A few weeks ago in London, Emmanuel Bouchet launched the first watch under his own brand, the Complication One.
The Complication One
Now many of you probably read the above statement and thought “so what, I’ve never heard of him?” The thing is, that’s probably not entirely true. Although you may not remember the name you will more than likely be familiar with one of his most famous creations; Harry Winston’s Opus 12.
Unveiled, suitably enough, in 2012 the Opus 12 was as unusual looking as it was mechanically complex. Inspired by the Copernican Revolution – where the inner point remains stationary whilst the outer rotates around it at a fixed speed – the watch baffled enthralled onlookers as it completed its elaborate time-telling dance. Arguably one of the coolest pieces to come out of the Opus series in recent years, the Opus 12 made Emmanuel Bouchet the talk of the town.
The incredible Opus 12.
Now he’s back again, this time with something far less complex although still pretty damn cool looking; the Complication One. I should point out here that the name is a bit of a misnomer as this first timepiece in the Emmanuel Bouchet collection does not actually feature any complications. That’s not to say though that it’s not worthy of your attention, I’m pretty sure one glance at the rather exotic looking dial will convince you of that.
Powered by a twin barrel, 70-hour movement created by Bouchet specifically for this watch, the Complication One is a time-only timepiece, with a couple of clever tricks up its sleeve. For a start the movement features an auxiliary front-mounted secondary escapement visible on the front of the dial, giving it a rather dynamic feel. The main escapement meanwhile is visible through sapphire caseback and oscillates at a slow and steady 18,000 vph.
The man himself.
What really caught my eye though were the futuristic looking sapphire discs that seem to be floating in space at strategic points across the onyx or chalcedony dial (depending on which version you choose). As you probably guessed already this is where the time is displayed beginning with the seconds at 12 o’clock, the hours at 8 o’clock, and the minutes and (for some strange reason) the tens-of-minutes at 4 o’clock. As a final touch a day-night indicator rests beneath the seconds dial at 12 o’clock, whilst a power reserve indicator keeps track of the remaining power on the back.
According to Bouchet the 44mm case will be available in 18k gold (white, yellow or rose), platinum and titanium ADLC. Unfortunately though the watch shown at SalonQP was still in prototype form and so there is no official word on pricing, although I would expect it to range somewhere from $60,000 – $80,000 depending on which metal you choose.
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