Friday 11 October 2013

Feature Of The Month - MIH Annual Calendar

The Musée International d'Horlogerie or The International Watchmaking Museum, as one can imagine houses all things associated with horology. And to their credit, developed the MIH Watch - proceeds from the sale of the watches are then channelled to the museum to fund their activities. This is my Feature of the Month.

The watch is created jointly by the curator of the museum Ludwig Oechslin, master watchmaker Paul Gerber, industrial designer Christian Gafner and Lucerne watch specialist EMBASSY. Probably the most affordable Annual Calendar watch and possibly the most minimalist in design, the MIH watch is great for one's collection.
MIH Watch photo MIH05_zpsaf329f06.jpg

On top of an annual calendar, the watch also comes with a mono-pusher chronograph. But that is hardly used as the chrono display is at the back of the watch. The watch comes encased in titanium.
MIH Watch photo MIH03_zps8374e490.jpg

Originally, the watch comes with a rubber strap but I had Jason of JnS customize a black calf with red stitching to match the chrono sweeping hand tip.
Black Calf with Red Stitching on MIH photo BlackCalfwithRedStitchonMIH.jpg

A perfect match - watch and strap!
MIH Watch photo MIH07_zps6d19866a.jpg

For those not in the know, the MIH looks like a normal watch. But a closer examination of the display at the 3 O'Clock position reveals a little more. You will observe the presence of the Date, Month, Day and a am/pm indicator.
MIH Watch photo MIH04_zpsfe6634fb.jpg

The two red dots represent the am/pm - one dot indicates morning (am) and two dots indicates afternoon (pm). The base movement for the watch is the ETA-Valjoux 7750 complemented by the annual calendar module developed by Paul Gerber. Other than the month of February, the watch does not need to be adjusted for the right date regardless whether the month has 30 or 31 days.
MIH Watch photo MIH07_zps6d19866a.jpg

A close up shot of the black dial. Hands and markers are luminous.
MIH Watch photo MIH06_zps114c2233.jpg

My only peeve about this watch is the sweeping chrono seconds hand. After some usage, it does not reset to 12. I know it can be easily fixed if you bring it to a watch repairman but I rather keep it the way it is - unique I guess.

For more information about the watch, please visit the MIH website.

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