ARAMEDES Announces Its Global Launch At Dubai Watch Week
A NEW VISION BRINGING TOGETHER MECHANICAL WATCHMAKING,
TIMELESS DESIGN AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
The most prestigious mechanical watches come from Switzerland. The smartest ones don’t. And no one has dared to combine the two into something that is both classic and clever – until now.
Based in Zürich, ARAMEDES was created to bring the subtle magic of traditional timepieces into the digital age. The founders have taken on the challenge of creating a thoroughly modern and innovative watch brand, bringing together their complementary skills, shared values and deep experience of both the watch industry and technology.
At Dubai Watch Week, ARAMEDES Co-Founder & Chief Emotion Officer (CEO), Tom Morf introduces the brand to the world, along with its first two collections: ZÜRICH, which features three classical mechanisms, and MECCA, their hero product – a line of absolutely innovative timepieces that incorporate functions that support Muslims in observing the key practices of their religion.
In order to practice the Islamic faith, one must know the direction to Mecca (Qibla), the daily prayer times (Salah), and the fasting times during Ramadan (Sawm).
“We were fascinated by the idea that a watch could accomplish these tasks,” says Pascal Stübi, Co-Founder & Chief Idea Officer (CIO). “The only question was how to do it.”
Due to the complex calculations required and the real-time adjustments of the indications, it is impossible to create these functions in a traditional mechanical movement.
To solve this problem, the ARAMEDES team designed and developed the AraTec 1 Module, a high-tech electronic component that can be integrated into the watch case along with the mechanical movement. The associated software calculates the location of the wearer via mobile radio triangulation, and the watch displays the information on subdials. Each subdial has its own step motor on the module that controls the hands of the analogue displays. “The AraTec 1 Module is a true innovation, conceived and developed in Zürich”, explains Co-Founder & Chief Gadget Officer (CGO) Moritz Ritter. “We also developed our ARAMEDES Mastertimer App entirely in Zürich.”
The owner uses the Mastertimer mobile phone app to initialise and calibrate the watch, connecting it via Bluetooth by using the pusher at 2 o’clock on the watch case. Once calibrated, the watch and its module work independently of the app and phone. When the owner changes location significantly relative to Mecca, a notification appears on their phone asking the user if they’d like to update the location on the watch. Syncronisation is as simple as opening the app.
In keeping with the ARAMEDES philosophy of simple and functional design, the watch box is more than just packaging. Crafted in Switzerland from entirely sustainable materials, it is fitted with a near-field communication (NFC) chip. The owner places their smartphone over the chip and is taken to a link to download and install the ARAMEDES Mastertimer App. Authenticity is assured by a micro-embossed seal, produced by a machine that is also used to create security features on Swiss banknotes.