Introducing the Nord Zeitmaschine Freesdial, with moving dials and hands (specs, video & price)

Here, at Monochrome-Watches, we have a special appeal for a certain category of watches, those with a different display of time, where time is told with something else than just hands. And in this very special category, there’s one that has to be regarded as a free electron: Nord Zeitmaschine. We already introduced to you the two first creations, the Quickindictor and the Variocurve, both with intriguing ballet of the hands. The small independent brand is now coming with a third creation and not only the hands have a strange move but the dials aren’t fixed either. Here is the Nord Zeitmaschine Freesdial.

This third creation from Nord Zeitmaschine is in the vein of the others already presented, meaning that you don’t have to expect a minute hand making a regular circle around the dial. The move of this hand is non linear, it is fast and it makes loops. However, this watch is named the Nord Zeitmaschine Freesdial and thus, it now features a same concept of movement for the dials. The first watch introduced by Daniel Nebel, the Quickindictor, was featuring the fastest minute hand in watchmaking. The second watch introduced, the Variocurve, was featuring a minute hand depicting curves instead of a normal circle. This third creation, the Nord Zeitmaschine Freesdial, applies this concept of curves now on the dial.

The mechanism for the minute hand is composed of 27 parts, comprising several eccentric cams and levers. The minute travels in various loops and curves on a minute track that is also constantly shifting, by extending and retracting. Most of the minute hand and sliding components are made from ARCAP (a strong, non-magnetic and corrosion resistant alloy – also used by URWERK). To understand this display, it’s better to look at a video, considering how complicated it would be to describe with words.

As the minute hand travels, you can see that the two U-shaped minute track rotates in opposite directions. By using eccentric cams and gears, both the minute hand and these two minute tracks achieved to have non linear speeds, to move in opposite directions and in opposite speeds. When the minute hands is the fastest (between 20 and 40), the two minute tracks are almost motionless. On the other hand, when the minute hand goes to a slow speed, the two U-shaped minute track are fast moving, to compensate. And finally note that the minute hand has a non-fixed length and extends or retracts as time goes by.

The rest of the display of the Nord Zeitmaschine Freesdial remains more “natural“, as the show is entirely centered on the minutes. This watch works like a regulator, with dissociated dials for the minutes and the hours. The latter are indicated by a rotating disc at 4. Another sub-dial at 8 indicates a second time zone, as well as a day and night indicator. This GMT function can be separately adjusted via the crown at 9. The other crown at 3 is used to wind the movement and set the time. Finally, there’s an indiction of the date in a window at 10.

To achieve such a display, the Nord Zeitmaschine Freesdial uses a classical ETA 2824, here mainly used for the storage of energy and the gear train. The display is entirely custom-built. The movement features 30 jewels and, mainly, 14 microballbearings. The rotor on the back is also specific and features 3 free dials, some spinning discs that are here only for visual matters and have no mechanical purpose. This movement, with a display module entirely made in-house by Daniel Nebel (founder and owner) is housed in a stainless case measuring 44.3mm x 14.7mm.

The Nord Zeitmaschine Freesdial will be made in two editions, the V1 with yellow minute hand and movement mainly rhodium-plated and the V2 with rhodium-plated minute hand and black gold finished movement. Each edition is limited to 97pieces and priced at 23,700 Swiss Francs (before taxes).