DEWITT
Below: The Academia
Out of Time
M
ontres Dewitt, the eponymous watchmaking
firm founded by Mr. Jerome de Witt in 2003,
celebrated its thirteenth anniversary at the 2016
Baselworld show.
DeWitt arrived on the watchmaking scene at a time when haut
de gamme, independent watchmaking was rising in popularity. It
presented collectors with the chance to own something that was
actually creative and rare. While several of the other marques that
made a splash during those heady days have since receded into the
ether, DeWitt has remained a pivotal player with a comprehensive
watchmaking atelier all its own.
Long noted for its sophisticated in-house dial making, DeWitt
employs a whole team of dial makers at its manufacture. In recent
years, in response to collectors’ strong interest in bespoke dials,
DeWitt has added an enameller to the team.
Since the beginning, Montres DeWitt’s eponymous founder,
Jerome de Witt, has injected a spirit of creativity into his independent brand through a series of unusual, complicated and
extremely limited concept pieces. The fourth of these concept
watches has a name that perfectly communicates what its creator,
a renaissance man who also happens to be a direct descendent of
Napoleon, had in mind.
84
WRISTWATCH | 2016
The Academia Mathematical is a tribute to Jerome de Witt’s
interest in the field of mathematics. Taking this as a starting point,
the Academia Mathematical presents the wearer with a handless
dial of scattered numerals in what appears a random sequence.
From this disorder emerges the time, with the hours and minutes
drawn to prominence on the front of the dial. This new talking
piece is powered by a heavily modified version of DeWitt’s in-house
caliber DW 5051.
Comprising some 384 components, the Mathematical operates
at a reliable frequency of 21,600 bph. It features a screwed balance
for precision regulation, and will run for two days on a single wind.
The Academia Mathematical’s bridges feature two different types of
côtes de Genève decoration—both beveled and circular, as well as
a circular-grained main plate. The technically complex movement,