While Byrne has only existed for a couple of years, the Swiss brand has quickly made a name for itself by creating mechanical watches capable of changing the appearance of their hour markers.
After releasing its first watch in 2022 and creating several different iterations based on the same platform, Byrne took its signature concept and used it as the foundation for an entirely new model. Like the first watches, the new Byrne Gyro Dial MECA model still offers the new feature of changing hour markers, but the latest creation of the brand for 2024 is equipped with a new manual wind movement and an updated case design that is smaller and thinner than all its predecessors.
The case of the Byrne Gyro Dial MECA watch is made from grade 5 titanium and styled like its siblings: in a retro-futuristic style with a rounded tonneau profile. Additionally, like other Byrne watches, the case finish is entirely hand-done, featuring predominantly high-polished surfaces contrasted by small sandblasted accents. However, the Gyro Dial MECA case is noticeably smaller than its counterparts.
Measuring with digital calipers, the watch dimensions are 39.5mm in diameter and 46mm from lug to lug. Considering the display-style case back and the domed sapphire crystal over the dial, the total height of the watch is 14mm. Like many other larger siblings, the Gyro Dial MECA case is decorated with large sandblasted grooves running along both sides, while a thin sandblasted bezel adds contrast to the mirror-polished titanium surfaces.
Due to its smaller size and manual wind movement, the new Byrne Gyro Dial MECA is lighter than its siblings: its total weight is about 75 grams, including the strap. Nevertheless, the latest Byrne watch is not just a reduced version of the brand's previous models. Instead of a screw-down crown located in the typical 3 o'clock position, the new Gyro Dial MECA model features a crown that has been moved to the 12 o'clock side of the case as a nod to the brand's founder John Byrne's early years in service and his love for pocket watch repairs.
Despite the absence of a threaded crown like its larger siblings, the Gyro Dial MECA retains the same 50-meter water resistance, protecting against daily contact, and, like other Byrne models, the crown is engraved with the number “1”, symbolizing the brand's spirit of competition and ambition to create industry-first watches.
The titanium sandblasted crown on the 12 o'clock side strap is carefully protected against accidental knocks, though due to its positioning, crown operation can sometimes be somewhat challenging. When the crown is pulled out for time setting, there is enough space to easily turn it for adjusting the hands; however, when the crown is flush with the case in the winding position, those with larger thumbs might find it somewhat difficult to grip it properly.
Considering that the Gyro Dial MECA is a manual wind watch, you will have to use the crown in this position daily, although placing the crown at 12 o'clock helps minimize the watch's profile on the wrist while giving it an aesthetic individuality that sets it apart from its larger siblings.
Some Byrne watches feature traditional dials, but the new Gyro Dial MECA model follows in the footsteps of the Gyro Dial Zero model, which entirely forgoes the dial to reveal the inner workings of its signature mechanism with changing indices. At the center of the display is a pair of pencil-shaped hands that track the hours and minutes, while four interchangeable indices are located at the cardinal points.
However, instead of a standard dial occupying the space beneath the hands, the front side of the watch fully reveals the mechanism plate, painted in a deep blue “Meteorized Blue” achieved with a special rhodium coating. Like other Byrne models, the dial does not bear the brand's name, but the words “Gyro Dial” are engraved directly on the blue-finished plate, denoting the model's mechanism made of parts.
In the four cardinal points are Byrne's signature changing hour markers, which appear as four-sided metal blocks with different styled indices on each side. The markings change autonomously once a day at midnight (or noon, at the owner's preference), but they can also be manually changed by moving the hands across the dial.
Simply put, each changing hour marker operates similarly to a date indicator, and each time the hands advance past the “12 o'clock” position, all four indices immediately flip and change, creating a new display. On the Byrne Gyro Dial MECA dial are four styles of indices: Roman numerals, Arabic numerals, a “Ghost” style with sandblasted surfaces and relief polished lines, and a new “Sport” index with relief Arabic numerals surrounded by dark blue trim to match the main plate.
In the Byrne Gyro Dial MECA model, the Roman and Arabic numerals on the changing indices glow, while the Ghost and Sport models do not. However, small Super-LumiNova dots are applied along the periphery of the display on the main plate, which, along with the luminescent hands, help tell the time in the dark. Like other watches, the type of Super-LumiNova used in the Gyro Dial MECA also differs slightly from what is usually found on most watches.
While in daylight the lume appears crisp white (like BGW9 or C1 Super-LumiNova), in the dark it emits a very pale blue (almost white) glow, and the hue of its emission is noticeably lighter than the typical aqua-blue glow characteristic of BGW9 Super-LumiNova.
The Byrne Gyro Dial MECA is powered by the new Caliber 5557 manual wind movement, manufactured in the Swiss city of Fleurier. Operating at 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz), the Byrne Cal. 5557 is a movement with a signature complication that changes hour indices, and despite its fairly large energy consumption due to four instantly changing indices, the movement installed in the Gyro Dial MECA possesses a fairly standard power reserve of approximately 42 hours. The chamfers and finish of the movement are done by hand, and since the Byrne Cal. 5557 caliber is manual wind, it lacks an automatic module or rotor that would obscure the view of the skeletonized bridges and rhodium-coated components visible through the sapphire window in the case back.
Attached to the lugs of the Byrne Gyro Dial MECA is a blue rubber strap with a texture reminiscent of woven material. The strap tapers from 22mm at the case to 20mm at the bottom of the wrist, and while the standard clasp system is a simple titanium tang-style buckle with the Byrne logo, the brand also offers a folding clasp that customers can order. Although the 22mm lugs ultimately conform to traditional styling, the placement of the crown at 12 o'clock (and consequently, the split spring bar required for its placement) means that standard third-party straps will not be compatible with this case.
Nonetheless, I personally find the included rubber strap more than satisfactory, and the texture of the material combined with the soft structure and black lining gives the impression that it is made of something like waxed canvas or waterproof ballistic nylon.
Aside from features like a chronograph or calendar, the overwhelming majority of complications in mechanical watches today are designed to intrigue their owners, although it is rare to find complications created purely to entertain watch enthusiasts, and that is why I find Byrne such an interesting brand. Watches with changing hour markers have no greater practical functionality than standard two-hand watches, although the same can be said about almost any wristwatch with a tourbillon, and personally, I find Byrne's truly innovative complication is a far more engaging option when it comes to watch-level fascination.
That said, the Byrne Gyro Dial MECA, with an official retail price of $27,700 USD, can hardly be considered a budget purchase, although it offers a level of mechanical intrigue and unique functionality that you won't get from any other brand. More detailed information about the Byrne Gyro Dial MECA can be found on the brand's website.