Purity Wavy HMS Mirror, an avant-garde horological creation, has been unveiled by Swiss luxury watch brand, ArtyA Geneva.
The watch has the first-ever mirror caseback, features a fully in-house calibre reimagined through masterful handcraftsmanship and is the perfect union of design and comfort, encased in the groundbreaking Wavy case, crafted from titanium with a transparent, protective DLC coating.
Stairway To Heaven: The Movement
At the heart of this exceptional timepiece is ArtyA’s latest in-house calibre: Stairway To Heaven HMS. This manual-winding movement embodies the brand’s dedication to both visual spectacle and horological excellence:
- Microbead-frosted and hand-chamfered minute wheel train and balance bridges.
- Pulsing at 4Hz, the spectacularly ‘starified’ escapement is positioned like a podium centrepiece, suspended in mid-air.
- Traditional fine regulation – a hallmark of haute horlogerie that ensures optimal precision. This process involves meticulously adjusting the balance wheel’s inertia using peripheral weights (inertia blocks) to maintain the hairspring’s steady and consistent oscillation. The result: optimised calibre performance and lasting chronometric stability.
- Twin barrels, working in parallel, equipped with longer, finer mainsprings for a more stable and linear energy release. The polished barrel blade reduces friction for improved efficiency. The redesigned drum barrels, with fluid, curving lines, seamlessly integrate with the bold bridge architecture of the movement. Proudly bearing the manufacture’s and calibre designation, this subtle detail completes the movement’s refined aesthetic.
Wavy Titanium Case
A bold evolution in the Wavy collection, this is the first case crafted from grade five titanium, a material prized for its strength and lightness.
- Ultra-light yet incredibly strong, titanium embodies both modernity and innovation, delivering exceptional comfort without compromising durability.
- The matte finish results from meticulous hand polishing, followed by microbead frosting for a refined texture.
- A transparent DLC coating boosts resistance to scratches, shocks, and fingerprints. For comparison, stainless steel has a Vickers hardness of 200 HV, titanium 400 HV, and transparent DLC-treated titanium an impressive 1,200 HV (1,800 HV for the black DLC version).
- A mirror-polished lug-to-lug contour adds a discreet yet sophisticated touch, enhancing the timepiece’s elegance without diluting its avant-garde appeal. This meticulous finish – exceptionally complex to achieve on titanium – creates a striking contrast with the case’s matte surface, balancing power with refinement.
Designed by Jérémie Arpa, son of founder Yvan Arpa, the case embodies independent, family-driven watchmaking at its finest. Its flowing, organic contours evoke the power of ocean waves, an effect heightened by titanium’s natural opacity – delivering a case design unlike anything seen before in haute horlogerie.
Mirror Effects
The Wavy Titanium’s mirror caseback introduces an unprecedented innovation, a world first in watchmaking:
- A fully reflective surface that offers a striking new way to experience the movement.
- From the front, seeing through to the mirrored bottom creates the illusion of depth, with the movement seemingly floating in space, enhancing the ethereal purity of the skeletonised calibre’s aesthetic.
- From the back, the one-way mirror effect teases the complexity of the movement without fully revealing its complexity, adding an element of mystery and sophistication.