DeWitt Twenty-8-Eight Regulator A.S.W. Limited Edition Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed)
Dec 6th 2010 at 12:01PM

New by Swiss DeWitt is a watch called the Twenty-8-Eight Regulator A.S.W. The fascinating watch contains a very technically sophisticated movement, as well as a design and high-end appeal that relates directly to the brand's love of 1920s era American art deco aesthetics. The watch has a dial with an image meant to evoke New York City area art deco buildings. Not sure if there is a specific building in mind, but you get the point. This is not the first watch with means to evoke art deco building, but the concept is so rich, I invite as many interpretations that brands can bear to design.

There are a lot of interesting little details in the watch that can be hard to see. For example, much of the dial is a "smoked" sapphire crystal that allows you to see the movement underneath it, but still provides the presence of a dial. The dial is composed of a building-like motif with a large opening for the tourbillon surrounded but a sunray style design. Functions for the watch include the time as well as a power reserve indicator.

Gallery: DeWitt Regulator ASW watch

The watch case itself is highly detailed with art deco style decor and is 46mm wide in 18 rose gold. It is attached to a brown alligator strap. For me the major interest is in the DeWitt designed and manufactured DW8014 automatic movement. While the movement did not debut in this watch, it is still fresh having been announced this year. The movement features an "Automatic Sequential Winding" system (where the "A.S.W" comes from) that not only gives the watch ring style automatic rotor, but also has a system to maintain (more or less) optimal torque in the mainspring so that movement is more accurate in a consistent manner. The ring style automatic rotor allows you to have a better view of the really attractive movement. DeWitt really worked hard to give the DW8014 a mixture of art deco appeal and a balanced watch movement feel. The movement has a power reserve of 72 hours. There is another rare complication here called a "dead-beat seconds" hand. This has the seconds hand of this mechanical watch tick like a hand on a quartz movement. The ticking hand should provide a fascinating contrast to the always spinning tourbillon. The only think I don't understand is why DeWitt uses the term "Regulator" in the name, and the watch is not a regulator style watch.

Limited to just 250 pieces, the DeWitt Twenty-8-Eight Regulator A.S.W. has a price of 260,000 Swiss Francs.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: asw, dewitt, regulator, twenty-8-eight, watch