As you can the hour is indicated by the compact

Like fine art, tastes in watchmaking are often extremely very subjective. That's why many of the larger brands uses sums of money each year researching and identifying current and emerging consumer trends to ensure that each new model has the best chance of success in its target market/s, and well they should, this is a multi-billion dollar business after all. Some watchmakers however, much like their artistic counterparts, create simply for the health of creating. They are not so concerned with what's popular as they are with realising their creative vision for a unique timepiece. The Variocurve from Nord Zeitmaschine falls highly into this latter category.

The first thing that strikes you is the unusual switch and case design. There is a certain sense of rawness, almost like the time display has been stripped back to its easiest elements. Everything feels very hands on and mechanical, which generally seems to fit with the overall theme of the piece but to be honest I'm still uncertain whether I like it or not. One thing is for sure though, this amazing display, at first at least, is extremely confusing to see. Fortunately though we have this handy video below to help you decipher just what is actually going on:

As you can the hour is indicated by the compact disk on the lower left-side of the switch, whilst the date is indicated by the compact disk on the right hand side. All relatively straightforward so far but it's the indication of the minutes where things really start to get interesting. Nord have modified the beds base Switzerland ETA 2824 automatic movement so your large central hand moves in a decentralised manner, along a "variocurve" as it were, to indicate the minutes.

To add an extra level of intricacy there are also an additional two rotating cds on either side of the switch that are also active in the indication of the minute display. As the hand moves these cds switch accordingly so that when its their turn, they are displaying the right number at the right time.

The steel case is nicely sized at 43. 6mm and also includes an exposure case back so you can get a better look at the movement. This particular model is presented on black calf leather band and retails for US$15, 500, which is pretty reasonable for those looking for something different.