Humans have an innate fascination with gold — its unique luster and ever-lasting brilliance captivated even our most distant ancestors, with archaeological evidence of gold flakes found in 40,000-year-old Paleolithic caves. Whether we look at the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Ghanaians, or Aztecs, gold played a pivotal role in shaping art, ceremony, and culture around the world. Over the millennia, as humans moved across the globe, so did gold, ultimately becoming an intrinsic part of nearly every culture on the planet. The new CIGA Design Mechanical Watch Series U Blue Planet – Gilding Version captures the connectedness of humanity on our pale blue dot traversing the cosmos with a gold-dialed, ceramic-cased version of their award-winning Blue Planet timepiece. And now is a perfect time to buy, as CIGA Design is offering the Gilding Version for 30% off for Black Friday, from November 21 to December 2, 2024.
The philosophy of a connected world is core to CIGA Design’s philosophy. An independent Chinese brand, CIGA Design works with leading designers across the globe (from nine different countries at last count) to create visually striking, modern mechanical watches. Though the Bauhaus school of design is often associated with über-minimalist aesthetics, the true philosophy is that of “form follows function” or “less is more.” Following this philosophy led to the creation of the Blue Planet.
With a topographically accurate rendering of Earth front and center, the dial of the Blue Planet provides a moment of reflection on time, inviting the wearer to consider the rotation of the Earth on its axis and along its yearly journey around our sun. The time-keeping function for our day-to-day life is then displayed by the compass marker serving as a time pointer, working in conjunction with the static hour dial and dynamic minute dial to illustrate the time. The effect is visually dynamic, yet simple and practical for everyday timekeeping. The horological community agreed; in 2021 CIGA Design was awarded the prestigious GPHG Challenge Watch Prize — a first for any Chinese brand.
The Blue Planet – Gilded Version gives the colorful Blue Planet a golden touch. When paired with the black ceramic case, the effect is sophisticated and timeless. As one can imagine, the process of creating the gilded planet is incredibly detailed and intricate. Because each dial is rendered to be proportionally and topographically accurate, the precision needed in crafting the dial, and the stringent standards employed by CIGA Design, means that only about half the dials produced make the cut.
Each dial is CNC engraved in a process that takes 18 hours to complete. Once the initial engraving is done, the dial goes through a second, even more precise engraving process to capture the finest of contours, from coastlines and mountain peaks. Next, the raw dial is coated with a special black ink, pure 24k gold is gilded upon the raw dial, and it is finally electrode ion plated. The visual impact of this painstaking process speaks for itself.
The case and bracelet on the Blue Planet – Gilding Version are crafted from ceramic. Like the dial, crafting a case and bracelet from ceramic is no simple process, involving an intricate procedure that converts zirconium oxide powder into a silky smooth, yet strong and lightweight material. The process—from molding to sintering, where the cases are heated to a blistering 1500ºC—takes 144 hours to complete. And that’s just the start. The cases must still be machined and polished, a process that takes over 200 hours. Simply put, the time and craftsmanship required to construct the Blue Planet – Gilding Version is enormous. And it shows.
Bringing the Blue Planet – Gilding Version’s unique timekeeping function to life is CIGA Design’s proprietary movement technology that includes the world’s first non-synchronous trailing feature, a complication that allows the minute hand to rotate 390 for every 30 rotations of the hour hand. Ultimately, this change in gear ratio allows the watch to indicate both the hour and minute with a single pointer. The movement includes 30 jewels, beats at 28.8kbph, and features 40 hours of power reserve.
Each watch includes both the ceramic bracelet and an additional black fluoro-rubber strap, along with gifting-ready packaging and a booklet made from recycled materials. The CIGA Design Mechanical Watch Series U Blue Planet – Gilding Version retails for $1,899 USD, but is available for 30% off for Black Friday (November 21 through December 2, 2024) via the brand’s website or via Amazon.com.
