Modelled on 19th century German watchmaker Moritz Grossmann‘s designs for a clock, the Ingénieur du Temps pendulum clock is nonetheless a 21st century construction that’s printed and assembled in Switzerland.

While Grossmann is now known because of the resurrected brand that bears his name, he was originally the founder of the German School of Watchmaking in Glashütte, and regarded as one of the four greats of Glashütte watchmaking, alongside Ferdinand Adolph Lange, Julius Assmann and Adolf Schneider. The dial design and gear train layout are based on Grossmann’s writings of 1878, explaining the traditional mechanics of the clock.

Nearly all the components, however, are 3D printed in brightly coloured plastic, allowing the clock to be executed in a variety of colours. The pendulum rod is carbon fibre that’s minimally sensitive to ambient temperature changes, ensuring stable timekeeping.

The movement is key-wound, with an eight day power reserve. It is designed to be mounted on a wall.

Price and availability 

The 3D-printed clock is priced at SFr2800, with a transparent case an additional SFr350, and available directly from Ingénieur du Temps.

Audemars Piguet introduced the Royal Oak Frosted Gold last year to commemorate the 40^th anniversary of the first ladies’ Royal Oak, yet the watch garnered significant attention from a male audience despite being aimed squarely at women. In fact, at SIHH earlier this year, AP boss Francois-Henry Bennahmias was wearing a prototype men’s Royal Oak ref. 15400 with the same frosted gold finish. As anticipated, the prototype has made it into production – in a limited edition, no less.

That “frosted” decoration is the result of a collaboration between the Le Brassus watchmaker and Florentine jeweller Carolina Bucci, whose signature technique involves hammering gold with a diamond-tipped tool to create minute indentations on the surface. The result is a fine, tactile and sparkly finish – a decidedly modern approach that mimics the look of gem-encrustation without the jewels.

Understandably, applying this jewellery technique to the angular lines of the Gérald Genta-design came with its challenges. The team had to ensure that the finishing would neither alter the clean lines of the hallmark octagonal bezel nor the fluidity of the bracelet. Consequently, the finishing has to be applied by hand to individual components one at a time. In effect, this hand-finishing technique ensures that each watch is different.

The Frosted Gold watches were originally only available in 33m and 37mm versions for ladies, which were equipped with a quartz calibre and the automatic cal. 3120 respectively. Now the 41mm Frosted Gold for men is powered by the in-house cal. 3120 automatic. It is available only in white gold with a blue “Grande Tapisserie” dial.

Price and Availability

The Royal Oak Frosted Gold for men (ref. 15410BC.GG.1224BC.01) is a limited edition of 200 pieces, and is priced at US$55,000.