The new Otturatore timekeeper by the Swiss high jewelry and watchmaking brand de Grisogono has finally launched the perfect version of the Otturatore watch, first presented as a prototype four years ago. This product has truly original features that required a great deal of mechanical ingenuity. The most amazing characteristic of the product is its rotating dial with a single aperture which displays only one of four included complications at the time. This gives its wearer a rare opportunity to choose which of the additional functions will be displayed with a simple touch on its top push-piece. Once it is activated, the dial rotates 90 degrees clockwise to reveal the next of the complication. Not only this, the rotation is performed 18 times faster than a blink of an eye! In order to make this happen, de Grisogono included a highly complex hand-wound caliber that includes more than 300 parts just for this sequential rotation dial system.
This incredible mechanical timekeeper by the brand that entered the industry 12 years ago includes four different complications: small seconds, moon phase display, date display, and finally a power reserve indication. As it has been noted, the wearer of Otturatore can choose which of the indications will be shown by the press of the top push-piece, thus triggering the mechanism which instantaneously rotates the dial 90 degrees to the right and then reveals the next complication. The whole operation is performed in breathtakingly short period lasting just 0.0016 of a second which is much faster than a simple blink of an eye which lasts 0.33 of a second. To move the rotating dial in such a short interval, the complex mechanism needs the acceleration energy of 9G which is even more than the one featured on a jet airplane (8G)! This is the reason why the sequential display system includes more than 300 components, and even has its own mainspring and barrel that are utilized. With the rest of the parts that are dedicated to the timekeeping feature of the product, the sum of movement components equals to impressive 574 parts.
The designation of the newly developed manual-wound mechanical caliber that makes all this possible is DR 18-89. It has 28 jewels integrated in its construction and runs on the high frequency of 28,800. The blacked movement provides a standard power reserve that lasts for about 42 hours, while its dimensions are 31.4 x 32.7 x 9.8 mm.
A Chunky Rectangular Gold Case
This impressive and innovative product sports a large and very noticeable housing in a rectangular shape. The housing of the watch is 50.16 mm high, 44.85 wide, and is unusually thick, and measures up to 15.86. Since the only material for the oversized case is 18 K gold, it comes as no surprise that this complex timekeeper costs around $75,000. De Grisogono opted to make the watch available with a case that is made either from rose or white gold with a satin polish finishing. Otturatore watch has a fixed bezel, a crown and two extremely big push-pieces made from the same material as its housing. The rotating dial is guarder with a cambered sapphire glass. Sapphire is also featured on the transparent case back that enables the view on Otturatore’s innovative mechanical movement. Its construction guarantees that the product is water proof to 100 meters.
A Rotating Dial with Clou de Paris Cobbled Motif
More examples of high-end craftsmanship are seen on its three-part rotating dial which is decorated with Clou de Paris cobbled pattern that does not jeopardize its legibility, additionally increased with the inclusion of applied hour markers that are naturally made from gold, in the shade that matches the housing. The same material is used to construct its dauphine-styled hour and minute hands (wide at base and tapering to a fine point, and with a crease in its center). As the attachment is concerned, de Grisogono decided to pair up its Otturatore timekeeper with a black genuine alligator strap having a gold folding clasp.
Three Basic and Two Additional Limited Edition Versions
There are five different versions of this amazing mechanical masterpiece presented in a robust golden package. The first three are basic variations: NO1 with a rose gold case and a silver dial, while NO2 and NO3 have the same black dials, but include different cases (the former with a white gold housing, and the latter with a rose gold one). The last two versions are forged in limited editions consisting of 55 pieces that are individually numbered to denote their places in the series, and are available only in de Grisogono boutiques. Just like the basic models, these versions have either rose or white gold cases, but are made with dials in different colors. Version NO4 is made with a brown dial and a rose gold case, while the final NO5 version has a ruthenium colored dial and a white gold housing.
