Meet one of the most original time-only watches you’ll ever see, the MCT Sequential 2 S200.
In case you’ve never heard of it, MCT (short for Manufacture Contemporaine du Temps) is an independent watchmaking brand with a very unique approach to time telling. Having entered the haute horlogerie scene less than a decade ago, MCT has seen its fair share of ups and downs, but I’m happy to see them now stronger than ever.
The concept behind their watches is simple, yet the execution is nothing short of genius. Instead of a conventional hour hand, MCT’s watches have 4 modules made of triangular prisms (not unlike those old-school rotating billboards), each displaying 3 hours. When the minute hand reaches the 60-minute mark, a C-shape arc around the center of the dial jumps 90-degress anticlockwise to the next module of the prism, thus only revealing the current hour. Every 4 hours, the modules’ prisms turn to reveal the next set of hours.
Unlike previous MCT watches, the minute hand makes a traditional 360-degree turn, making it much more intuitive to figure out the time at a glance. In fact, given the size of the hour modules and the large minute hand, the Sequential 2 is one of the easiest avant-garde watches to read.
But the biggest difference, at least cosmetically, is the case. One could say the choice to offer a round case variant was fairly logical. Let’s face it, concept watches or pieces of “alternative horology” as I like to call them don’t always come in the most aren’t always the most easily wearable timepieces. And while I’ve always liked MCT’s unique method of displaying time, I couldn’t get behind the square/cushion shape cases.
Coming in at 44.6mm wide and 14.5mm at its highest point, the Sequential 2’s case, in either rose gold or white gold, is quite impressive. Not so much in its dimensions, but in its unique sandwich construction that features a round sapphire glass in the middle. Most impressive for me is the significantly raised and domed sapphire glass, which also serves as the bezel. The lugs are also quite different from anything I’ve seen, with two spaced elements from the top and bottom portions of the case coming together at the strap.
However, the case isn’t all that’s new in the MCT Sequential 2. What truly sets the Sequential 2 apart from MCT’s previous and other existing models is the movement within. Under the leadership of Francois Candolfi, the brand took on the challenge of developing their own movement, the MCT-S2 caliber. For any watch brand aspiring to become truly independent and unbound by the limitations of external movement manufacturers, designing and developing a proprietary movement is a necessary and commendable first step (MB&F’s LM101 is a great recent example), and on looks alone MCT have done a great job.
Composed of no less than 507 pieces, the movement features a micro-rotor automatic winding system, “Breguet” overcoil hairspring, as well as a patented system for accumulating the energy needed to rotate the prisms and jump the arc surrounding the minute hand. The rose gold version’s movement has black rhodium-treated bridges, while the white gold version is done in a more conservative nickel tone.
Now, if you’re looking for a watch that’s going to fly under the radar, the MCT Seuqntial 2 is not the one. With a case coming in at just under 45mm wide, added with the fact that the watch has no bezel and is pretty much all dial, it has a lot more presence than your average 44mm watch. But that’s not say it’s unwearable. To the contrary, I was surprised at how much slimmer it wore than I would have expected; especially when you take its its multi-layer case and domed sapphire crystal into consideration.
The MCT Sequential 2 S200 comes in either rose gold or white gold, with a price tag of $98’500 USD.
More information on www.mctwatches.com
