It took three years of research and development at Le Temps Manufacture in Fleurier, Switzerland, to give birth to this patented animation complication. The new Byrne GyroDial watch is one watch with four relatively different looks. With its made-to-measure movement, Byrne invented the evolutionary watch. Every evening at midnight, or whenever you choose, there is a changing of the four cardinal indexes on the GyroDial. Arabic numerals, Roman numerals, special characters or designs, each index is displayed on the face of a flush-mounted rotating block. The jump from one display to the next is disconcertingly instantaneous.
Byrne also offers the possibility of customizing the faces of each rotating block, as well as the case material. The case, like the calibre 5555, was entirely designed, developed, and manufactured in Switzerland for the GyroDial. With its long, supple curves of titanium, the dial and its straight grain satin finish present a distinctive contemporary and sleek aesthetic. Together, the movement and the dial are housed in the GyroDial case measuring 41.7 mm in diameter.
A case created entirely for this model, entirely original, making no reference to any icon, any canon. It was conceived by John Byrne, who studied at a design school. With its curved profile, the case is as much original work as the complexities it houses. First carved from a block of titanium, it is entirely Swiss-made. The case form stands out by the tautness of its lines, tense arcs that extend from lug to lug, far from facile indeed. Instead of one through the line, the case presents several, harmoniously staggered between the different layers of this original construction. And as if to make them easier to apprehend, these various levels of perception are underlined by variations in finish.
Such was the task of creating and machining the case. The case middle is satin-finished whilst the upper part of the case, between the case middle and the bezel, is entirely polished. The operation may seem trivial, but it is notoriously difficult to perform on the ultra-resistant metal that is titanium. Among the many advantages of its grade 5 variant, there is one that can be grasped and felt immediately. Despite its generous proportions, the watch barely reaches 100 grams on the scale. The second is rarer, as titanium is hardly ever presented in this polished form, the finish and brilliance of the GyroDial’s case are quite unique.
Created by John Byrne following an extensive journey of technical and philosophical maturation, the GyroDial unequivocally bears the stamp of its originator. A designer by training, he very early on chanced upon collector's watches. Thanks to a series of fortunate encounters, he found himself a hunter of timekeeping rarities. Thus mandated by the greatest brands intent on reconstituting their heritage through acquisitions, he developed and cultivated the keenest eye for the fundamentals of watchmaking excellence. On a parallel track, he acquired a watch repair and refurbishing workshop, which soon earned the seal of approval from the most renowned manufactures.
Claire and John Byrne
A new independent watch brand. A new concept. A new watch is the Byrne GyroDial. Every night at midnight, or at whim, smooth and swift, the four indices, at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock, change their appearance in a flash. Roman numerals, Arabic numerals —or any bespoke character, symbol, or design of the owner’s choosing— can be made to appear on the dial. The inspiration to create the GyroDial came to John Byrne one evening while attending a performance of George Balanchine's ballet Apollo Musagetes at the Paris Opera. He witnessed four dancers change their outfits almost instantaneously as if they collided; the quartet became a single dancer with four different appearances. That summer evening, as he descended the monumental staircase of the Palais Garnier, something clicked. John Byrne was going to create a watch with four looks.
The GyroDial, is a titanium watch measuring 41.7 mm in diameter and 14.8 mm in thickness, with taut, modern lines. On its grey dial, four windows offer as many possibilities for the display, the face, and the expression. Underneath, a calibre was created to measure and manufactured in Fleurier comprising four rotating blocks. At midnight, or at a whim, they rotate instantaneously to present a different look. Absolutely consistent with the spirit of the GyroDial and its reality, Byrne imagined a preselection of index faces from the outset. In addition to neutral indices or Roman or Arabic numerals, the fourth face can bear the number 5, 7, or 8 —one of the three main lucky numbers— as desired. Naturally, a fully bespoke option allows the customer to define what is to appear on each one of the 16 rotating index display faces.
John Byrne's design is that of a perfectly smooth dial, the cardinal indexes are perfectly flush. Nothing betrays the face-changing operation, nothing hints at anything but the appearance one expects of a watch...until the next change. This seamless surface, with no edges or indentations, results from the perfect fit and fill of the rotating blocks within their respective windows. This same seamlessness of design follows through with the case and the way it extends to the sapphire box crystal that tops it.
Le Temps Manufacture works discreetly for some of the greatest names in Swiss watchmaking who entrust the specialist workshop with special, particularly complex projects. John Byrne had been running a watch refurbishment and repair workshop for many years, so he knew what worked and what didn’t, what could bring a specific function to life, and what might stifle it. After many fruitless searches, he finally found the partner who understood his vision and was able to transform it into a fully operational calibre, in every respect. Le Temps Manufacture delivered the calibre 5555, a 261-part and 40 jewels automatic movement with 60 hours of power reserve. The movement is visible via the sapphire display case back.
The bezel, slim and clean-cut, effectively counterbalance the impression of thickness. An inevitable consequence of using rotating blocks, it has been reduced to the minimum possible by the state-of-the-art in watchmaking and, by the magic of design, attenuated to almost the point of imperceptibility by the visual artifice that is the intelligence in the drawing. Indeed, the case design was the subject of an intense and thorough ergonomic study. It ensures perfect comfort, its soft curves following those of the wrist. The result is a slender, taut profile, with outward-reaching lugs flowing in line with the case middle.
This approach necessarily flowed into designing the strap. It was impossible to leave little thought to the element that keeps the watch on the wrist after having put so much care into creating the case, movement, dial, and, above all, the underlying concept. Hand-crafted by the specialized workshop of Jean Rousseau and entirely to Byrne's specifications, the strap is either saddle-stitched rubber or alligator, the latter with large scales. It contains two rigid inserts, placed in an interlining as close as possible to the lug width. These inserts again form a curve that naturally settles the GyroDial on the wrist. At this stage, the watch changes its costume, every evening at midnight or at a whim, like a ballerina of time.
The watch is available for now with a black or blue galvanic vertical satin-brushed finished dial. Customization requires an additional cost.
Sticker Price $16,000 USD. For more info on Byrne Watches click here.
