What is it?
Two new versions of Azimuth’s Back-in-Time, with its signature complications of hands going backwards to tell the time, now with bronze cases and with environmentally conscious dial treatments.
A note on the complication
I’ve covered Azimuth’s signature complication of the Back in Time watches before, and if you’re unaware of what that’s about, it’s useful to get a sense of it to understand before proceeding. Have a look at the link below.
Azimuth Back in Time – An explanation of a signature complication
Saving the Earth
So what do we have with these two latest watches of the Back in Time collection?
Well, as the name suggests, they have been created to inspire awareness towards treating the environment better. Such a perspective definitely makes sense in our current era, with wild-fires burning, global temperatures going out of whack, and the general sense that we are running out of time to put things back in order.
In that context, the Back in Time complication in these watches, certainly makes sense. As I alluded to in my previous article, it is the fact of the time going anti-clockwise that provokes thoughts on our relationship with time, and in terms of the environment, all the efforts that are ramping up globally are in service of making things return to the way they were before.
The watches
There are a few main things to note about the Back-in-Time Earth Vision – Save the 1’ Limited Edition watches.
The first is that bronze is the case material that they come in. Certainly, while bronze can now be considered a “mainstream” option as a case material, having exploded in popularity over the past few years, in the context of the Earth Vision watches, it does have particular resonance,
Bronze is an alloy that dates to 3500 BC and was instrumental in the advancement of human civilisation. Yet it also reacts to its environment, developing an ever changing patina.
The Earth Vision watches marks the second time that Azimuth has used bronze as a case material, and the choice of using it contrasts well with the first watch that was in bronze. That was a limited edition version of their iconic Mr Roboto that was launched last year. In that context, with bronze and the design of Mr Roboto, the feel was an extreme steampunk.
With the Earth Vision watches however, is it the changing property of the aesthetics of the bronze through patination over time, that resonates well with the message of the watches.
The second thing to note is that there are two watches that each have their own dial colours, with the blue named “Save The 1 – Ocean Blue”, and the green named “Save The 1 – Rainforest”. Both have dials that have evoke the ripple patterns inspired by the dynamic movements of nature, evoking the gentle waves of the ocean and rustling of leaves.
Certainly the treatments are attractive, with the dials both machine stamped before being painted with a graduated “fumée” effect. After this there are then lacquered to ensure a summery gloss finish.
As an artistic statement on the pressing environmental issues of our time, they certainly work, or if not, as the level of a different offering for Azimuth’s relatively unique backwards time complication, they are something different to consider.
Find out more at azimuthwatch.com
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