In 2016 Fabergé takes the masculine design language of the brand's fine watch collection, first expressed by last year's Fabergé Visionnaire I flying tourbillon and expands upon it with a watch dedicated to presenting dual timezones, the self-winding Fabergé Visionnaire DTZ.
The design of the new Fabergé Visionnaire DTZ employs a slim bezel, complex lug construction, multi-layered dial construction, fluted crown and a linear, decorative motif radiating from the centre of the dial. This bold and contemporary aesthetic also suggests the renowned grandeur of Fabergé's historic legacy.
The Fabergé Visionnaire DTZ presents the hours and minutes of the local timezone with peripheral, open-worked hands rotating around a raised, decorated dome located at the centre of the dial. The hour of the second, remote timezone can then be viewed through an aperture at the centre of the dome.
This jumping hour timezone is displayed using a small 24-hour numerical disc mounted on the reverse of the watch's Agenhor-developed AGH 6924 calibre. Only the current hour numeral is visible through the aperture, optically amplified to a bold, legible format by a magnifying element and brought into sharp focus by the mirror-finished interior of a cone that runs from the back of the movement through to the uppermost point of the dial. The clever use of the 24-hour disc means that no AM/PM indication is needed, keeping the dial free of superfluous registers.
Two versions of the Fabergé Visionnaire DTZ are available: one in titanium and 18k rose gold and the other in black DLC-treated titanium and 18k white gold. Each Fabergé Visionnaire DTZ is water resistant to 30m as well as featuring a domed sapphire crystal and anti-reflective treated sapphire crystal caseback. Both are presented on an alligator strap with matching gold and titanium folding clasp.
Movement AGH 6924
The AGH 6924 calibre has been specifically developed to fit the dimensions of the Fabergé Visionnaire DTZ' s 43mm precious metal and titanium case perfectly, with robust bridges in the style of traditional pocket watch movements with the same kind of multi-generational longevity in mind.
While the AGH 6924 is a self-winding calibre with 50-hour power reserve, Fabergé has also been sure to address the main criticism of automatic watches; namely that the oscillating weight and its winding mechanism often obscure the intricacies of the movement. To address this concern the Fabergé Visionnaire DTZ features a dial-side rotor, visible beneath the dial's colour-matched sapphire crystal hour ring with applied indices, adding extra animation and theatre to the dial. As such the timepiece's sapphire crystal caseback offers an exceptionally immediate view of Fabergé and Agenhor's watch-making prowess.
One whimsical feature of the Fabergé Visionnaire DTZ that not even its owner will see, perfectly illustrates how the House of Fabergé has adopted the same playful sense of wonder that epitomised Peter Carl Fabergé's exquisite body of work. The jumping hour of the dual timezone disc is achieved by means of a cam deep within the movement which is engraved with a circular wheatsheaf. The lever which tracks the 60-minute rotation of the cam is part of a larger sector that has been intricately formed to resemble a peacock, a bird which frequently appears in the work of Fabergé. Once the cam completes its hourly rotation the lever resets to its lowest point; the peacock appears to 'peck' at the wheat. An invisible bit of theatre that adds a sense of wonder to Agenhor's technical mastery.
