The Hugenius - More than Mere Symbolism!

Named for the inventor of (among other things) the balance spring, the Hugenius celebrates the achievements of Christiaan Huygens.

Courtesy of Kneijnsberg

It was created by Brendan Horneman and is his sophomore effort following up on his Tree of Life from 2018. Back then he sailed under the banner of Kneijnsberg & Van Eijk. The brand name has been adjusted to simply Kneijnsberg.

Courtesy of Kneijnsberg

The Hugenius has some special Easter eggs that I will try to explain here. At its heart, it is three-handed watch that gives hours, minutes, seconds, and date. But a closer look reveals a bit more than first glance.

Courtesy of Kneijnsberg

Circling the dial are seven (7) different symbols. at the center of the dial is (the) Earth.  There symbols for the seven days of the week:  Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and of course Friday. They are highlighted by a small magnifying lens mounted on a fourth hand (the other three hands being hours, minutes, and seconds). The lens mounted hand advances each day in a seven day cycle.

The breakdown of these symbols is as follows:

Saturday = Saturn

Sunday = (the) Sun

Monday = (the) Moon

Tuesday = a spear to symbolize Tyr 

Wednesday = Odin

Thursday = Thor (not to be confused with Chris Hemsworth, but the actual Thor)

Friday = Freya 

So technically it is a day-date watch ; )

So on to the pertinents -

Movement

Certified Swiss made 

Caliber 28.350 (modified ETA 2834-2)

Functions: 

Hours, minutes, central day indication, date at 6, day of week via symbols.

Power Reserve: 

42 hours

Lume: 

Swiss Super-LumiNova on day symbols, Earth motif, and wind rose

Case

Case Material: Grade 5 Titanium

40 mm case diameter, 11 mm case thickness

Lug-to-Lug Distance: 48.25 mm

Crystal: Domed Sapphire with AR-coating

Finishing Options: Full Titanium, Bi-color Titanium with gold-anodized bezel, Full gold-anodized Titanium case.

Strap

Canvas on leather with titanium buckle

Presentation (packaging)

Camera obscura inspired box, referencing Huygens’ optical work

The price in US dollars is: $1,412.27

The Tree of Life

From Kneijnsberg & van Eijks 

Courtesy of
Kneijnsberg & van Eijks 

With all the bluster and preening of the big dogs getting ready for BaselWorld, it was actually quite refreshing to receive the news of a new brand with (in my opinion anyway) a very charming first effort.

This is the Tree of Life, and it has perhaps one of the coolest functions I have ever heard of!  You will notice that the main portion of the top of the dial is a tree with leaves.  In the image above you will see that the leaves are mostly gone, and the remainder are autumn colors?

Courtesy of
Kneijnsberg & van Eijks 

Allow me to introduce you to Spring!  You will notice that half of the tree's leaves have now turned to green.  And I could use a visual reminder like this right now, as today is March 13, and as you can see, we are still waiting for Spring here in the Metro Boston area -

This nifty complication is courtesy of an in-house module for displaying the seasons. The module is constructed of 18 unique parts and has a quick setting function for correcting the complication.  This is combined with the ETA 2892 A2.


The case is of 316L stainless steel, satin brushed and available in three versions - stainless, black, and yellow gold.  It measures 38 mm in width, 52 mm in length and 14.8 mm thick.

I have to be honest, this is a watch that I can't wait to see in person! It is original, intriguing and fun all at the same time.   

The Tree of Life will be available for pre-order shortly, with a special introductory price.