned micro segments. The Vertical segments are 9 mm high and weigh 25 milligrams. The Horizontal segments are 2.90 mm lengthwise and weigh a mere 10 milligrams. The segments have four sides: two opposing visible faces with colored strips and two opposing unmarked faces. As the time changed, the segments rotate by 90°, thereby displaying the correct change. The change, which can include 1 to 12 segments, occur in a blink of an eye. The watches digital numbers provide an illusion of the quartz watch, as the strips create a vivid contrast to the interior blackness of the watch.
For the skeptics in our midst De Griscono has crafted a transparent dial plate, so that the intricate mechanical workings of the timepiece can be carefully scrutinized.This watch is an interesting piece as it is a true testament to the survival of the mechanical watches. In a previous blog of mine, I wrote about the quartz scare of the late 1960's early 1970's. A difficult time for mechanical watch manufacturers. A time when they thought they would lose all they had accomplished to a "Quartz Generation. This Watch testifies to the survival and the recent revival of Mechanical Watches.
This watch boasts a 35 hour power reserve, quite remarkable if you think about the two completely different displays.
The De Grisogono Meccanico timepeices are limited edition of just 177 exceptional timepieces. Available in titanium, titanium and red gold, titanium and rubber and titanium and platinum.
