Devon Works Tread 2

Devon Works, the American company that unveiled the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve-winning Tread 1 last year, has just presented the Tread 2. The premise remains the same – the watch displays the time on belts driven by gears with the whole mechanism powered by a rechargeable Li-ion battery that can be recharged wirelessly.

But unlike the Tread 1 which had three belts, including one for constant seconds, the Tread 2 is simplified with only two belts showing hours and minutes. The belts on the Tread 2 are mounted perpendicular to each other, in contrast to the Tread 1 which had the belts at an angle. 

Inspired by American aerospace manufacturing, the belts are a mere 2/1000th of an inch thick and driven by miniature motors controlled by an IC loaded with Devon’s proprietary software. According to Devon, the accuracy is +/- 0.5 seconds a day.

At 42 mm by 38 mm, the Tread 2 is more compact than its bigger brother. The case is in steel, with the option of black coating.

Quite appropriately the Tread 2 at US$10,000 is priced a third less than the Tread 1 which was $15,000. The Tread 1 is way cooler – watching the belts in action is utterly compelling and elicits tremendous comments from strangers – but the Tread 2 is a good follow-up at a more accessible price. Delivery will start in July 2012.

Interestingly aside from watches, Devon Works, founded by frozen garlic bread millionaire Scott Devon, makes all manner of cool stuff, including apparel, as well as a muscle car and a motorcycle. – SJX

Two weeks after the new no-date Submariner was presented at Baselworld 2012, Rolex announced the Deepsea Challenge made for filmmaker James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenger Expedition. Scheduled to take plan less than a week from now, the Deepsea Challenger expedition will see Cameron pilot a custom-designed submersible to Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on Earth at 35,800 ft or 10,912 m.

Built to withstand the awesome pressures at such depths – the watch will be strapped to a robot arm on the hull of the submersible – the Deepsea Challenge is a bulked-up Sea-Dweller Deepsea, with a depth rating of 39,370 ft or 12,000 m. A feat of engineering too large to wear, the Deepsea Challenge measures 51.4 mm wide, essentially the same size as a tin can. And it is 28.5 mm high – the height as four ordinary watches stacked up – with the sapphire crystal alone some 14.3 mm. That gives it a load resistance of 13.6 tonnes, equivalent to six sport utility vehicles.

The watch is constructed like that of the Sea-Dweller Deepsea, with the patented Ringlock system that’s centred around a nitrogen-alloyed steel ring inside the case. The crystal sides on the top of the steel ring, while a flexible titanium back covers the back. As the watch descends into the ocean, the pressure exerted forces the crystal and back against the ring, tightening the seals and ensuring nothing enters the case.

The Deep Sea Special, c. 1960

The Deepsea Challenger expedition is happening fifty two years after Rolex made a small number of Deep Sea Special watches, rated to 35,789 ft or 10,908 m, for Jacques Piccard’s  Trieste bathyscaph expedition that was the first to visit Challenger Deep.