Swiss watches are famed for their precision and intricate mastery. Watches made in Switzerland are considered the gold standard given their sheer commitment to the craft of precise horology, but a designer and timepiece enthusiast is now reinventing the wheel… or rather, the watch. Meet the M1 Timepiece, the brainchild of Zach Raven’s design outfit, RVNDSGN (pronounced Raven-Design) – a watch that looks like a standard wristwatch from afar, but upon closer inspection, it’s nothing like the average wrist-worn timepiece.
The M1 is a strange little objet d’art, with a design that’s simultaneously minimal as well as curiosity-invoking. The watch ditches the standard hour/minute/second hands for something a little more dramatic, relying on moving color markers underneath a printed graphic with multiple holes/open-slots. Almost working like a zoetrope would, the watch tells the time by filling in gaps in the cutout with the marker – but in an unexpected way. It makes you rethink how you read the time, while still allowing you to cherish the simplicity of the entire experience. Meanwhile, the M1 tells you the date too, doing so in a way that’s very refreshing, especially in this era of uninspired smartwatches.
Designer: Zach Raven
Click Here to Buy Now: $949 $1999 ($1050 off). Hurry, only 4/50 left!
The M1 follows the archetype of the radial watch, but doesn’t tell time the way you expect it would. The watch is divided into multiple segments, for hours, minutes, and days. The inner segment reveals the hours, while the middlemost counts the minutes. The date gets highlighted on the last segment of the watch, sort of like a date window, but instead of being at a fixed position, it moves around the watch’s periphery.
Time moves in a linear fashion on the M1, not in a cyclical hourly fashion like on most watches. To tell the time, you read the hour first, then count the minute line from thereon after. Instead of dividing the hour into 60 minutes, the M1 divides it into four 15-minute chunks. Read the hour, then read the minute chunk after the hour. For example, if the clock reads 7:00, you’re looking at the first minute line, at 7:15, you’re looking at the second minute line, the third at 7:30. and the fourth at 7:45. It’s a bit of a learning curve, but takes barely any time once you get the hang of it. In doing so, the minute hand moves at the same pace as the hour hand, creating a watch that’s a pleasure to look at and read.
It feels a lot like reading measurements on a scale or ruler. You look at the unit, then the sub-unit. That’s how you read 7.5 inches, by seeing the halfway mark after the 7th inch. Pretty different from your standard watch, I assure you. Meanwhile, the outer segment lets you see the date, giving you a complete view of the date and time at a single glance… maybe not down to the accurate minute or second, but then again, this watch wasn’t built to highlight Swiss precision, it was to reinvent watches through a modern lens.
Speaking of modern lenses, the entire watch sits under an aggressively domed edge-to-edge sapphire crystal. The watch’s face is printed on the inner surface of the domed crystal, creating the effect of time melting off the side of the watch rather than being a flat disc. The center is left absolutely bare, unlike your standard watch, which has the hands branching out from the very middle. The result is a watch that’s effortlessly minimal, yet has enough detail to grab your eye and keep your curiosity piqued.
The watch comes with a gorgeous 316L stainless steel body with a flushed crown. You see the watch ‘dial’ and the domed crystal on the front – flip the watch over and you get a glance at the timepiece’s Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement underneath a small sapphire exhibition window. The watch is water resistant up to 5 ATM, although the numerals/lines don’t glow in the dark the way you’d expect from a waterproof dive watch.
The 44mm lugless body has an almost UFO-like quality to it, with both leather or steel straps that branch out from inside the watch itself. The watch’s body comes in a combination of black, white, or grey colorways, with a limited edition black with volt green accents for a very sporty look. The different color schemes have their own individual appeal, blending in or standing out depending on your style. The leather and steel straps come in a variety of colors too, bringing a nice contrast to the watch.
The M1 comes from the mind of Zach Raven (might be one of the all-time coolest names I’ve heard after Tony Hawk), whose fascination for watches dated all the way back to design school. The M1 is a celebration of some of Zach’s favorite iconoclastic watch brands, like Urwerk, MB&F, and Ikepod. With five prestigious design awards (including the iconic Red Dot Award), the M1 enters the same hallowed territory as the watches that inspired it, albeit at a fraction of the cost, but with the same stellar Swiss-made quality.
Click Here to Buy Now: $949 $1999 ($1050 off). Hurry, only 4/50 left!
