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Krayon’s Everywhere puts a new complication on the map
History & Masterpieces

Krayon’s Everywhere puts a new complication on the map

Sunday, 10 December 2017
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Timm Delfs
Freelance journalist

“Unlike a watch, a sundial never stops.”

A freelance journalist working from Basel, Timm Delfs is also the owner of Zeitzentrale, where he sells all sorts of timekeeping instruments including his particular favourites: sundials.

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5 min read

Watch constructor Rémi Maillat and his Neuchâtel-based brand have made a remarkable debut with a movement that can show sunrise and sunset times anywhere in the world.

It’s often said that in watchmaking, if it’s mechanically possible, it’s already been done. There are, however, a few exceptions. One of the most notable in recent history is the Everywhere watch by the newly created brand Krayon in Neuchâtel. Considering that its completely integrated movement contains some 600 components, this elegant watch is surprisingly slim at just 11.7 millimeters thick. There is little to give away the complexity inside. The dial is symmetrical and uncluttered; the manifold functions are all accessed and regulated by the crown and a rectangular pushbutton at 8 o’clock.

« Everywhere », Krayon © Anders Modig
« Everywhere », Krayon © Anders Modig
Any latitude, longitude, date and time zone can be selected

The main difference with any other dial is the open circumference, which shows a light and a dark sector representing day and night. Both these sectors are mobile, meaning they can grow or wane to reflect the length of daylight and night-time throughout the year. The point where light and dark meet represents sunrise and sunset times respectively. The circular display, made up of ultra-thin sapphire discs, includes an additional 24-hour indication on a sapphire ring. Once each of the settings has been adjusted to the wearer’s home position, the triangular hour-indicator points to the position of the sun above or below the horizon. When it crosses the line dividing night and day, this means the sun is either rising or setting. In winter in the northern hemisphere, the light part will be smaller; in summer it will be larger. From December 21st it will slowly grow until June 21st when it reaches its maximum.

Hence Everywhere can indicate sunrise and sunset times in Sydney even if the wearer is in Geneva.

The most interesting part of the display and the technology inside the movement, however, is that it will show this information for locations between 60° north and 60° south anywhere in the world. Any latitude, longitude, date and time zone can be selected using the pushbutton on the left side to select the function and the crown to adjust its value. The retrograde hand at 3 o’clock shows which function is being adjusted. The retrograde hand opposite points to the chosen latitude. The coaxial hands at 6 o’clock indicate the date and month which can be freely chosen (in normal usage they indicate the current date, changing at midnight). The coaxial hands at 12 o’clock are used to select the longitude and time zone of the chosen location. Hence Everywhere can indicate sunrise and sunset times in Sydney even if the wearer is in Geneva. Times can also be displayed in local time or home time. Additionally, a scale in the light part of the display indicates the number of daylight hours for the chosen destination.

Rémi Maillat © Anders Modig
Rémi Maillat © Anders Modig
Five watches a year

So who is behind all this mechanical wizardry, how did he achieve this feat, and why have we never heard of him before? Born in 1984, Rémi Maillat graduated in microtechnology in Le Locle in 2007 and was immediately hired by Cartier for their research and development offices. Maillat was in charge of developments for the Haute Horlogerie and Poinçon de Genève movements, as part of the team led by Carole Forestier. In 2013 he left the company to set up his independent design engineering studio in Neuchâtel. He called it Krayon because, he says, the pencil (crayon in French) is crucial for any new development. It’s thanks to his behind-the-scenes work for the big names in watchmaking that he was able to finance his own project, which had been in the back of his mind for a long time. Rémi Maillat isn’t the kind to blow his own trumpet and boast about his achievements. He lets his watch speak for itself.

Turn the watch over and you'll be greeted with a beautiful movement unlike anything else on the market.

Turn the watch over and you’ll be greeted with a beautiful movement unlike anything else on the market. No wonder, given that it was developed from scratch and is completely integrated. “We began with a blank sheet of paper. Even the escapement and the screws are our own,” says Rémi Maillat. The two discs indicating the length of day and night are commanded by two cams that “register” all the information, including the equation of time. They complete one revolution in one year, as long as the wearer does not choose another date. Their eccentricity varies according to the latitude chosen by the wearer. In order to bring this plethora of information together, and to be able to adjust values forwards and backwards, Maillat used four tiny differentials which are partly responsible for the large number of components.

Krayon can only make five Everywhere watches per year. The starting price is CHF 600,000 for the model in white gold. For a supplement, future clients can personalize their timepiece to their own taste.

www.krayon.ch

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