BASELWORLD 2018
Eco-Drive One
Limited
Edition
Model
Altic*1 is used for the bezel, the ‘outline’ of the watch. Because this hard metall alloy looks different from different angles, it creates a rich variety of expression. The interplay of the black bezel and the silver case produces a captivating contrast, making for a watch that is at once sharp, subtle and refined. At 2.98 mm*2, the Eco-Drive One is the world’s thinnest*3 light-powered watch, with a light-powered movement just 1.00 mm*2 thick inside. With only 1,000 exemplars worldwide, it represents a rare elegance.
The quest for thinness and the quest for elegance are two sides of the same coin. Finding a material that is sufficiently strong when thin is a great challenge. For this model, we used Altic, a new material which achieves that seemingly impossible task. An aluminium-titanium alloy with around 1,900 HV (Vickers hardness), Altic is astonishingly scratch resistant and light. Using this material for the first time ever*4 for a watch, we have produced a timepiece that is as thin as it is elegant.
*1 Altic is a fine ceramic made of alumina and titanium carbide that marks more than 1,900 HV (Vickers hardness number).
*2 Dimensions are nominal.
*3 For an analogue light-powered watch, as of February 2018, according to research by Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
*4 According to research by Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
