As feature-rich smartwatches proceed to steal consumers away, the makers of conventional mechanical watches proceed to hunt for tactics to make their timepieces a novel and compelling different. But do you actually need a watch completely covered in Vantablack paint that would simply go lacking at nighttime?

A couple of weeks in the past we shared information of Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo Ultra watch which set a brand new world document for being the world’s thinnest mechanical watch at simply simply 1.88 mm thick. The timepiece featured a exceptional design with spectacular engineering, and though it was constructed from tremendous sturdy supplies like titanium and tungsten carbide, anybody spending $440,000 on the watch would definitely suppose twice about ever carrying it out in public because it nonetheless gave the impression to be very fragile.

But H. Moser & Cie has taken fragility to a complete different degree with this idea that was on show on the current Watches & Wonders Geneva commerce present.

If you’re lower than pace on Vantablack, it’s a particular paint developed by a British firm referred to as Surrey NanoSystems in 2014 that absorbs 99.965% of seen mild hitting it. Vanta really stands for ‘Vertically Aligned Nanotube Arrays’ and it’s what provides the paint its uncommon properties. It’s made up of vertically oriented carbon nanotubes on the microscopic scale that entice photons and scatter them amongst the tubes. So few of the photons are capable of escape that to the human eye something painted with Vantablack seems to be like a featureless black void.

Of course nothing comes with out controversy today, and again in 2016 artist Anish Kapoor was capable of completely license Vantablack for makes use of outdoors of army and aerospace functions. It has severely restricted when and the place Vantablack can be utilized, however not solely. In 2020, H. Moser & Cie really revealed its first horological experiments with the fabric, covering the dials of three limited run timepieces (ranging in value from $26,600 to $69,000) in Vantablack leading to watches with a really distinctive look and transferring fingers that appeared like they have been hovering over an empty void.

For 2022, H. Moser & Cie took the concept a number of steps additional and created the Streamliner Chronograph “Blacker Than Black” with its complete case lined in Vantablack paint. For those that couldn’t make it to Watches & Wonders Geneva this yr, the corporate has shared images and videos of the modified Streamliner by means of its social media channels which reveals the watch sitting in entrance of a Vantablack background that makes your complete factor fully disappear from sure angles—aside from its set of 4 transferring fingers exhibiting the time.

Unfortunately, H. Moser & Cie has no plans to promote the Streamliner Chronograph “Blacker Than Black” simply but. In reality, the prototype that was on show on the present is much too fragile to be worn and even dealt with, and posed a number of challenges simply to have the ability to show it with out damaging its distinctive end. However, the CEO of H. Moser & Cie told Hodinkee that it was engaged on methods to enhance the sturdiness of the Vantablack end in order that sooner or later the prototype may very well turn into a bit collectors may purchase, doubtlessly making it the primary mechanical watch that nobody can really see.