When it comes to luxury accessories, a high-end watch that is guaranteed to stand the test of time is one of the most coveted amongst men and women alike – and fastening a shiny and expensive timepiece onto your wrist each morning is a sure-fire way to start each day feeling like a million dollars.
If your watch collection is already looking well fleshed out and you’re seeking a more unique and innovative time accessory to splurge on this winter, then you’re in luck – because the new ‘Mecascape’ offering from premium brand CODE41 is set to take the timepiece space by storm.
A new mechanical watch object that transcends the usual dimensions and reveals a new architectural vision of time, space, volume and light, the futuristic-looking Mecascape is somewhere between a wristwatch, pocket watch, and clock, and heralds the birth of a new time object class all together.
And as we hurtle towards Christmas and pre-orders open this week ahead of the festive season, it could be about to become the most coveted luxury accessory of the year.
With its name a contraction of the words ‘mechanical’ and ‘landscape’, the exciting new Mecascape is all about shaking up staid codes, breaking free and exploring new pathways, and is centred around creativity and innovation. Cut from Grade 5 titanium – the highest quality titanium in watchmaking – every element has been meticulously handcrafted to ensure the utmost in quality, functionality and aesthetic appeal.
Rather than reinventing the wheel, esteemed watchmaking brand CODE41, which has been disrupting the space over recent years with a string of breath-taking timepiece launches – including the Anomaly and the Day41 – has brought to market what can only be described as a prime example of what thinking outside of the box can result in.
Conceived and designed according to the mathematical language of the Golden Ratio 1.618 and the Fibonacci sequence, the first Mecascape is visually naturally balanced, harmonious, and exudes contemporary flair. Its combination of geometric shapes – which range from hemispherical and concave to spherical – give it a futuristic kind of aesthetic appeal that is perfectly complemented by sophisticated satin and polished finishes to allow for a continuous play between light and shadow.
Together, the Mecascape’s components, shape, movement and exterior resonate with each other in a spirit of great apparent simplicity. Slim, with a thickness of only 7mm, the mechanical object can be easily slipped into a jacket pocket, so that it can be kept with you just like a wristwatch can – but this unusual piece would also easily take centre stage sitting on your desk or mantlepiece, and will be a conversation starter for all the right reasons.
An example of innovation
The Mecasacape isn’t the only example of CODE41’s desire to embrace and progress a different kind of watchmaking, both in its spirit and in its approach – but it is the latest, and arguably the most exciting yet.
“Contrary to what one might assume, the Mecascape is neither the enlargement of a watch, nor the flattening of a clock; first and foremost, it’s a space that opens up a new form of creative freedom in watchmaking, and a new, different, singular and heretofore undiscovered space for expression,” says founder Claudio D’Amore.
According to D’Amore, who has many years of experience as a designer for notable high-end watch brands prior to bringing CODE41 to life, the idea behind the Mecascape was to know the past to better reinterpret it; to respect CODE41’s heritage as a Swiss watchmaking brand to better push the limits, and finally, to invent something truly different – and it certainly appears to have achieved just that.
“The Mecascape belongs to both worlds. It speaks of movement and precision as fluently as it does of form and space,” he says.
The concept first came to D’Amore 12 years ago as what was then just an embryonic idea, but since then, things have developed rapidly. Even so, it has taken over a decade of hard work and determination to finally bring the Mecascape to life, combining his passion for contemporary design and architecture with his faith in purity and lines – and of course, the tasteful influence of his Italian roots.
He explains: “My idea for the Mecascape goes back to 2009, more than 12 years ago. Today, after having founded CODE41, given birth to six collections, and dedicated five years of focused development to the project, the time has come, the maturity and the means too, to give birth to the first Mecascape.
“I knew, with the team, from the outset that we were working on something really special. An ambitious and daring project in every sense of the word. Translating my vision into a unique and original watch object was a real collective challenge, and we are all very proud of the result. Working with time from all angles – and that’s the right word here – has rarely been so rewarding.”
Despite the Mecascape’s complex combination of moving parts, it’s surprisingly easy to read the time at just a momentary glance. Two small knurled crowns on each side, subtly integrated into the profile, allow the time to be set and the Mecascape to be wound mechanically, with a small push button on the side for setting the date.
Given that it’s such a boundary-pushing concept, it’s perhaps little wonder that the buzz around this highly covetable new accessory has already begun, and with pre-orders set to open imminently, it’s almost a given that the Mecascape is set to sell out fast.
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