In the watch making world, Jorg Hysek is a bit of a celebrity, having a large number of famous watches under his design belt. Notable are the Tiffany & Co. Streamerica and the Patek Philippe Nautilus. A few years ago he started his own brand (aptly named), with a number of novel watch designs (along with pens). The Abyss model is probably the most popular watch from the Jorg Hysek, but there are also other models such as the X-Ray.

Defining Hysek’s style is tough. They are certainly futuristic and technical, but embody a certain traditional element making them more of an avant garde watch with modern elements, rather than a “vision of the future.” The newest model is the X-Ray Perpetual Calendar. Which basically is the X-Ray with a perpetual calendar module made by Soprod, placed on top of a base ETA automatic (probably a 2894). A hardy mechanism, with useful functionality. The watch is also very large, making it more like a cuff, rather than mere watch at 51mm x 41mm. This however is not freakishly large as some might think. Further, this limited edition gold watch is limited to only 30 pieces, but steel versions are likely to be available as well.

So why am I lukewarm about this watch? Well it just doesn’t do the Jorg Hysek legacy justice. Most of the watch looks good, just not the new parts. The X-Ray has been around for a while, but the integration of the perpetual calendar looks rushed, not though out well. The beauty of these watches was the multitude of lines but the lack of clutter. The semi-skeleton look along with all the information for the subdials gives me a headache to look at. I would not want to wear this watch often. There is nothing clever, or unique about it either. The rest of the watch looks great. Fascinating clasp design, attractive lines, and then the face just seems to fall apart in my opinion.

For example, look at the circular subdials. Where else is there anything on the watch that compliments that? The only other circles are on the clasp (the holes), and they don’t really go together. Then you have these many lines on the face of the watch, the harsh contrast with the circles, causing the eyes to wander and doubt their symmetrical significance. I could spend a lot of time thinking about what I don’t appreciate about this watch, but that would do an injustice to the otherwise venerable X-Ray line (devoid of these maladies).

See Jorg Hysek watches on eBay here.