Luca Ubertini calls the 1960s and 1970s the “Golden Age of watches”; when innovation and experiment in watch design and technology ruled. Ubertini finds current watch design and technology to be in stagnation, caught in a cycle of a few endlessly repeating types. Sconvoloto, which means “upset” in Italian takes a new, look at the function, design and materials of the wristwatch and the interaction of the human body with time on the wrist.
Sconvolto is Made in Italy
Sconvolto is entirely hand-made in Italy using Japanese watch movements, which have won a name for quality and cost in the face of intense Swiss competition. The final assembly of Sconvolto takes place in Castlepliano, about a hundred kilometers Northeast of Rome, with subcontractors for machining and finishing located throughout Italy. Except for Germany, Italy makes the most watch brands of any country in Europe, with some having won international prominence. A complete base for watch manufacturing exists in Italy which Sconvolto has been able to draw on. In addition, Italy’s large Aerospace and automotive industries contribute to Sconvolto’s Made in Italy quality.
Sconvolto Design: a Legacy of Streamlining
The initial designs of Sconvolto drew their inspiration from a 1970’s Ducati motorcycle fairing. This evolved and changed greatly with the idea of making the crystal flush with the case and creating a single streamlined surface over the entire top of the watch. The next step was testing
the design of the back, Sand a series of prototypes were made and tested on many people as well as with an MRI scan. As the critical dimensions of the back became clear, the case emerged as a perfect spherical form lug to lug. The crown is in a protected position at 3:00. Like the dials, it draws its inspiration from the dashboard instruments of classical Italian cars.
Sconvolto: Ergonomic design. Designed by humans for humans
As the size and shape are comparatively large, 7075 aircraft aluminum was chosen for strength, lightness and exceptional corrosion resistance. Some people wear their watches loose and others wear them tight; Sconvolto offers a perfect compromise between the two. The inner part of the top lug shifts thanks to a spring-loaded mechanism that expands and contracts with the movement of the wrist. It responds to as little as 5 newtons of force and makes the watch feel invisible on the wrist of the wearer.
However, it still accepts standard 22 mm spring bars and watch bands. Sconvolto recommends a soft band such as the Herschel AG Performance which comes as standard equipment with the watch. A further important feature of the Sconvolto is the positioning of the dial off-center so that the watch always looks the wearer in the eye, instead of being pointed at the ceiling. The Sconvolto is designed for both easy wearing and easy readability.
Sconvolto: Made of 7075 AircraftAluminum, stronger, lighter and more corrosion resistant than most types of steel
Sconvolto is machined out of two solid billets of 7075 Aircraft Aluminum. 7075 Aircraft Aluminum was invented in Japan in 1935 by the Sumitomo Metals Corporation and was first used in the famous Mitsubishi Zero fighter plane. It is an exceptionally strong and light alloy of Aluminum, Zinc, Manganese and Copper. In addition, it is highly corrosion-resistant. It is widely used through the Aerospace industry wherever strength and lightweight are needed. For example, The wing spars of most modern commercial jet airliners use it. A Wing spar is the main structural member of an aircraft wing, running spanwise at right angles to the fuselage. The spar carries the flight load of the entire airplane when flying and the weight of the wings while on the ground.
Some of the many applications of 7075 Aircraft Aluminum are racing bicycles, metal injection molds, various types of gears and shafts, aircraft landing gear, wings and fuselage, and missile parts. It was used in the Space Shuttle. As well as being light and stronger than many types of steel, it’s resistance to corrosion makes it one of the principal choices for many airplane parts.
Sconvolto is one of the only watches in the world to use this durable and light material. In addition, the unique EPD coating contributes to make the Sconvoloto entirely corrosion-proof.
Sconvolto EPD plating: A unique coating, the only one of its’ kind in the world
Sconvolto uses an unusually thick anodized coating which is then covered by an EPD coat and baked for 15 hours to be thermally cured. Many aluminum parts such as water flasks, motorcycle and car parts are colored by anodizing. Anodizing is a protective oxide layer formed by an electrolytic process that can be either clear or colored. To make the coloring shine, it normally has to be very thin, between four to seven microns thick. A micron is 0/001 mm. This thin layer will easily corrode or scratch.
The coloring and anti-corrosion coating of Sconvolto is entirely unique. There is no other watch in the world that uses such a resistant, laboratory-tested coating as Sconvoilto. In fact, the Sconvolto may be the only product in the world that uses this unique and durable method of finishing.
A 20-micron anodized coating is applied to Sconvolto and then colored. On top of this, an EPD coat is applied resulting in its’ vibrant, metallic colorization. EPD stands for Electrical Particle Deposition. After being anodized, Sconvolto is submerged in an EPD catholic bath of microscopic resin particles. These fill any pores in the anodizing and form a clear, tough, ceramic-type layer over the entire watch. It is not as hard as the anodized layer, but is more elastic, very scratch resistant and impenetrable to corrosion. Following this treatment, the parts are washed, dried and then baked for 15 hours to thermally cure.
As this is a totally new process, it was not arrived at overnight. There was any number of failures before the right combinations were achieved. The watch case coating went through rigorous testing of each version at The Laboratorio Cierre, in Arrezzo , Italy, an Italian government-certified testing laboratory. Four important test were applied: sun resistance, to make sure the colors would not fade in the sunlight; surface adhesion test to be sure the finish did not detach from the watch case under stress; a mechanical abrasion test to test resistance against scratches and the hardest test to pass, resistance to artificial sweat. Sconvoloto’s finish has passed all these tests.
Sconvolto through its’ use of superior 7075 aircraft aluminum and its own singular coating has overcome all problems of corrosion and weakness that have plagued other attempts to make watches out of aluminum. It is unique and can not be duplicated.
The Crystal and Other Parts of the Watch,
The crystal is precision CNC machined out of a PMMA, a type of acrylic used for windows, skylights and airplane canopies. In its liquid form it is used to secure artificial joints inside the body as it is completely biodegradable. Once machined the crystal is hand polished. PMMA is shatter-resistant, distortion-free and does not discolor. Other parts of the watch are brass. The hands and dial are photo-chemically etched out of brass and then colored in several different ways. The movement holder is brass as is the crown, which is plated black by PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) . The buckle is anodized and treated with DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) which applies a diamond-hard finish to the surface. Sconvolto is a mix of traditional and exotic materials and despite being a larger size watch weighs only 75 grams including the band.
The Watch Movements: Accuracy and Quality
Sconvolto Tipo D and Tipo L use the Miyota 82S5 to fit the dial design. Miyota was established by the Citizen Watch Company in Miyota City in Nagano Prefecture, about two hours from Tokyo by bullet train and local transfer.This mountainous region, known for deep snows and clear air was chosen in 1959 to establish a specialized watch movement (mechanism) factory and has become known worldwide for accuracy and quality
The Miyota 82S5 is an automatic (self-winding) mechanical watch movement with 21 jewels. is 11.5 lines (25.94 mm) in diameter and 5.67 mm in thickness. With a power reserve of 42 hours, it is a high beat movement of 21,600 Bph (Beats per hour) and a factory tested accuracy of -20~+40 seconds a day. It is entirely made in Japan in the factory in Miyota, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
The Miyota 9015 is made by Citizen in their Miyota factory also. It is used in the Sconvolto Tipo F and Tipo A principally because of dial positioning. The Miyota is 11.5 lines (25.94 mm) in diameter, 3.9 mm thick and has several features that Miyota 82S5 does not: a date with a quick set date mechanism and also a second stop mechanism (hack mechanism) when the crown is pulled out. The Miyota 9015 has 24 Jewels, a power reserve of 42 hours and is a high beat movement of 28,800 Bph. Accuracy is factory tested at -10~+20 seconds a day and like the Miyota 82S5 is entirely Made in Japan in the Citizen factory in Miyota, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
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Because Sconvolto is largely handmade, waiting times for delivery can sometimes be rather lengthy. To assure the speediest possible delivery of your Sconvolto watch, please order now.
