Young brand BA111OD is launching the CHPTR_Δ (pronounced Chapter Delta) today and in doing so, will deploy its first ever manufacture movement.
Developed and produced with the help of Olivier Mory, the highly-renowned watchmaker from La Chaux-de-Fonds, the launch of a proprietary calibre marks a major step forward for the young brand, founded by Thomas Baillod in 2019.
With the intention of rethinking the whole distribution model via “we-commerce” and the brand’s afluendors – customers who become sales agents in return for tokens that build up and eventually entitle the holder to a bonus watch – BA111OD has made its intentions well known in just a short amount of time, with this release pushing the brand and its identity on even further.
According to Mr Mory who designed the CHPTR_Δ, the watch aims to bring a duality between the circular time of the minutes and the hypocycloidal time of the hours, enclosed in a triangle in the foreground of the dial. This asymmetrical reading of time, which slows down and starts again, is part of another temporality, symbolising the carousel of life.
The brand’s first manufacture movement sees that while the minute hand travels around the dial in the usual way, the hour is indicated by a small dot turning on its own axis as it travels within a triangle (for those who remember the 1970s, think of the action of a Spirograph), creating a non-linear experience of time.
On this, Mr Baillod comments: “I particularly appreciate this aspect. Besides being mesmerising, it’s the [relation to the] symbolic aspect of life that fascinates me. Like those precious moments that last or slip away… the hour dot slows down and then speeds up again in a movement that appears irregular yet is perfectly calibrated and precise.”
Rather than a simple hand rotating, the movement was designed to “roll” a satellite hour wheel around a fixed central hour wheel. When a wheel is rotated around another wheel, the trajectory described by any point on this satellite wheel is a cycloid. There are several types of cycloids, some of which have particular trajectories, depending on the size ratio between the fixed wheel and the satellite wheel, as well as whether the satellite wheel rotates inside or outside the fixed wheel.
In this new chapter for BA1110D, the chosen cycloid is a deltoid (with a ratio of 1/3), and as a result, the trajectory described by the tip of the hour hand is… a triangle.
While few watch brands have taken the step to develop an in-house movement, those who have done so are well-established, which makes BA111OD stand out from the crowd. The young Neuchâtel-based brand has already embarked on this adventure, despite being founded just over three years ago. However, according to its founder, this is a continuation of its philosophy. “Since day one,” says Mr Baillod, “BA111OD has been about a different way of looking at watchmaking. Today, we offer a new reading of time as well.”
Accustomed to highlighting the artisans with whom he develops his models, Mr Baillod makes no exception in this case. He pays tribute to Diego Böttger-Zevallos, the initial designer of this movement, with an engraving of Module 09310 on the caseback, which, when read backwards, offers a nice nod to the craftsman by spelling out his first name.
As with previous models, the design is handled by Liliane Murenzi, BA111OD’s senior designer, who gives the piece its sleek character and highlights its DNA, thanks to a play of transparency, asymmetry, and subtle open areas on the movement that add depth. The aesthetic is enhanced by a combination of polished, circular brushed, and matte satin finishes. The CHPTR_Δ is offered in three colour variations playing on shades of grey, black, or blue.
To ensure the technical development and production, BA111OD once again relies on the brilliant watchmaker Olivier Mory – who has already created the Tourbillon models for BA111OD. “There is hardly anything more transcendentally beautiful in mathematics than to obtain a triangle by using only things that turn round. And it is a discreet homage to the several-hundred-year-old use of the cycloid in watchmaking. Galileo, Newton, Huygens, Euler, Cantor or Roberval, to name but a handful, have all worked on the amazing properties of these curves,” explains Mr Mory.
Finally, the watch assembly is done in-house, as BA111OD has its own watchmaking workshops T2 (dial and hand fitting and casing) and T3 (bracelet fitting), as well as the after-sales service and logistics department in Neuchâtel. This integration demonstrates the dynamism of the young company and allows it to master the entire creation process in-house, thus strengthening its autonomy
The watches are available for pre-order on the website www.ba111od.com or through the Afluendors boutiques now, priced at CHF 2,420. Deliveries are expected to start in October 2023.
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