“As perfect as possible, but only as expensive as it is essential” is the almost founding phrase of Helmut Sinn, creator of the watch brand that bears his surname and whose sloganSpezialUhren, Special Watches, is the seed of our forum. HeGalerna project of Special Watchesis a good example of such a concept.
The forum projects, at least those of the watchmaking forums, are authentic choral works where all participants-subscribers have the opportunity to give their opinion and in a certain way decide what their watch is going to be like. And since only as many watches will be made as there are subscribers to the project, it can be said that they are very limited editions: in Special Watches we range from 57 examples of the RE-1, the first watch on the forum ever made, to the 333 that the acclaimed and now legendary Diver had.
After eight (it is said soon) projects in twelve years, it was necessary to innovate. And it is not easy to innovate in a sector where function leads to form and almost everything has already been said. As the intention is for it to be a wearable watch rather than a “look and don't touch” collection watch, the original idea of what is today the “Galerna” was to carry out a project with a clear inspiration of a tool watch, taking ideas from diving watches, tactical watches and even fliegers. All this starting from a blank page, with a modern air and from the demanding prism of the watch fan. Since conceptually a clock-instrument is nothing new, innovation had to be found in the form.
After discarding a wide range of objects from which to draw inspiration, we narrowed down around the camera lenses: a cylinder with a convex glass and the "grip" for its operation, a concave bezel to provide it with a powerful aesthetic. All of this built with appropriate materials to be able to offer instrument performance. Numerous useful functions were studied (a tourbillon did not fit here, for example), forum members (future subscribers) were consulted and the concept itself was refined.
It was decided that apart from extreme resistance and excellent readability, the Galerna would be a watch waterproof to at least 600 meters, it would have a Helium valve and a GMT or second time zone function. Also the materials, to be in tune, had to be different, so grade 5 titanium and aluminum bronze were chosen. But we wanted to go further in the hardness-scratch capacity and we gave the titanium a DLC treatment, raising this resistance to levels of approximately 2000 vickers, taking as a reference the 140 of 316 steel. Thus, we will have three finishes: titanium, DLC-coated titanium and bronze.
Aluminum bronze has properties very close to 316L Steel in hardness, lightness and scratch resistance, distancing itself from other copper bronzes more used in watchmaking, which are softer and heavier as they contain lead. In addition, this bronze creates a very controlled patina, and unlike other bronzes, it does not require specific care.
A cylinder with a concave bezel, a double domed crystal, a double crown... finished off with semi-skeletonized lugs that have required a great study and that in some way complete or reinforce the personality of a watch that we wanted to be unique and therefore not for all palates. In order not to lose sight of something as important as ergonomics, a balance has been reached between its shape and comfort, with a hard and very polygonal appearance but playing with its planes to fit a wide range of wrists. Likewise, the dimensions are within the limits of what is considered a forceful watch and in line with the latest innovations: 44mm bezel, 43mm case, 15.1mm in height and 24mm between lugs.
Although in an instrument-type watch it will not be seen when the caseback is worn, the caliber is another pillar of the Galerna. Throughout the previous projects, there were many comments in favor of making a watch for the forum with an exclusive caliber, without using low-end calibers and avoiding ETAsa, due to their massive use, and combining exclusivity and costs when it comes to Swiss calibers for a project is not an easy task. Perhaps sinning from immodesty, we can say that we are proud to have been able to fulfill that aspiration with an “In house” caliber 3945 from Eterna Movement, with 68 hours of power reserve and UTC/GMT function. Quality, modernity and exclusivity: the first forum project with a non-ETAsa and non-Japanese caliber.
And above all this, perhaps now would be the time to talk about the "intangibles...". But it is a watch for and by RE fans (the most demanding users by far) and what we need to talk about is the tangible, its manufacturing. If we were concerned about the interior, from the beginning we have also opted for quality in both the design and the finishes. And here Unity Watches comes into play, the Spanish micro-brand based in Barcelona, to whom we have entrusted the manufacturing of the cases, which will be made precisely in Barcelona and will later be sent to Switzerland for final finishing, including DLC treatment.
We could have relied on a more or less hackneyed label: Swiss Made. But at this point, when theSwiss lawapproved by the Swiss Government itself allows a watch to bear that distinction with 40% of its components of foreign origin, we prefer to broaden our sights and bet on what is palpable - and demonstrable -, and choose processes for their proven reliability rather than for their “last name”. This is why the manufacturing and assembly, with an intermediate step in Switzerland, will be in our country and by Unity, whose letter of introduction is precisely its own watches.
And along these lines, as an exercise in transparency and in line with some changes that are coming in the industry, we publish the different origins of the watch by country, with manufacturing or finishes being mostly from Spain or Switzerland while only the dial or hands will come from outside Europe... come on, from China.
And the strap. The supplied one will be black, will combine leather and textile and will be provided by Peter Gunny (Gunnystraps), one of the most renowned artisans on the Internet and based in Indonesia. JacobStraps leather and Isofrane rubber straps will be offered optionally.
All the data is in this tutorial:
https://relojes-especiales.com/blog/foros/proyecto-re-diver-utc/tutorial-esencial-galerna-by-unity-diver-utc-32
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