Design Brief Ch 4: The New 12 Marker

We realize not every detail is obvious at first glance, so this series is intended to provide an inside look into the thought and design process behind our creations–and yes, perhaps a sneak peak or two at the future.

Starting from the 20.11 Mosaic, we introduced a new 12 o’clock marker to replace our previously standard zero: why? A bit of a circular argument, this one. It started off as a distinctive identifying element that got singled out as a little logo hallmark to go on the casebacks of the Special Projects Cave pieces, but then it got modified–itself reflecting the modified, experimental nature of those watches.

I then realized the modification would actually be a better 12 marker than the original–since it has both a clearer index point at the base, as well as a proportions above and below the ring that better match the length of the design language 2 indices. It also feels more balanced than the circle on the next evolution of these indices, and the compound curvature better reflects the case lines of the future series of watches.

We’re not going to change our underlying philosophy of 12 being the start rather than the end of something (hence zero) or that time is continuous (hence the circle), but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s regularly linear, either.

It’s a good example of both how something from the bleeding edge trickles down to the rest of the line... MT

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Published: August 2022