Bolton based British watch brand Duckworth Prestex recently announced the launch of a striking new jumping hour watch called the Marcato, bringing together mechanical theatre and thoughtful design in a distinctive new timepiece.
This rather unusual display layout with its forceful hour change is another debut for Duckworth Prestex and celebrates one of watchmaking’s most fascinating complications, introducing a character entirely of its own.
So, where does the name Marcato originate? Well, it actually comes from the language of music. In Italian musical notation, marcato means “marked” or “accented”. It instructs the musician to play a note with emphasis or stress and is usually indicated by a small V-shaped symbol above a note or chord on the score, to show that it should stand out clearly within the music passage.
An accomplished musician himself, it struck a chord with Duckworth Prestex founder Neil Duckworth, as the term perfectly captures the effect created by the watch’s jumping hour mechanism.
Music has always played an important role in his family’s history as Neil’s grandfather, Frank Duckworth, was both a watchmaker and a musician, so the idea of linking a watch complication to a musical expression came naturally during the development of the new timepiece.
With a jumping hour watch the traditional hour hand is replaced with a digital-style aperture. This means that instead of moving gradually around the dial, the hour changes instantaneously at the top of each hour. This gives a precise, mechanical punctuation that contrasts with the continuous motion of the minute hand. Just like in music, this creates a moment that is both dramatic and satisfying to observe.
As Neil Duckworth explains:
“Marcato is a musical instruction meaning to play a note with emphasis. I loved the idea that the hour change in this watch does exactly that. It doesn’t creep forward quietly like a conventional hour hand. It jumps cleanly and decisively. When it happens you really notice it, and that moment felt very much like a Marcato accent.”
Rather than traditionally placing the jumping hour window at 12 o’clock, the aperture has been unusually positioned at 9 o’clock. This was a decision driven by both aesthetics and practicality because when the hour window sits at 12 o’clock, the minute hand can often obscure the moment of the jump. So, by placing the window at 9 o’clock, it creates a more balanced composition, with the hour display on the left side of the dial and the signature onion crown on the right. The other advantage is that it allows the time to be read naturally from left to right, with Neil adding:
“Many jumping hour watches place the window at 12 o’clock, but that position can mean the minute hand hides the jump when it happens. At 3 o’clock it can look like a date window. Putting the hour at 9 o’clock felt balanced and logical. You see the hour first and then the minutes, reading the time almost like a sentence.”
At the heart of the Marcato is the Swiss-made Sellita SW300 automatic movement, chosen for its higher specification and grade movement with a longer power reserve and improved refinement. The other advantage being that it is approximately one millimetre thinner, giving more elegant proportions while accommodating the additional mechanism.
The Marcato comes with a Rose Gold Guilloché centre circle as well as three dial finishes, limited to just 75 pieces, that include a Porcelain All White finish, a Sky Blue Guilloché centre circle and Silver Guilloché centre circle.
The Marcato by Prestex is priced at £1,950 but available pre-order at £1,650 for a limited time. For more information and to order this new practical, every day watch, please visit: www.duckworthprestex.com.
Author Bio:
Simon Burrell is a UK-based travel and motoring journalist and editor, a former member of The British Guild of Travel Writers and professional photographer.
Image courtesy of Duckworth Prestex
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