The approach to watchmaking of DeWitt manufacture is always unconventional. This is also the case of the Academia Endless Drive. The new Academia Endless Drive’s dial has a center which features a rotating endless screw, a nod to automotive mechanics, the field of inspiration preferred by the brand’s founder, Count Jérôme de Witt.
A clear allegory of time, the unidirectional movement of the screw will certainly fascinate most observers. A winding mechanism confers an unusual movement to the helical screw, which is linked to the power reserve’s winding system, as the 59-hour power reserve decreases, the screw rotates. The hours and minutes are indicated with two discs located at 9 and 3 o’clock that rotate around a fixed central piece.
Geneva based DeWitt’s teams of engineers and master watchmakers adapted the standard DeWitt 5050 automatic movement, entirely developed, produced and assembled by hand. Beating at 21,600 vibrations per hour, the DW1653 calibre is comprised of 320 parts including the variable-inertia balance.
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 brand’s signature and the symbol of Emperor Napoleon I. Two small “W” signatures are also found on the crown and on the buckle.