DeWitt timepieces, now in their third year of existence, have already found their way into the collections of watch aficionados and collectors. Bold in appearance with a unique case with engraved ‘imperial columns’, the timepieces house mechanical movements with complications ranging from a power reserve to a double time zone and a tourbillon to a minute repeater. At BaselWorld this year the brand introduced yet another innovation, the Academia Differential Tourbillon. With its titanium, red gold and rubber case (43 mm) this exceptional piece was equipped with a hand-winding DW Calibre 8002 mechanical movement and tourbillon with differential winding. It also has a patented power reserve indicator system for 120-hours.

For the ladies
In the midst of all of the complications in the men’s watches, DeWitt has now turned his attention to the ladies – horologically speaking, of course. Jérôme de Witt, the brand’s founder explains it thus: “When we create for the exceptional DeWitt woman … magic must come into play. It emanates first from the beautifully proportioned oval case, its middle section engraved with the famous stylized DeWitt columns. Then it finds its highest expression in a complication … a patented calendar separating the display of tens and units. Only women will appreciate the delicate complication thus offered to them.”
Designed by Jérôme de Witt, these very elegant timepieces maintain the DeWitt ‘look’, but with the softened oval case and the refined hues and interplay of the precious metals and the diamonds and gemstones, they stand out as creations in their own right, not merely a conjugation of the men’s models. The watches are called Alma Utopia and Alma and although the form of the case is the same, the differences are immediately apparent.

Alma Utopia
The Alma Utopia is equipped with a DW1301 mechanical self-winding movement. It has a 40-hour power reserve and a patented innovative date display that has two retrograde hands, one between 11 and 1 o’clock that displays the tens of the date, whilst the other, between 7 and 5 o’clock, displays the units. One look at the watch makes the system abundantly clear … more so than a complicated written explanation.
The 18 carat white or red gold oval case is cambered to fit snugly on the wrist, and is either highly polished or set with diamonds or coloured sapphires. The dial is mother-of-pearl and comes with Arabic numerals for the date and cabochon hour markers. There is either a plain or stone-set bezel – diamonds, ‘cognac’, blue or pink sapphires. The ‘Imperial columns’ state its liaison with the DeWitt family of watches. All the models come with coloured satin straps, with the exception of the model with blue sapphires, which has a pastel blue alligator strap.





L’ALMA UTOPIA M657
18 carat red gold case equipped with a DW1301 mechanical self-winding movement. Retrograde hands for date, mother of pearl dial enhanced by a silver sun pattern ellipse, chocolate-brown satin strap. Water-resistant to
30 metres.

L’ALMA UTOPIA M656
18 carat white gold case set with 195 rose-coloured sapphires and equipped with a DW1301 mechanical self-winding movement. Retrograde hands for date, mother of pearl dial enhanced by a silver sun pattern ellipse, rose-coloured satin strap. Water-resistant to 30 metres.

L’ALMA UTOPIA M668
18 carat white gold case set with 195 blue sapphires and equipped with a DW1301 mechanical self-winding movement. Retrograde hands for date, mother of pearl dial enhanced by a silver sun pattern ellipse, blue alligator strap. Water-resistant to 30 metres.

L’ALMA UTOPIA M664
18 carat red gold case set with 195 round diamonds (1.73 carats) and equipped with a DW1301 mechanical self-winding movement. Retrograde hands for date, white mother of pearl dial enhanced by a shiny black sun-pattern ellipse, anthracite coloured satin strap. Water-resistant to 30 metres.


Alma
The Alma takes the same case form as the Alma Utopia, but this model is equipped with a DWO401 auto-quartz movement with a 60-day power reserve, The dial is either mother-of-pearl with a shiny black sun-pattern, a guilloché centrepiece, diamond-set, or a green lacquered guilloché silver sun-pattern ellipse. The bezel is either plain or set with diamonds or tsavorites. All the models come with coloured satin straps.
Both of these eye-catching collections by DeWitt will certainly appeal to the ladies who admire elegance and creativity combined with the art of watchmaking. The only point that I would question is De Witt’s remark ‘… Only women will appreciate the delicate complication thus offered to them’. I feel sure that the highly original retrograde date indications of the Alma Utopia will also be appreciated by the male of the species.





L’ALMA M659
18 carat white gold case equipped with a DW0401 auto-quartz movement. White mother-of-pearl dial enhanced by a shiny black sun-pattern ellipse, black satin strap. Water-resistant to 30 metres.

L’ALMA M107.01
18 carat white gold case set with 32 round diamonds (3.27 carats) and equipped with a DW0401 auto-quartz movement. Diamond jewellery dial enhanced with a white mother-of-pearl ellipse with diamond cabochons, black satin strap. Water-resistant to 30 metres.

L’ALMA M709
18 carat white gold case set with 195 round diamonds (1.80 carats) and equipped with a DW0401 auto-quartz movement. White guilloché dial with a silver sun-pattern ellipse, anthracite coloured satin strap. Water-resistant to 30 metres.

L’ALMA M350
18 carat white gold case set with 195 tsavorites (1.73 carats) and equipped with a DW0401 auto-quartz movement. Green lacquered guilloché dial with a silver sun-pattern ellipse, anthracite coloured satin strap. Water-resistant to 30 metres.


Source: October - November 2005 Issue

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