How Ouch Und Junior managed to simplify complex calendar functions

Only 130 watches are produced each year at the company’s headquarters inside an Art Nouveau villa in La Chaux-de-Fonds. One might expect extremely high prices under these conditions, but the watches begin at €3,000 even with an innovative weekday display. Ludwig Oechslin carried out and documented a restoration of the Farnese Clock in the Vatican from 1978 to 1982. He was then discovered by Rolf Schnyder (CEO of Ulysse Nardin until his death in 2011) when the latter was searching for a designer who could create astronomical complications for the brand. Oechslin first developed an astrolabe for Ulysse Nardin, followed by other complex models like the Freak and a perpetual calendar. From 2001 to 2014, Oechslin led the Musée International d’Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds. He studied mathematics, astronomy, archaeology, and theoretical physics in his academic career, culminating in doctoral and post-doctoral degrees. And during that time, Oechslin also completed a watchmaking degree and master watchmaker examination. For him, science and craftsmanship are not polar opposites but come together neatly in watchmaking. “For me, everything is part of a single thing, the one complements the other. Scientific work provides the foundation for creative action.” Versatility also has a practical effect. According to Oechslin, “Intellectual labour is a vacation from manual labour, and vice versa.”

Perpetual calendar with 12 parts

The Two Time Zones + Date shows the scond timezones via a disc and modified hour hand

The idea behind Ochs und Junior is to design functions as simply as possible with displays that are also just as simple. This is why the perpetual calendar module is made of only nine additional and three modified parts. This model is named Calendario Cent’Anni (CCA), or the ‘hundred-year calendar’, in Italian—a more precise description than ‘perpetual’ since every 100 years there is no leap year (with the exception of the years that’re divisible by 400). The next time this occurs will be in 2100, which is when the calendar must be corrected. This also applies to perpetual calendars from other brands.

The Day/Night model indicates the sunrise and sunset times

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Reading the Perpetual Calendar watch is not immediately apparent, but after a brief explanation it very quickly becomes intuitive. Hour and minute hands work in the conventional way, and the running seconds are displayed by a small disc at 6 o’clock with a line pointer in a contrasting colour. A snail-shaped track with 31 small openings—one placed at every other minute—shows the date. The central inner disc indicates the month, with a dot that points to 12 markings that are arranged in line with the hour markers. A small satellite inside this disc indicates a leap year when the marker points outwards. Despite the small number of parts, operation is easy. The date, and all other displays, can be adjusted forwards or backwards via the crown.

Perpetual Calendar with a minimalist display: Ochs und Junior Calendario Cent'Anni

The Perpetual Calendar is available in different variants, including a modern design with a black dial and white or yellow accents, and with or without numerals. Or, customers can design the watch themselves online. There is a choice between silver or titanium for the case material, with or without coating, as well as a variety of straps and colours for every element on the dial. In addition to different varnish colours, there is a signature Ochs und Junior brushed and oxidized brass finish option for the dial. The case is also plain and simple—round with short lugs. Oechslin describes it as a container that protects the movement, but one that doesn’t distract from the principal element, the dial. The watches are water resistant to 100 metres and have a screw-down crown. Ochs und Junior is also different in other ways. The brand name is not on the dial but on the inside of the strap. And all suppliers and partners are named transparently on the homepage. ETA movements are usually the basis for the complications, while the models with small seconds are based on Ulysse Nardin movements.

Colourful windows

Ludwig Oechslin

The Settimana entry-level model with weekday display is offered in several different dial colours. The weekday is indicated via seven small round windows and a coloured dot. If the dot is visible in the first window, that means it’s Monday. On models with a second timezone, a 12-hour disc that can be advanced using the crown so that the hour hand also shows a second time zone on the track in a 12-hour format.

The Day/Night model offers a completely separate complication that is available only by special order. Each piece is specially calculated and manufactured for the customer’s location. The 12-hour marker for ‘south’ and the two celestial bodies that circle around the inner hour dial are placed in the same positions as the sun and moon at the actual location, so the watch can show the moonphase and the true midday, i.e. the point in time when the sun is exactly in the south. The ever-changing dark portion of the lower part of the dial indicates the nighttime hours. It shows exactly how long it will be dark, and when the sun will rise and set. Ludwig Oechslin says he has even more ideas for complications on the drawing board. It will be exciting to see what other brilliant and minimalist innovations are coming next.