The Curta.org Bulletin Board

[murff]

The Curta Watch


(c) 2018 red garlic design / curta.li



The design is based on the iconic design elements of the Curta calculator:

- The watch case and also the crown is knurled (because of the size the crown is on the left side).

- The dial has references to the carriage with the white segment of the revolution counter - and the black one of the result dial.

- The hour hand is inspired by the clearing ring, the minute hand is a decimal marker, and the second hand is the typical Curta arrow...

The movement should be be a mechanical hand winding type (e.g. Molnija 3603).

Here a first (and hopefully not the last) picture of The Curta Watch:



(The sapphire glass is removed for better showing the black on black elements...)




Comments and suggestions are welcome
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[curtafan]

looks very nice, but the diameter of the case should not be more than 43 mm. And a wristwatch, also if it is a designer watch, should be readable without problems. So I would not prefer an all black hour hand on a black dial.

[murff]

Thank you for this first feedback...

The current size is 45.24mm diameter and 15.5mm height (compared to the Manometro by Mazzuoli, 45.2/14.8mm). But there is some space for optimizing...

The black on black is given by the Curta design - so the user-friendly visibility of this watch is not in the focus. The only option is to play with shiny and matt surfaces.


Not knowing where the travel goes, I like to collect any more suggestion. And if there is a watchmaker around who is interested in this project, please contact me.
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[Pete]

Cool idea Murff. Maybe ask Torsten Nagengast, TNT watches, they did a couple of projects for Watchuseek (big watch site). That site might also be a good place to post this concept - people who like watches might like Curtas too. For me, the only collectible I have more of than Curtas, is watches.
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Cheers, Pete

[curtafan]

With a diameter of 45 mm I'out . And I think most of us agree. I'm not Arnold Schwarzenegger

[murff]

The diameter is now 43mm and the height is 12mm. Depends on the chosen movement there will be another one or two mm of optimization potential...






Today I was speaking with a local watch maker. A first feedback was positive... The feasibility is (as usual) depends on the three same factors: the price, the quantity and ... where there's a will, there's a way.
We will meet us again in January for a deeper draft of this project.

In the meantime, I would be glad to get some more feedback and suggestion. Any thought about the named factors - what's your opinion about the feasibility?



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[curtafan]

43 mm diameter would be fine, so I would be interested. But I think this watch is only interesting for Curta fans. So the number of watches to sell is not more than 100 pieces.

[murff]

Sure, this will be a watch for Curta lovers!

New optimized design... (The diameter is still 43mm, the height is now 11.5mm)







Maybe a realistic first lot could be 20 units. This will not be a commercial project - the main goal is to realize the Curta Watch - not to get a lot of profit.
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[AJP]

I really like the idea and the concept of this watch. I agree with the comments regarding its size but obviously you have already amended this element. I’m a very keen curta user and collector but I’m also getting more into watches so would love to acquire one or two should it reach production.

Keep up the good work

[curtafan]

this watch looks great and seems to become a must-have for me

[mperlick]

Love the design. Definitely, something I'd be interested in. Has there been any progress recently?

[murff]

Well, there is not really a progress to report...



I'm in contact with different people who may be interested to be part of this project.

In general, there are these known questions about such a project:
- where to find the right people, watchmakers, engineers...?
- how much would be the price of the final watch?
- how many would be produced?

And the main question:
- how to motivate people to help realizing such a project?

What's your contribution?
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[murff]

some other views








some other thoughts?
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[CurtaGuy]

Murff -

Unsure why I didn't comment on this earlier - yet I'm a mechanical timepiece lover. And this design looks "oh so right" (as do many of your artistic ideas, including the look and feel of your Curta website.)

Would be a fan @ 45mm - though the largest I wear is a 44mm Zenith. As for the 43mm, that's fine too. I'd love for the casing to be made of some substantial anodized steel, ala the Curta. And to have that deep knurling on it (and the crown) would be the 'bees knees'.

I do understand though this is a conceptual project/idea, and getting it into production for a limited production run would be (given quality materials are used to include the case, strap, and a calibre of something such as an ETA) costly.

Sigh - it would be on my "Buy it Now" list, for sure.

As always Murff, kudos my friend.

-CurtaGuy

[murff]

CurtaGuy, thank you for the kind feedback!


At the moment I think this will be a conceptual project - not more.
There is no way (for me) to find the right people with the enthusiasm and the skills to realize the Curta Watch. The true professionals are embedded in long time scheduled projects - there is no space for small jobs. Prototyping on the other side is not payable... and to find more than five potential buyers is also difficult.

So, enjoy the rendered pictures and imagine how cool it would be to wind up the Curta Watch...



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