Model „The Seven Spheres“
A watchmaking universe as a study in motion.
The balance wheel with its escapement is the heart of every watch. Here it oscillates in the center, surrounded by seven intricately interconnected rings that, via seven planetary gears, channel the energy of the four mainspring barrels from the outside to the inside.
Details
CASE
- Platinum 950
- Diameter 42 mm, height 10 mm (including glass dome 18 mm)
- Sapphire crystal front & back
- Alligator leather strap (18 mm), covered with shark leather on the inside to increase water resistance
- Pin buckle 950 platinum
- Water resistance 5 bar
- Optional ornamental hand-engraving
Dial and hands
- Dial ring with red minute numerals in solid silver, framed by two fine hand-guilloché “Breguet threads”
- “Floating” minute and hour hands in heat-blued steel
Caliber/Movement ml-02/7sp
- movement diameter 35.7 mm, height without ring system 5.35 mm
- Power reserve 55 hours
- Drive via 4 parallel barrels on central (12h) ball bearing system
- 7 nested spherical rings made of titanium, each offset by 30°, 6 x planetary gears with ratios 1:2 ; 1 x 1:2.25
- Frequency 3 hertz (21,600 HS/hour)
- Four-legged balance wheel with eccentric regulation
- Rückersystem, anchor escapement
- 43 jewels, 2 chatons (decorative) diamonds with brilliant cut
My work is pure idealism, combined with meticulousness and uncompromising demands of beauty and quality.
The inspiration
In 1997, the movie “Contact,” based on the novel by Carl Sagan, was released in cinemas.
I was just 26 years old, and it was one of the most impressive movies I’d ever seen. I was fascinated by the machine, which had been built according to instructions from an alien civilization. The movement of the three rotating rings was so graceful and, in a way, “otherworldly.”
Why „Seven“?
The Seven Spheres in the worldview
The geocentric world view was established by Ptolemy in the 1st-2nd century. It is based on the idea that the Earth is stationary at the center of the universe.
Seven planetary spheres orbited the Earth:
Moon / Mercury / Venus / Sun / Mars / Jupiter / Saturn
Above these were the sphere of fixed stars, the sphere of motion, and the Empyrean, the
“seat of God.”
In the heliocentric solar system, which Nicolaus Copernicus developed in Frombork (Poland) in the mid-16th century, the sun is at the center, surrounded by seven spheres:
Mercury / Venus / Earth (with moon) / Mars / Jupiter / Saturn / fixed stars.
Copernicus also still adhered to the concept of circular orbits and, in some cases, to spheres.
When a dream takes shape. Freely conceived.
Beyond traditional constructions. Everything was new territory.
The story of my „Seven Spheres“
The “Seven Spheres” project began in my dreams. The idea for this watch had been with me for a long time before I took the first concrete step in its construction three and a half years ago in the summer of 2022. I was in the middle of producing the first ml project, “Zweigesicht-1,” and was so moved by its success and the great trust placed in me by watch collectors. Should I start a new “Zweigesicht-2” project right away, or should I muster the courage to try something different?
It was clear to me from the outset that I would have to learn a lot of new things to create this watch. The construction cannot be derived from traditional watchmaking. It came about differently – from an inner image, not from an existing template. And to be honest, until the prototype of the “Seven Spheres” began to tick on my workbench, I was never sure if I was on the right track.
I had to work out many ideas and details step by step. For example, I had never made a ball bearing myself before. This watch has two: one with 97 balls that rotates in 12 hours, and the other with 170 balls that rotates once per hour for the minute hand. They have to be highly precise, because otherwise their large diameter would rob the gear train of too much power.
Between the seven titanium spheres is so little space that I had to adjust the shape of the wheels and pinions and curve them to the appropriate radii.
Every ring system must be perfectly balanced from the inside out. It became apparent that titanium is wonderfully stable and light, but so light that I couldn’t achieve the right balance with drill holes alone. The solution was to insert tiny cylinders made of heavy platinum.
Much of the time spent on prototype was taken up with the construction and building of numerous special tools. The assembly of the nested rings in particular seemed almost impossible at first.
There were moments of doubt. But with patience, trial and error, and repeated attempts, the idea slowly became reality. And after every loud curse, finding the solutions brought a sigh of relief and the enjoyment of success.
For me, the “Seven Spheres” is the pinnacle of all the watch models I have developed so far. It stands for the courage to try something you have never done before – and for following an inner vision until it becomes reality.
It was a dream to create this prototype. And I said to myself: even if only one piece is produced in the end – perhaps just for me – then that’s enough. But thanks to the support of friends and enthusiastic watch collectors, the prototype is now becoming a project that will accompany me for years to come.
