WPHH 2007 - Martin Braun

The first of the new watches for 2007 is the Benzol, available either with a black (pictured) or yellow dial (Benzol Y). These bright and cheerful watches contain a Valjoux 7750 chronograph movement, and both versions feature carbon fibre dials. The case quality is excellent for the price, not surprising given that Mr Braun’s father is the founder of the well known German casemaker CCM-Braun.

Benzol B

Next is the Classic, a simple time-only automatic with date. It’s available in steel or rose gold, with several dial options. Martin Braun states the movement inside, the MAB 88, is an in-house calibre.

Classic W in steel

The next watch is also a simple automatic, but it contains a new-old-stock 1970s Pforzheim-Uhrenroh-Werke (PUW) movement. Martin Braun wanted to preserve the originality of the movements, so no changes were made to the movements aside from cleaning and lubrication. 100 pieces of these will be made, 50 each with blue or silver dials.

Teutonia II

Now we move on to the astronomical complications Martin Braun is famous for. The first of the new models is the Selene, named after the Greek moon goddess. Needless to say, it is a moonphase watch. What is interesting is it features one of the biggest and most realistic moon displays I have seen. Even more fascinating is the execution of the moonphase: the moon display actually consists of two dark discs that rotate beneath a translucent moon.

The claimed error of the moonphase is a deviation of 1 day after 122.5 years. Its accuracy is further improved because, unlike conventional moon displays that move day by day, this one rotates in much smaller increments, meaning the moonphase can be set right down to the minute. Technical details aside, the Selene with meteorite dial is a fine-looking watch, the grey meteorite dial complements the moon display perfectly.

Selene Meteorite in rose gold

Selene S

Next is the Boreas, a watch that displays both equation of time and the time of sunrise and sunset. It is available in a 39 or 42mm case, and in steel or precious metals.

Boreas 42 PB - 42mm case

The next watch, the Notos, displays declination, “the angular distance between a star and the celestial equator on the horary circle of the star” and the equation of time. While I understand the equation of time bit, I have no idea what declination is, or why anyone would want it displayed on a watch. Not surprisingly, this is the only wristwatch in the world that displays declination. The Notos is a conceptual grande complication - it displays something so complex no one really understands it.

Something else to note is the beautifully polished stone dial, available in either black onyx or white cocolong stone. Natural stone dials are uncommon due to the difficulty of cutting and polishing, so I was surprised to discovered the dials of the Notos are stone.

Notos B in rose gold with black onyx dial

The final watch, fortunately, is one that is more easily understood. The La Belle CP features an elaborately decorated Unitas movement and a barrel that is visible through the dial. CP stands for ‘crown position’ and it refers to the indicator at 3 o’clock at points to “w” or “s”, meaning ‘wind’ and ‘set’ respectively; they indicate the position the crown is in.

La Belle CP in rose gold

La Belle CP movement