Geneva-based MyKronoz has chosen the Mobile World Congress to launch its ZeTime, a hybrid smartwatch that has mechanical hands as well as a circular colour touchscreen.
The spindle for the hour and minute hands passes through the centre of the TFT touchscreen, so people can tell the time even when the screen is blank.
Both the mechanical hands and the touchscreen are battery-powered, and need frequent recharging, but the analogue hands will keep going for a month on a single charge, according to the manufacturer.
MyKronoz was created four years ago by Boris Brault, who set out to combine traditional Swiss watchmaking values with the digital world.
“When I started in early 2013, people thought that I was mad – why would I start a smartwatch company in Switzerland and enter such a challenging market? It turns out that my vision and passion have paid off as our company has sold nearly two million smartwatches since then,” said Mr Brault,
“My inspiration has been to combine the best of our Swiss heritage in traditional watchmaking, with the key features of a smartwatch to persuade the majority of consumers to adopt our wearable technology. This has been accomplished with ZeTime, the perfect hybrid smartwatch. It combines the best of both worlds: watch hands of an elegant traditional timepiece with a full colour touchscreen that instantly shows incoming calls, smartphone notifications, real-time fitness activity, upcoming calendar events, daily reminders and much more, right from your wrist.”
The ZeTime has a 44mm stainless steel case housing a connected movement a 3-axis accelerometer and an optical heart-rate sensor to track activity and sleep.
The watch is waterproof to 30 meters and compatible with iOS and Android smartphones.
It is expected to go on sale in September 2017 for around £160.
