A few days ago I had the opportunity to view a unique historic double fronted shop in a highly popular area of Adelaide. The building dates back to the glorious ‘Art Deco’ period and has a plethora of original features. Even though the property is pretty small (by Australian standards), it certainly has a lot of charm and would make a great gallery. I personally love the architecture from this era and previously owned a 1920’s semi-detached home in England. Recently I featured a timepiece from Richard Paige, that was inspired by New York’s iconic Chrysler Building on my website (Five Amazing Watches That Won’t Break the Bank). However, there are other beautiful ‘Art Deco’ influenced watches like the DR01 “Streamline” by David Rutten that are designed to make a bold statement.
Until recently I wasn’t that familiar with David Rutten or his Brussel’s based brand of the same name. However, once I set eyes on the DR01 “Streamline” it was obvious that he’s a very talented designer. Far too often I hear marketers wax lyrical about a generic watch that (in my opinion) doesn’t have much design merit at all. In contrast, David has drawn inspiration from the ‘Art Deco’ era and created a really unique timepiece crafted from meteorite. Certainly, he’s not the first watchmaker to use this material in production. Antoine Preziuso created the “Muonionalusta” tourbillon back in 2004 and who could forget the sublime Dream Watch 5 by De Bethune (featured in my ‘Independent Watchmakers’ book). However, these magnificent timepieces are beyond most people’s budgets. That is why the DR01 “Streamline” is an enticing proposition because it is priced at €8500 (approximately $9,615). To achieve this the company have developed a subscription program (customers pay 40% in advance) to fund the project.
Since I visited Baselword in 2015 the watch industry has radically changed. Materials like forged carbon, titanium and even meteorite have become more accessible to mainstream buyers. The DR01 “Streamline” perfectly illustrates this point because you are getting an exceptionally well-designed watch for your money. A few years ago it would have been inconceivable to purchase a timepiece crafted from solid meteorite under the $10,000 threshold. Even more impressively the 37mm wide case of this watch will be fabricated from a rare meteorite called Muo Nio Nalusta, which dates back to 4.6 million years.
Beneath the perfectly sculpted bevelled meteorite case lies a modified Swiss-made movement. This manual winding calibre measures 33.3mm and oscillates at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. The mechanism is also visibly showcased through the sapphire crystal exhibition case back. Functionally the DR01 “Streamline” features hours, minutes and seconds displayed on rotating disks. The watch also has a really impressive power reserve of 120-hours, which means you only have to wind it every 6 days.
The DR01 “Streamline” will be limited to 88 individually numbered pieces. To find out more about the company follow this link