Where do we start to talk about Otium watches?
Are they the most unique brand of watches we have every carried? Yes. Do they require looking at the dial in a different way to read the time? Yes. Will you have many questions from people who see you wear an Otium watch? Yes. And is it a brand that we place in the "must have" category? Absolutely yes.
The story of Otium begins with Dirk Hillgruber. Dirk was born in Warendorf, Germany, and since 1987 has made his home in Munich. Dirk is as much an inventor and designer as he is a watchmaker, and he is passionate about both his company and his watches. We met with Dirk at the Basel Watch Fair, and after seeing both his enthusiasm for the watch designs and their meticulous construction and finish, we made the decision within the first five minutes of our meeting to represent Otium in the US.
Dirk's goal is to get people to think about time in an innovative way. He states that "a mechanical movement of a watch ought to be more than a machine moving two watch hands on a dial. I like being inspired by mechanical motions from different fields of technology. I'm visiting museums often, for example the German Museum in Munich".
Most of Dirk's designs are in fact drawn directly from exhibits he has studied in museums of technology. For example, the Sphaera, which indicates time using four steel balls in four cross-shaped slits, was inspired by the inner workings of all gasoline pumps, which use four pistons to control the flow of the gasoline.
The [du:z], adapted from the French word "douze" meaning 12, indicates time through twelve steel balls which operate in the same way as early twelve cylinder motors used in airplanes. In other words, each Otium design draws from a mechanical principle, rather than just a "cute" or "novel" design.
And design isn't the only positive element of an Otium watch. Each watch features polished steel cases with crystals on both sides to reveal the movement. And the movements themselves are beautifully finished and decorated, with engraved rotors.
WatchBuys is proud to officially represent Otium as an authorized retailer.
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