The Hour Glass Debuts Krayon

The Hour Glass is delighted to introduce Krayon. Founded by Rémi Maillat in 2013, Krayon is the latest in the string of Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève winning artisanal watchmakers to partner with The Hour Glass and develop within the Asia Pacific region, home to some of the most influential communities of watch enthusiasts in the world.

Rémi Maillat, Today’s Watchmaker

In 2017, Rémi Maillat presented Everywhere, his first creation. A year later, he followed up with the custom-made, Everywhere Horizon, which won the Best Watchmaking Innovation of the Year award at the 2018 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.

On land and at sea, it is the sun’s course through the sky that denotes the passage of time – and allows it to be measured. Krayon’s approach was born from a dream: a mechanical movement, adjustable by hand, that would make it possible to read the time of sunrise and sunset at any point on the globe. It has become reality by succeeding in a challenge never before achieved in watchmaking: a universal mechanical calculator of the exact time of sunrise and sunset.

As a designer cum engineer, Rémi Maillat is inhabited by the particular spark that drives true creators. Everyday experiences still push him to imagine new watchmaking solutions. Nature never ceases to inspire him, especially when he can pursues his other passions, such as scuba diving and freediving. Getting up too early one morning to explore the seabed gave him the idea of a watch with a universal sunrise and sunset function. In Rémi Maillat’s hands, mathematical abstraction becomes an instrument, like a draftsman’s pen, for developing new and useful complications.

Anywhere – A Personal and Natural Display of Time

 Time is something intrinsically personal. For watchmakers, however, it is above all a dimension of space that can be measured objectively. Krayon Anywhere displays the ephemeris, more precisely, the time of sunrise and sunset, at any point on the globe chosen by its wearer. It can be the wearer’s location at that precise moment, the place of birth, the location where loved ones wait, the place where dreams are made or remembered. It can be Anywhere.

This emotional dimension of time and space, at the nexus of an intimate yet concrete landscape, is Krayon’s vocation. This watchmaker’s interpretation of time takes the form of a timekeeper that goes beyond conventions and habits. It is like each morning and evening, never identical, always lived in a personal way. Anywhere‘s large peripheral ring separates the day into two sections, joining its own rhythm to the wearer’s life rhythm. As the day evolves, its length and colour change, and with them the face of the watch.

A Matchless Complication

Watches with universal time or astronomical indications impose specific cities, chosen by arbitrary conventions deeply ingrained in watchmaking custom. Anywhere by Krayon takes the opposite tack, espousing the unique vision, aspirations and dreams of its wearer. It is the logical progression from Everywhere, a ‘hypercomplication’ capable of indicating the time of sunset and sunrise anywhere in the world – it was awarded the Innovation Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) in 2018. Anywhere, building on the same patent, goes to the core of a personal ephemeris.

Krayon’s Anywhere indicates the hours and minutes with dedicated hands, placed in the centre of a dial that seems suspended at the heart of the watch. It is surrounded by an annular zone upon which a small sun circulates in perpetual motion, indicating the time over 24 hours. The annular zone has two sectors: day (sky blue) and night (dark blue). The respective lengths of the sectors constantly change, indicating by their position the sunrise and sunset times that can be read from the fixed indicator ring.

Krayon Anywhere Rose Gold Dial 2

Krayon Anywhere Rose Gold Dial 1

Krayon Anywhere White Gold Dial 1

These periods are intimately linked to latitude. The North-South position determines the length of the day, which is equal to the night at the equator and gradually expands towards the white night near the Arctic Circle. To integrate this geographical factor, Krayon devised a mechanical positioning system based on racks and yokes. At the customer’s request, a Krayon watchmaker will make a simple adjustment to the movement, as often as desired.

The relative position of the two sapphire discs is determined not only by the reference position, but also by the calendar. To do this, Krayon Anywhere indicates the date and month with a hand-counter at 6 o’clock. The simple 31-day calendar requires five quick, straightforward annual adjustments, which can be made directly with the crown and in both directions.

A Meaningful Aesthetic

Anywhere is available in two interpretations: one in white gold, with blue the dominating colour; the other in 18K rose gold, with creamy white the dominant tone. The elegant shape of the 39 mm diameter case is highlighted by a flange along the bezel’s underside and over the back cover. The hollow thus created further emphasises the thinness of the case. With a thickness of just 9 mm, Krayon’s Anywhere is eminently wearable. The gadroon on the applied, subtly plunging lugs further accentuates their slimness.

In both versions, the dial shows the same motif as on Everywhere, the result of an extensive search for an aesthetic, and it is echoed on the face of the crown. What you see is an orb with parallels and meridians, imaginary longitudes and latitudes, an apt symbol for the global reach of Krayon’s complications. The vanishing point is centred on the date at 6 o’clock. This symbolic pole is composed of two azure zones. The hour markers are distinctive, pyramid-shaped appliques with a triangular base, identical in shape to the Y in Krayon’s identity.

Greatest care was given to the day and night discs. The two rings are cut from sapphire. One is hand-painted in dark blue, the other in sky blue. On the former, Super-Luminova™ stars stand out in the firmament. High above, the sun follows its course. Each one of its rays is unique, painstakingly finished in a subtle diamond-cutting process that is technically quite complex. Beyond the discs, the inclined and colour-coordinated fixed indicator ring serves as a 24-hour scale.

As with Everywhere, the calibre that animates Anywhere was also meticulously conceived and constructed by Rémi Maillat, watchmaker and founder of Krayon. The new movement has been especially designed for Anywhere, offering a power reserve of 72 hours, and measures in at only 5 mm.

The regulating mechanism for the day and night discs is located at 6 o’clock. Immediately setting the Anywhere movement apart from all others, it shows the intricacy of racks and yokes, with a distinctive screw system in the centre. On either side, two discreet screws facilitate adjustment by the watchmaker.

Krayon Anywhere Movement 2

Krayon Anywhere Movement 1

The hand-wound calibre is designed in the tradition of classic movements. Its barrel is coupled to an elegant ratchet click. All perforations are countersunk. The shape of the bridges is particularly adorned, made of solid and fine lines, an inviting canvas for the art of manual bevelling. The numerous hand-worked inward and outward angles establish Anywhere on a par with the finest of contemporary executions.

A Natural Partner

With a boutique network spanning twelve cities in the Asia Pacific and its headquarters in Singapore, The Hour Glass exemplifies a passion for horology through designing uniquely immersive watch experiences delivered by team of highly knowledgeable watch specialists.

“We’re delighted to propose Krayon’s watches to our base of extremely sophisticated collectors and introduce Rémi’s vision of watchmaking to our region. Rémi’s creations are exquisite examples of contemporary horology, one where unique observation and technical creativity combine and manifest in poetic presentation of time. This intimate and personal approach is what sets Rémi apart,” remarked Michael Tay, Group Managing Director, The Hour Glass.

Discover these exceptional watches at L’Atelier by The Hour Glass at ION Orchard, Singapore.