Birth of the first ‘Mecascape’ —a contraction of mechanical and landscape—, named Sublimation 1 by CODE41, it is a new mechanical watch object that transcends the usual dimensions and reveals a new architectural vision of time, space, volume, and light. The most modern-looking pocket watch and what we call an objet d’art. Contrary to what one might assume, the Mecascape is neither the enlargement of a watch nor the flattening of a clock. In addition to precision and ingenuity, it is first and foremost a space that opens up a new form of creative freedom in watchmaking, a new, different, singular, and heretofore undiscovered space for expression.
Cut from Grade 5 titanium, the Mecascape Sublimation 1 reveals a new architectural fusion of space, time, and light. To know the past to better reinterpret it; to respect its heritage as a Swiss brand to better push the limits, and finally invent something truly different. To master the codes until one is completely free of them to transform the design into emotion and mechanics into pure beauty. The Mecascape belongs to both worlds. It speaks of movement and precision as fluently as it does of form and space.
Its relaxed, deconstructed space offers an original vision of the timekeeping mechanics that play with spatial volumes while preserving harmony and natural balance. Its singularity, the innovation of its flat movement, and its function have been technically rethought in a completely new way.
Freeing itself from shapes, scales, and proportions, the Mecascape is thus the fruit of a new kind of creative endeavor, where mechanics are entirely in the service of design —of which time is only one element. With the creation of the Mecascape, CODE41 imagines a new form of a mechanical object, which expresses and transcends the usual spatial volumes. The result of a creative vision and a passion for a different kind of watchmaking, CODE41 and its founder Claudio D'Amore have created a new “time object,” opening a new category —Mecascapes— that is unprecedented in the traditional watchmaking landscape.
Founded in 2016 by Claudio D'Amore, CODE41 is an independent Swiss watch brand based in Lausanne whose aim is to make the art of watchmaking accessible to all. CODE41 is the first community-based mechanical watch brand. From the very beginning, CODE41 has met the challenge of integrating the community into every step of the creation of its projects, while guaranteeing total transparency on the origin of the components as well as on the prices of its watch models and accessories. Its team of 28 employees has created 6 watch collections: ANOMALY01 & ANOMALY02, DAY41, X41, ANOMALY Evolution, NB24, and ANOMALY-T4 powered by two manufacture movements.
In creating this first Mecascape, the approach is essentially emotional. The watch object takes on a new form and expresses itself with more volume, and more space than in a watch or a clock where the mechanics are ultra-condensed. Conceived and designed according to the mathematical language of the Golden Ratio 1.618 and the Fibonacci sequence, this first Mecascape is visually naturally balanced, harmonious, racy, contemporary, both aesthetic and geometric, thanks to the harmony and natural beauty of its divine proportions that derive from the algorithms on which CODE41 has based its design.
With an architecture that is striking for its graphic strength and originality, its components, shape, movement, and exterior resonate with each other in a spirit of great apparent simplicity. Slim, with a thickness of only 7 mm —to put it in context an AP Royal Oak Extra-Thin is 8 mm thick—, the mechanical object can be easily slipped into a jacket pocket so that it can be kept with you. Its horizontal shape, like a small timeless mechanical sculpture in its purity of intention and execution, allows it to be placed on a piece of furniture or a desk, thus offering the possibility of contemplating it and appreciating time in a different way, while remaining very contemporary. If the complex mechanical magic, with the balance, the barrel, the escapement, and all the gears is very clearly visible, each one ensuring its function at first glance, reading the time remains extremely clear and easy. Made out of grade 5 titanium the Mecascape Sublimation 1 measures 10.8 centimeters x 7.1 centimeters —4.25 inches x 2.8 inches— and is powered by an in-house manual wound movement that is fully Swiss-made. The 237 part movement beats at a frequency of 28,800 vph and provides a power reserve of 8 days when fully wound. The total thickness of the Mecascape Sublimation 1 is 8.1 mm thick. This exquisite objet d’art indicates the hours, minutes, seconds, and a second-time zone.
The dial features from left to right an hour counter, a minute counter, a seconds subdial, a second-time zone with the representation of a world map in the heart of the GMT disc, and a power reserve indicator atop with a green hand.
Two small knurled crowns on each side, subtly integrated into the profile, allow the time to be set and the Mecascape to be wound mechanically in a simple and pleasant gesture, with a small push button on the side for setting the date.
While the entire landscape of the Mecascape Sublimation 1 is protected by an anti-reflective sapphire crystal, its solid grade 5 titanium case back protects it from possible twisting of the case middle and ensures a solid structure, suitable for everyday life. With a small opening —like a porthole— also in sapphire crystal, you can admire part of the plate and some of the movement’s gears. The solid back also allows the Mecascape to be placed vertically on a piece of furniture or a desk, thanks to its metal support provided for this purpose - or even to be placed on a table and laid down naturally.
Finally, as a result of CODE41's collaboration with the Cercle des Horlogers, an independent Swiss watchmaking workshop located in the Canton of Neuchâtel —halfway between Neuchâtel and La Chaux-de-Fonds—, the Mecascape has generated a number of extraordinary technical challenges that had to be met, starting with its unprecedented dimensions, the complex calibration of the machines and its structural integrity.
With a creative aesthetic that exudes a strength that speaks to lovers of high-end, singular and exclusive objects, the first Mecascape is destined to be declined in a multitude of color variations, concentrated mainly on the display elements, thus emphasizing its structure, functions, lines, and curves, offering beautiful contrasts to the timepiece as a whole. The Mecascape comes with two accessories: a metal stand that allows the Mecascape to be positioned vertically on a piece of furniture or a desk, for example, and a travel case made of high-quality Italian leather lined with microfiber, which will allow its owner to carry it safely, combined with a small cut- out to elegantly store a bank card or business card.
The CODE41 Mecascape Sublimation 1 is available in three different colors including anodized blue, black, and silver. This objet d’art can be pre-ordered starting November 2, 2022.
Sticker Price $9,360 USD. For more info on CODE41 click here.
