The new Phenomen Axiom

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Phenomen’s first model, Axiom, seeks to highlight the brand’s French creativity, in a blend of technical prowess and style As the debut watch for the brand, it demonstrates the design foundation that marks Phenomen’s collections to come.

The Phenomen Axiom: The Automotive inspiration

 

 

The first watch from the brand, the Axiom is in essence, the car-lovers’ watch Producing the watchmaking equivalent of supercars, it stands in a long tradition of “driver’s watches”, made especially for racing drivers.

First made popular as a tool watch, the driver’s watch was designed to be read from the driver’s wrist with his hand still on the steering wheel Several brands have had different interpretations and adaptations to this Omega had its chronostop driving watch, and Vacheron Constantin the American 1921

 

 

The main aim of such watches was to provide the time on driver’s wrists, without them having to take their eyes off the road – the reason why authentic driver’s watches all feature an inclined time display.

Other variant features apart from tilted dials, or sloping cases, included the digital display Recently popularized is the Amida Digitrend, with MB&F’s HM5

 

 

Phenomen’s Axiom excels exceedingly in the curved angled display department.

The contoured sapphire crystal reveals time underneath it in a meter display The dial and time display mimics older analog car dashboard gauges

The case is unusually complex, which makes for a ‘movement designed to fit the case’.

The power transmission plate seats beneath the balance wheel which appears to be on a ‘2nd floor’ of the movement This play with height allows the downward sloping dial that displays time as though in an amphitheatre.

 

The technicalities

 

 

The case in Grade 5 titanium measures 47 mm by 42 mm with a height of 17.3 mm While the dimensions sound large on paper, it is much easier to wear on the wrist, considering the integrated lugs and sloping case design.

Sapphire crystal is used on the front and back of the case, with double-sided anti-reflective on the top crystal.

 

 

The two crowns which resemble thrusters of a space-ship are used to wind and set the time; with one crown used for setting the hours independent of the minutes This function is useful for those travelling between timezones or simply for collectors who frequently switch between watches A quick-set hour function is said to also lengthen the durability of the movement, by reducing the frequent retrograde jumps when setting the time

 

The movement

 

The movement used is the Phenomen PH-010 caliber, designed and assembled in France.

A manual winding double barrel movement, with an independent escapement mount Axiom’s twin barrels in series provide a power reserve of over 100 hours – more than four days’ worth Like the engine of a race car, Axiom’s PH-010 movement is designed to provide the perfect power-to-size ratio.

The variable inertia balance wheel is adjusted using four gold flyweights Rather than being circular, the balance wheel felloe is cut in the shape of a Celtic axehead. Using the AgenEse® technology for retrograde mechanisms, the movement features a double []

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