Home of our R&D specialist product wing, Z-Branch is our creative space where the imagination of engineers and designers cross borders between fact and fiction. The result is cool one-off pieces connected by time, horology and the stories that define every watch. And design concepts that make the best of in-house watch manufacture.
In the below interview meet our very own self-taught engineer, with 20 years experience as a survival equipment fitter in the Royal Air Force.
Take our Time Machine, a shiny amalgamation of aluminium, steel and brass that was built gradually over a two-year period. Essentially, this is a massive gearbox built with ratios so huge that by the time its movement has reached the end of its sequence… billions of years have gone past.
Is it art? An intricately engineered watch winder? Or a philosophical nod to the path we travel…
In the Z-Branch workshop there’s room and time to think outside the box. One day we are creating a rocket in brass on a Myford Super 7 lathe… the next day we are 3D printing a watch case design to see how components look and sit on our wrist. No two days or weeks are the same.
Some weeks are just about play. Like the brief to create a bespoke case to house the DB-1 Blackout Lancaster. Mission: locate a retro Samsonite® case, add a replica Walther PP semi-automatic, and design gadgets like a miniature breathing apparatus that fits inside a cigar tube. Just add a little danger.
…or create a pilot’s ejector seat to go on display in the studio. Where would you even start? Well… you could get an invite to the Martin-Baker Aircraft Company, whose founders — British engineer Sir James Martin and naval pilot Valentine Baker — were early pioneers of ejector seat technology. Making the most of this opportunity, we took photos of the ejector seat from the F35 stealth combat fighter, drew our own version in 2D CAD design, then laser cut a prototype in wood. The final product was a stylish ejector seat made from aluminium, steel, brass and copper wire.
Laser engraving and cutting; model making and 3D printing; lathe manufacture in wood and metal. These are just some of the engineering-design skills of our Specialist Research and Development Wing.
As we increasingly bring traditional and contemporary horological skills in-house, Z-Branch is developing pad printing for watch dials, and multiple axis temperature testing to COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres) limits to verify the accuracy and precision of our watches to the highest standards.
