De Witt’s new Academia Endless Drive watch serves as an allegory for time itself

The Geneva-based Haute Horlogerie watch manufacture deWitt adapted the standard DeWitt 5050 automatic movement, entirely developed, produced and assembled by hand in order to give life to a model with shocking allure.The new timepiece presented at SIHH 2018 – SALON INTERNATIONAL DE LA HAUTE HORLOGERIE features a rotating endless screw, a nod to automotive mechanics, the field of inspiration preferred by the brand’s founder, Count Jérôme de Witt.

The Geneva-based Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie offers a winding mechanism that confers an unusual movement to the helical screw, which is linked to the power reserve’s winding system. More precisely, the model features two degrees of freedom. As the 59-hour power reserve decreases, the screw rotates. When the barrel is wound, the screw slides on its longitudinal axis.

The hand-crafted dial meets the very high standard of finishes adopted by the Manufacture. What’s more, the time display is no exception to the brand’s drive to distinguish itself through exceptional timepieces. The hours and minutes are indicated with two discs located at 9 and 3 o’clock that rotate around a fixed central piece.

The 42.5 mm diameter round case creates an interplay of contrasting effects through the combination of traditional and innovative materials, 18-carat rose gold and black rubber, subtly recreating the famous imperial column motif, the distinctive signature of the brand with the symbol of Emperor Napoleon I. Two small “W” signatures are also found on the crown and on the buckle.