Sunrise and Sunset
Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 7:36 pm
Sunrise and sunset indicators aren't uncommon on smartwatches from the likes of Suunto and Garmin, but they're uncommon in the world of mechanical horology. I just happened across one in the form of this Martin Braun "EOS" from 2002.
Time of sunrise is displayed on the left and time of sunset on the right by the interesting mechanisms visible at the bottom. They might appear complicated at first , but they're actually quite simple; the pear-shaped cams rotate at constant rates, pushing the hands up and down. Because the times of sunrise and sunset are unique to a specific location, the cams must be produced with a similarly unique shape. The watch pictured above is accurate for the city of Wiesbaden. If you happen to live in Wiesbaden, that watch is actually a lot in an upcoming Sotheby's auction, estimate set at 2500-4500 GBP. Details here.
The only other mechanical sunrise/sunset watch I know of is the Krayon "Everywhere" (you didn't know Crayola had an HH department, did you?). The Everywhere is able to tell the time of sunrise and sunset anywhere in the world, based on a set of data provided by the user. Despite its technological superiority, I think it looks cluttered compared to the EOS.
Time of sunrise is displayed on the left and time of sunset on the right by the interesting mechanisms visible at the bottom. They might appear complicated at first , but they're actually quite simple; the pear-shaped cams rotate at constant rates, pushing the hands up and down. Because the times of sunrise and sunset are unique to a specific location, the cams must be produced with a similarly unique shape. The watch pictured above is accurate for the city of Wiesbaden. If you happen to live in Wiesbaden, that watch is actually a lot in an upcoming Sotheby's auction, estimate set at 2500-4500 GBP. Details here.
The only other mechanical sunrise/sunset watch I know of is the Krayon "Everywhere" (you didn't know Crayola had an HH department, did you?). The Everywhere is able to tell the time of sunrise and sunset anywhere in the world, based on a set of data provided by the user. Despite its technological superiority, I think it looks cluttered compared to the EOS.