The UR-CC1
The UR-CC1 is a timeless creation and the fruit of multiple inspirations: the talented and avant-garde watchmaker Louis Cottier (1894-1966); a reflexion on the myriad dimensions of time; and even fond reminiscences of the linear instrument panels found on some old American cars.
About
Cosmic Journey:
Merging Time and Space
Insights
Digital and linear seconds
The seconds are indicated by a single-coil flat spiral. The spiral, revolving once a minute, progresses along a linear scale. The second numerals appear at two-second intervals.
Triple cam
A vertical triple-cam operating a toothed rack rotates the minute cylinder. On arriving at the 60-minute mark the cylinder instantly reverses back to its original position thanks to an extra-flat linear spring.
Toothed segment
The toothed segment at the end of the rack transmits and transforms the rotation of the triple-cam into the rotation of the minute cylinder.
Linear retrograde minutes
The minutes are shown by a rotating helix on a cylinder. As the cylinder rotates, the helix progresses as a dashed line along the minute scale. When the line reaches 60 minutes, the helix winds back to the start of the scale in a lightning-fast 0.1 seconds.
Linear jumping hours
The hour is shown on a long cylinder with 12 lines, each longer than the last, against a linear scale. The cylinder jumps to the next line at the end of each hour.
Variations
Movement
Indications
Controls
“Physicists tell us that time can be stretched with the circular cycles of the days, seasons and years. But I am intrigued that time can be ordered, even straitjacketed, to flow in a linear direction. And, because this can represent an individual’s lifeline, I feel that this linear format can be a very human way to look at time.”
MARTIN FREI