The year 1947 might be remembered for many important world events – the proposal of the Marshall Plan, India and Pakistan’s independence from Great Britain and the Truman Doctrine, to name a few. But it was also a period when there was a flurry of UFO sightings recorded across the USA, beginning with pilot Kenneth Arnold’s claim that he saw nine shiny unidentified flying objects shooting past Mount Rainier at over a thousand miles an hour.
A few weeks after Arnold’s revelation, Roswell, New Mexico became the source of fresh UFO-centred intrigue after the FBI communicated that “an object purporting to being a ‘flying disc’” had been recovered in the area.
Decades later the debris in question turned out to be a high-altitude balloon for detecting Soviet nuclear bomb tests. But at the time the discovery fuelled sensationalist conspiracy theories linked to UFOs and extraterrestrials that have since gone on to inspire books and TV series.
Extraterrestrial Tone
A downed alien spacecraft or not, the “flying saucer” at the heart of the Roswell tale also provides the inspiration for Schwarz Etienne’s Roswell collection that first landed in 2015. With its wide, flat case, gently domed sapphire crystal and dynamic lugs – that project outwards like a set of landing gear – the original time-only Roswell set the avant-garde, extraterrestrial tone of this line.
That initial model housed the brand’s in-house automatic movement, inverted so the animation of its micro-rotor and 3 Hz balance were configured dial side and visible through the partly openworked dial.
In 2018, the Roswell 08 – now fully openworked and sporting an oversized date wheel – took the concept to eerie new heights with bright accents – green or orange – set off against a grey-treated calibre.
Eye-Catching Shade of Azure
Recently, the La Chaux-de-Fonds-based outfit added another non-earthly dimension to the range by presenting a fresh Roswell 08 with blue movement and numerals.
Indeed, the movement’s mainplate and micro-rotor have been finished in an eye-catching shade of azure, leaving rhodium-treated elements like the edges of the central hour and minute hands, balance cock and antenna-like small seconds at 11 o’clock to stand out superbly. What’s more, each Super-LumiNova-filled applied numeral also boasts a smart blue hue.
Large Date Display
A full-fledged manufacture, Schwarz Etienne is known for its capacity to make movements not only for its own watches, but also for those of other brands. This mechanical autonomy allows it to create interesting calibres with original architecture and the ISE 101.01 used here is a fine example of that.
Its date mechanism is fully on show dial-side with its column wheel and jumper arranged so as to free up space to accommodate a large date display. On top of that, the date disc has been inclined by ten degrees to improve its readability.
Also generously sized are the crown guards which flank the finely notched crown, the lower part of which is a push button for rapid date correction. The power reserve on this one is pretty plentiful too: 86 hours.
Mystery Logo
Housing the movement is the aforementioned UFO-like case in stainless steel. The 45mm diameter is not for the slim wristed, though that expanse is offset by a relatively low height, 12.24mm. Fittingly, the sapphire caseback is emblazoned with a Schwarz Etienne logo that mysteriously disappears as you change the viewing angle!
This blue Roswell 08 comes on a grey grained, hand-sewn strap with green leather lining and stainless-steel folding buckle. And as a final nod to the Roswell mystery and UFOs, the watch is delivered in a brushed steel presentation case that assumes a saucer-like form.
For more information, beam yourself over to the Schwarz Etienne website.
