In the upper echelons of high horology, there has been something of an astronomical arms race in recent years.
Enticing futuristic forms, unconventional layouts, and esoteric, space-inspired complications have become common in the catalogs of six-figure boutique brands, but this cosmic adventurism rarely penetrates the more entry-level market. The young Franco-Swiss brand SpaceOne aims to change this with its latest model, combining an exotic tellurium complication for tracking the relative motions of Earth, Moon, and Sun with a sleek asymmetrical shape that would not be out of place in a Star Trek movie. The SpaceOne Tellurium promises unique, intriguing mechanisms in its price range, as well as a sense of visual drama and spectacle that few attempt to match.
The Grade 5 titanium case of the SpaceOne Tellurium sets the design tone. The brand’s chief designer, Olivier Gamiette, came to watchmaking from car design (he concurrently leads the exterior design department at Peugeot), and there is a certain fluidity in the rounded, streamlined asymmetrical case shapes reminiscent of concept cars. Take, for example, the wide mirror-polished surfaces that run from lug tip to lug tip up and around the 12 o'clock side of the case. The sharply defined "hips" at the "3 o'clock" and "9 o'clock" positions give this almost pebble-like form a more sculptural, muscular look on the wrist, making the watch feel more like a deliberately formed "wrist spaceship" rather than a purely organic design.
A wide vertical matte panel between the lugs at the "6 o'clock" position and more traditional sloping matte lugs at "12 o'clock" help visually break up the wide, predominantly polished surfaces while wearing, but the watch remains highly reflective, almost mirror-like. This reflective nature is largely due to the "high dome" styled sapphire crystal, which tends to work almost like a fisheye lens, showcasing the surrounding world. However, it’s worth noting that this issue should theoretically be characteristic only of Tellurium prototypes. Upon production launch, SpaceOne is collaborating with the ultra-luxury brand MB&F to apply the industry's leading anti-reflective coating to the Tellurium crystal, but in this prototype form, it is something of a crystal ball on the wrist. Nonetheless, in its current form, the watch looks undeniably attractive and wears surprisingly well.
Although the watch cannot be called small - 42 mm wide, 16 mm thick, and 50 mm from lug to lug - the Tellurium comfortably wraps around the wrist, and the proportions are much more balanced and convenient than many high-end avant-garde models it seeks to emulate. The crown, positioned at 12 o'clock, emphasizes the unusual, stylized silhouette of the Tellurium, and the long, tapering upwards toothed form also serves as an effective "propeller," visually completing the spaceship-like case design. The matte engraved caseback integrates seamlessly with the wrist shape, but this non-standard design has its drawbacks - the Tellurium is far from traditional sports watches, and the 30-meter water resistance seems very fragile by modern standards.
No matter how wild and stylish the SpaceOne Tellurium case looks, the dial is what truly adorns these watches. The glossy aventurine base surface in midnight blue sets the tone, and the sparkling galaxy of flakes resembles the night sky. Of course, the real star of the show is the sculptural tellurion complication. For those unfamiliar with a tellurion, it is a simplified orrery that tracks the relative motions of the Sun, Moon, and Earth.
Presented by a trio of polished titanium spheres, this otherworldly three-dimensional display is connected to the date and month complication, with the sphere representing Earth making a full rotation around the dial once a year, and the Moon sphere advancing one position each day, orbiting Earth every 29.5 days (unfortunately, since the watch photographed here is a prototype, the tellurion was not yet operational at the time of review, and we could not capture this motion on camera). SpaceOne completes the unusual layout with a series of sharp sculptural blued frames for the printed Arabic hour numerals at "12 o'clock," "4 o'clock," and "8 o'clock," the main chronometric dial, and a date/month window at "6 o'clock."
There are a few prototype-specific roughnesses here, notably several noticeable purple spots on the blued surface, but the overall effect combined with the tellurion and aventurine dial is deeply retro-futuristic and downright fun - if Captain James T. Kirk had a watch, it would be this one. On the other hand, the squat, non-luminous, and partially skeletonized hand in the center of the dial deserves special mention.
Even under perfect lighting, reading the time on this watch is extremely difficult, and if you account for reflections or angled viewing, it takes a lot of effort to determine the current time in the Tellurium. Of course, this is not just a functional watch but a tool watch, so legibility understandably takes a backseat to spectacle.
Despite the exotic complications, the base movement in the SpaceOne Tellurium is the simple and familiar Soprod P024. SpaceOne calls this specially modified variant the P024 H4, and the basic characteristics of the movement more or less match its serial counterpart - a frequency of 28,800 beats per hour and a 38-hour power reserve. However, the main feature of the P024 H4 is the company's patented "heliocentric module." Mounted on an entirely new plate attached to the top side of the movement, this mechanism uses a pair of 12-pointed star wheels connected to the date wheel of the base movement.
The first star wheel drives the month wheel located at "6 o'clock" on the dial, while the second drives the date indicator. The "planets" are linked via a sapphire disk that connects to an outer ring gear with 365 teeth. This outer ring gear drives the Earth and Moon spheres across the dial, while the star wheel drives the Moon sphere around the Earth sphere.
This scheme ensures accuracy and impressive ease of adjustment. SpaceOne claims that the accuracy of this complication is one day every 100 years, and all adjustments - from timekeeping to day/month indication and the tellurion - are made using the crown at 12 o'clock: there is no need for cumbersome correctors or additional crowns spoiling the watch's lines.
While the SpaceOne Tellurium case and dial grab attention with bold stylistic decisions, the watch's strap looks subdued in comparison. SpaceOne equips the watch with a black fabric strap in Cordura style, which is comfortable, durable, and should keep the visual focus on the watch itself. Although it would be nice to see an equally avant-garde and unconventional strap design here, the choice of a strap that should be unobtrusive on the wrist is quite justified.
Unique futuristic design and intricate space-themed complications have been an integral part of exotic horology for several years, but this dramatic, astronomical style in watchmaking rarely catches the interest of the average enthusiast. The new SpaceOne Tellurium model changes this situation, presenting a truly unprecedented blend of avant-garde design and stunning complications at a price typically associated with mainstream sports watches. In short, these are some of the highest "fun per dollar" values among all the watches available on the market. The SpaceOne Tellurium is already available for pre-order through the brand's e-commerce platform, with the first batch to be delivered in November 2024.
At the time of publication, the MSRP for these watches is €2,990. For more information, visit the brand's website.