More is better: is this not the defining trait of our hectic modern lives?
Faster! Bigger! More! Better! The pressure and expectation for life to become an endless escalation of superlatives is all around us. Yet greater complexity is not always the right answer to every question……

The DecaFlux will be the first timepiece to feature our brand new K3 movement, Simplicity is one of the driving forces behind this calibre and lies at the heart of the DecaFlux platform.

We believe that more people should experience the joy of mechanical watchmaking. In a time of huge global uncertainty, enabling an accessible timepiece is the right thing to do. Yes, we love challenging horological complications, precious metals and unusual materials. However, the rarified world of high-end luxury doesn’t define everything we do as a company. Don’t make the mistake of equating simplicity with lower performance. The DecaFlux; powered by our new K3 calibre features full silicon technology and offers COSC certified accuracy of -4 /+6 seconds per day.

It might not go unnoticed that the DecaFlux bears some visual similarities with a more Swiss famous timepiece.

This is not an accidental slip-up. HORAGE is a company built on transparency, and we are not planning try and hide this. Should we be embarrassed about it? No! Can we build on this fascinating story and give it a modern, HORAGE twist? You bet!

Curious? Read on……

Not many of us are clever enough to earn our daily bread unlocking the secrets of the universe, bouncing particles and pure plasma energy along a 27km network of underground tunnels. Not very far from our Biel/Bienne HQ, an international team of scientists are dedicated to understanding our universe at atomic level. Many of the wild looking machines constructed in the CERN complex generate huge magnetic fields. Such energy has a detrimental effect on the workings of mechanical movements built with ferrous materials.

Back in the 1950’s the only available technical solution to resolve this conundrum was to build a soft steel faraday cage inside the case. A tool watch was created for the highly specific demands of particle physicists – a very niche product which, over the passage of time developed a cult status.

A spark of an idea was generated and some three years ago the HORAGE team set to work. The development briefing wasn’t just based on aesthetics or design cues – we wanted our new watch to offer a modern and technically superior anti-magnetic solution. Building additional layers of permeable (magnetically conductive) materials in or around the watch case seemed very last century. This solution, whilst well-proven, felt like it was ripe for an update, one fitting to our modern times.

Why all the effort, when most of us will never get up close to a Large Hadron Collider?

Today we live in the digital age. Our lives are characterised by the ubiquity of electronic devices containing magnets. Every one of them can potentially distort the performance of a mechanical timepiece. At best the barrage of magnetic energy might just temporarily slow or stop your watch. How it responds after being freed from the flux of magnetism is somewhat of a lottery. Will it run just as smoothly as before? Will it run slower, or does it now need servicing? This scenario is a nightmare for the watch lover. We can’t hide ourselves away from magnets, so another solution must be found.

Squaring the circle?

The way forward was quite clear and with some irony, already embedded in every one of those electronic gadgets. The magnets might help create energy, but this power requires controlling via integrated circuits– and hidden inside each one was the material needed to square the circle: silicon.

Since the 1950’s the semi-conductor has transformed the world around us at breath taking speed. Yet the use of this material in the mechanical watchmaking world has not been entirely straightforward. Until now only certain brands within the remit of their umbrella owners had access to these materials. For independents any aspiration to embrace the latest technology came with the need to navigate a daunting international legal minefield. As a result, almost every one of these companies elected to take the path of least resistance: carry on using well-proven calibres supplied from external OEM manufacturers. Many of these movements were based on designs penned over 50 years ago. 

HORAGE has fought for decades to use silicon in our movements because we have always been convinced that it offers clear and undisputed technical benefits to the watchmaker.

Firstly weight: a silicon component is lighter than its metallic equivalent. This means that less energy is required to move it. Less energy means longer run times between windings.

Secondly friction: a constant challenge for the horologist. Reducing friction in key areas has a host of benefits to both the maker and user of a timepiece. Less friction means less wear and less servicing. If materials require less lubrication the intervals between services are further reduced. Lastly a reduction in friction leads to an overall decrease in stress applied to individual components throughout the movement. Less stress means less failures and greater longevity.

Thirdly reactivity: unlike a ferrous metal part, components made of silicon cannot corrode and are less affected by changes in temperature.

Lastly magnetism: Arguably the most important to the wearer of the watch. We are surrounded by magnetic energy – the invisible flux emitted by kitchen appliances, entertainment systems, microwaves and induction cookers, washing machines and dishwashers, e- bikes and scooters, electric cars – the list will keep growing. The distortions caused by gravity have been largely eliminated from mechanical watches thanks to tourbillions and the move from pockets to wrists. But life without magnets is an impossibility. Every one of them can influence the accuracy of a mechanical timepiece.

The K3 calibre features a silicon escapement comprising of pallet fork and escape wheel. In addition, the escapement hairspring (or balance spring) is also made of this high-tech material.

Silicon components offer greater efficiency, higher reliability and anti-magnetic properties that keep the watch accurate day to day and in the most demanding of environments.

The DecaFlux is available in two dial iterations, both offer a subtle twist to its classic and uncluttered stainless-steel case style. Constructed from 316LMo stainless steel the 40mm case frames the dial, available in either polished black protected by sapphire coated with 5 layers of red tinted AR, or Sunray Blue with a sapphire with 5 layers of blue tinted AR coating.

The hint of red or blue in the AR layers nods towards the colours that are synonymous with magnetic fields, whilst visually adding depth and complexity to an otherwise clean and stripped back aesthetic. The dark dial tones contrast beautifully against the bright, sharp lines of the diamond cut hands. Both hour and minute hands as well as indices are finished in rhodium and filled with Superluminova (SLN W2 GL) for effortless legibility in any light conditions.

Lastly, the red-blue lightning bolt shaped seconds hand throws in a dash of colour to remind the wearer that no matter they are located, the omnipresent and invisible cloak of positive and negative charged ions surrounding them on planet earth cannot warp their wristwatch.

DecaFlux: fight the flux!

Functions: Hours, Minutes and Centre Seconds.

Movement: HORAGE K3 featuring Si2 Inside finished in Mid Grey.

Movement Dimensions: 30 x 4.2mm.

Technology: Silicon Escapement & Silicon Hair Spring.

Frequency: 3.5 Hz.

Power Reserve: 100hr

Case & Crown Material: 1.4435 (316LMo) Stainless Steel.

Case Dimensions: 40mm x 9.98mm Lug to Lug 46mm.

Hands: Diamond Cut Hour and Minutes Hands, Rhodium with SLN W2 GL Superluminova (White in Daytime and Green Lume in Dark). "Thunderbolt" style second hand in Red and Blue.

Crystal: Sapphire with Red Coloured 5 layer Anti reflective on Black Dial, Sapphire with Blue Coloured 5 layer Anti reflective on Blue Dial.