The Warp HMS Automatic: a warped concept.
The genesis of the project
One Sunday afternoon in September 2007 when he was having a drink on the terrace of a famous Geneva café, Arny realized that fine watchmaking is often associated with high-tech sectors such as aviation, aeronautics, automotive sport or competition sailing. But never with science fiction, which is probably considered too puerile, not serious enough or too far removed from the aspirations of customers who are deemed to be demanding. Now Arny Kapshitzer is a great fan of Star Trek.
And what's more he would like to wear a watch that "takes up space", a different watch in a sector that no-one had operated in until then. An elongated shape? A large size? Why not. A few strokes of the pencil later he had designed a watch that looks 90% like the one he is bringing out today, bereft only of the marketing approach. "Otherwise I would have made a round watch, which the vast majority of people would surely have liked more", he quips, with a laugh.
The Warp was born … and the venture could begin.
Warp?
Arny Kapshitzer draws two dots on a sheet of paper and asks you: "What is the shortest path from one dot to the other?" Feeling sure of yourself, you answer without hesitating: "A straight line!" Wrong. Arny folds the sheet in two and joins the two dots by making them touch one another. Damn it, that was without taking account of quantum mechanics and its theory of travelling without moving. Used in Star Trek’s fictitious universe, in which the spaceships are equipped with warp drives that enable them to attain superluminal speeds and to travel "where man has never gone", this theory holds that it would be possible to “warp” space-time by acting on a particle called graviton and thus to travel instantaneously. The Warp HMS (for Hours Minutes Seconds) Automatic of AK Genève is thus an acknowledgement of this concept, a “serious toy for adults” which exists in its own right but whose main aim is to create an emotion that has become rare in the world of fine watchmaking.
The case
Knowing Arny Kapshitzer and his unconditional love of the 1960s science-fiction series, one understands more easily why he chose to give the case of his watch a shuttle shape, which creates an impression of speed. This elongated case has been designed to form an extension of the arm, thereby displaying a rare harmony for a watch of this size. Space shuttle or tortoise, when one looks at it from above with its asymmetrical horns and its crown, one has to admit that the watch also looks like a beetle. And an ergonomic beetle what’s more. Since the arm is always slimmer at the wrist joint, the watch is therefore thicker on the crown side.
"It's a grand complication case", Kapshitzer likes to say, “as the middle-piece is made entirely of compressed carbon fibre, the unusual formulation of which makes the case both very shock-resistant and very light. It takes up to 25 minutes to machine it, compared with only three for most conventional middle-pieces". Moreover, carbon fibre makes it possible to use other materials such as gold, for example, for the shaft and the bezel. Being asymmetrical and more spaced-out on the crown side, the horns guide the lines of the watch so that it fits more snugly with the shape of the arm. Attention to detail has prompted the designers to screw on the 15 pieces of the case - using a total of 34 screws. And the crown consists of 20 pieces, all of which are “useful”. Finally, the seals, which are guaranteed for 50 years, are made of the same rubber as the bracelet.
The glass
Cut flush with the asymmetric middle-piece and profiled to fit the very special interior design of the case, the convex glass was a real nightmare to make. "You should make it shorter, this bit serves no purpose!", is the remark that Arny Kapshitzer heard most frequently. That's probably why he wanted so much to keep it, this famous “bit” of glass that gives the watch its characteristic shape, despite the extreme complexity of manufacturing it.
The dial
It looks like something straight out of the Star Trek series, uncannily reminiscent of the starship Enterprise. Located eccentrically towards the right of the dial, a cut-away metal piece reveals the jumping hours and minutes on two superimposed discs. The seconds are displayed at 3 o'clock on a cylinder linked directly to the crown. 9 o'clock forms the tail of the “spaceship”. Made of the same metal, it bears the name of the watch and is punctuated by a totally off-centre dot, where the brand logo is engraved.
The movement
The basic automatic movement is the Time Engine 001 (the 00 is the coaxial movement in preparation), made in cooperation with Concepto. Operating at 28,800 vibrations per hour, its oscillating weight is made of iridium alloy with a carbon-fibre plate. The telescopic crown, which is not screw-on but has a bayonet fitting, is mounted on a titanium shock-absorber and directly linked to the movement. The jumping hours and minutes module and the seconds module on the cylinder, on the other hand, are proprietary. Nothing is superfluous here: all the pieces, which are interlinked, are useful. Although its design is complicated, this movement is simple and reliable to use. It benefits from a chamfered, a microshot-blasted and satin-lustred finishing.
The bracelet
The quest for materials has been taken right down to the bracelet. Made of perfluorinated, hypoallergenic rubber that resists all acids, it is more expensive - but also unique and much more reliable over time - than the vast majority of rubbers currently available. In addition, the clasp is recessed into the inner surface of the bracelet (an innovative system on which a patent is being filed), so as not to injure or impede the wrist. Better still, with this clasp and the profiled case the watch becomes an integral part of the wrist.
The team
“I would like to say thank you to all those who did not believe in my project, because they enabled me to make progress", states Kapshitzer, with a mischievous glint in his eye before adding on a serious note again, “but also and above all to pay tribute to the specialists who helped me to fulfil it”. Because for Kapshitzer it is a matter of honour to point out that he did not do everything on his own and that, despite an extremely demanding and rigid specification of requirements, the whole process took place amid constant dialogue and in an atmosphere of respect. Particularly with the team of designers from BECS Geneva, who devised the plans, the special tools for cutting the crystal glass, and the clasp, but also with Concepto for the movements and their technical support, and with Pierre Giamarchi, the copywriter, who transposed a crazy idea into words...
For any further information, please contact:
AK Genève
Le-Corbusier, 20
CH-1208 Geneva
Tel. +4122 347 95 01
E-mail: rp@akgeneve.com
Source: Presse Release |
|
