Breva Geneve knocked it out of the park once again this year with its new Genie 03 Speedmeter. Read on to find out why.
Genie 03 Speedmeter
Of all the new and up-and-coming independent watch brands Breva has to be one of my favorites. I think this largely due to the incredible creativity and curiosity of the brand’s founder and CEO, Vincent Dupontreué, a man whom I am proud to call a personal friend.
Although having no real background in horology to speak of Dupontreué has successfully managed to build a team around him that is capable of executing his highly unconventional, exceptionally innovative ideas. The new Genie 03 Speedmeter, officially unveiled in Geneva last month, is a perfect example of this.
Completely unexpected in almost every sense of the word, the Genie 03 Speedmeter offers a level of functionality never before seen in a timepiece. Like the Genie 01 and Genie 02 before it, the Genie 03 is capable of processing data from an external source and then displaying it in real time to the wearer in an easy to read, practical fashion. In this case, that indication is the speed at which the watch (and presumably you, given that it is strapped to your wrist) is travelling at.
That’s right, as the name suggests, the Genie 03 Speedmeter is the world’s first-ever wristwatch with a functional speedometer that provides “real-time” indication with constant refreshing. Or in technical terms it is fitted with a patented “instant speed” scientific measurement mechanism, with a proprietary extrusion mechanism.
The best part is that activating said mechanism couldn’t be easier. You simply press on the pusher at 2 o’clock and the smart looking sub-dial that takes up most of the right-hand side of the watch pops up 6mm. The brand refers to this part of the watch as the Titanium G5 extrusion mechanism, and it is comprised of an impressive 45 components. Included amongst those are hemispherical special alloy Robinson cups, which are more commonly found in a windmeter (or anemometer, for the technical types).
As the name suggests a windmeter is a time-honored device for measuring wind speed. For the Genie 03 a miniaturized version has been created and adapted, which is capable of measuring and display speeds of 20 to 200 km/ hour or 10 to 125 mph. No additional calculation is required by the wearer, you simply just need to read the dial like you would the speedometer on your car.
In addition to displaying your current speed the watch also of course displays the hours, minutes and seconds, as well the power in reserve (60 hours on full wind), although the automatic movement should ensure that sufficient power supply is never a problem. Impressively the Genie 03 is water resistant to 30 meters at all times, regardless of whether the speedometer is open or closed, and dust resistant even with the speedometer active.
What is perhaps most exciting of all about the new Genie 03 however is the price; at just CHF 48,800 + tax this is far and away the most affordable watch we’ve seen from the brand to date and definitely one that is going to be in hot demand as a result.
To find out where to get yours visit Breva Geneve’s official website here.
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