BEHRENS Is Invading the Haute Horlogerie Space With the Orion One

China isn’t all too well-known in the watchmaking space but BEHRENS is looking to change all that with the introduction of its latest piece, the Orion One. The Shenzhen-based watch manufacturer already has plenty of experience under its belt and to commemorate its partnership with Watches of Switzerland‘s 60th Anniversary, the BEHRENS Orion One will feature a unique colourway in a fluorescent green shade.

BEHRENS has continued to reimagine the future of watchmaking with seemingly boundless creativity to go with exquisite details and mechanical enthusiasm. Seen as a micro-mechanical art piece, the BEHRENS Orion One drew inspiration from the ‘Mothership’ that aliens would use to travel to Earth. This is evident in the watch’s unique shape and how it tells time through its “time on a circular axis” design philosophy concept that has since come to life. It also utilises a “time-shifting mechanism”, something that has never been seen on a watch until now.

Almost Alien-like

At the heart of the watch lies the Cal.SWB18-200 self-winding movement with a power reserve of 38 hours. This is what powers its twin rollers’ time display system, which showcases both the hours and minutes with its raised indexes alongside a luminous coating to provide a 3D effect to tell time.

The twin rollers time display system also has its own window to read through, separated from the rest of the watch. To ensure they are easily legible without any confusion, the twin rollers are separated by a darker, emerald-green hue to provide greater ease of convenience when reading the time.

Above it, you will find the various gears and mechanics (also in the same emerald-green hue) that make up the crux of the BEHRENS Orion One with a second central dial with its raised seconds hand, which also acts as the “radar of the Mothership.” Slightly above the second central dial is the linear-type 24-hour display structure at 12 o’clock that oddly resembles the rollers from a historical music box.

As time passes, watch the roller fill up in the same emerald-green hue to showcase the accurate time through a unique display. Right next to it at 1 o’clock is the date function where the reading is done through a nautical, telescope-like convex mirror that was crafted from synthetic sapphire to give off an accurate depiction.

Hidden in Plain Sight

Other patented technologies one can find within the BEHRENS Orion One include its hidden crown, which has been redesigned and redeveloped into a lever. This allows the lever to act as both the crown and winder, which improves the overall outline of the case without compromising on the watch’s overall aesthetic.

Speaking of the case, it has up to 40 facets that were shaped and polished through a complex series of processes. This is what gives the BEHRENS Orion One its unique shape to give it its ‘Starcarrier’ look while also being fully coated in black. The entire case along with its crown and clasp were made from PVD-coated 316L stainless steel to give it a great touch and feel, whether in your hands or on your wrist.

The strap is another piece of new technology introduced by BEHRENS with its new patented strap sliding quick-release technology. With a simple press of a slider, you can now easily switch between straps for the Orion One to give you even greater options. The fluoroelastomer rubber quick-release strap is highly resistant to oxidation while also being highly flexible for better wearability. As for the strap itself, it’s slathered in a slightly lighter fluorescent green shade to further complement the Orion One.