(Image via Yes)
There’s been lots of interest in watches as Apple has been reinventing its capabilities. They’ve shown how much more you can do with today’s electronics compared to conventional mechanical designs. Apple has turned the watch into a miniature iPhone that uses its own apps and displays messages and reminders on a tiny display. And it’s now rumored that Apple will introduce a new version of the Apple Watch in September with a built-in phone.
As a watch aficionado, I’ve admired what Apple has done, and the impact they’ve had on the watch industry, with sales of luxury Swiss watches falling by 10 percent last year,
But another company with the unusual name of Yes has also reinvented the watch, but has taken a completely different approach. They’ve looked at adding many more time-related functions to create the most advanced timekeeping device ever made. And unlike Apple, it’s the creation of a single individual with a tiny support team.
Instead of going horizontal to incorporate all sorts of new functions in the watch, Yes has gone vertical to add new time-related functions beyond the standard timekeeping information of hour, minute and second. They’ve added the natural cycles of the sun and moon, which, after all, have defined the timekeeping standards for centuries. And they’ve done it in a way that is easy to visualize.
For the first time a watch has been created where the natural cycles of the sun and the moon are displayed wherever you happen to be in the world. The inventor, Bjorn Kartomten, created his own watch decades ago, when he could find nothing that accurately displayed sunrise and sunset. Since those times vary widely, depending where in the world you happen to be, it was not a simple task. He’s developed a line of watches under the Yes brand that provides many of these functions. And now he’s developed his most advanced timepiece, the Equilibrium.
The large, but lightweight timepiece has a matte finished titanium case and a large unique circular LCD display on the face. It displays hours, minutes, seconds, and date, as well as sunrise, sunset, twilight, moonrise, moonset and moon phase. Indicators also show solstices and equinoxes for whatever location you happen to be. The watch also has a range of alarms and an electronic compass along with a host of other time data information and features. You can set home and away cities from among a list of more than 600.
In addition to its digital display for time is a single mechanical hand that shows time on a rotating mechanical 24-hr dial. Once around represents a 24-hour cycle, synchronized to the rotation of the earth and to the cycles of the sun and the moon.
On the digital display, there are three concentric rings that visually display sun and moon information. The orange sun circle next to the 24-hour dial displays the time data for the sun, including sunrise, sunset, times of morning and evening twilight, solar high noon, and solar midnight. The dark area of the ring displays nighttime, the shaded part shows twilight, and the light part indicates daytime. So at a glance you can determine sunset and sunrise.
The inner yellow ring displays the times for moonrise, moonset, and lunar high noon or midnight. There’s a moon display that shows phases and arrows to indicate waxing and waning.
The watch measures 48mm in diameter by 17mm thick, and comes with a sapphire crystal. It’s waterproof and shock resistant with an accuracy of one second per month using its built-in calibration. It has a built-in rechargeable battery that lasts for 3 to 5 months per charge. It comes with a variety of choices of straps and bracelets and several options for the face and bezel.
It’s the perfect watch for those sports and water enthusiasts who need to know daylight hours, and for those who travel worldwide.
The watch is available for pre-order on Indiegogo for $590, 40 percent off retail.
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