Cocon

Andreas Strehler’s Cocon is a further development of the Papillon. Whereas the living technology was the main feature of the Papillon, Andreas Strehler now puts the emphasis on the readability of the time, the precise time. Time, and its division, was to be emphasized, by a three-dimensional dial. This was done without diverting from his basic technological principles.

The gear train, previously so dominant, is now hidden beneath the dial, invisible to the wearer. The delicate butterfly-shaped cage, formerly the visible hallmark of the movement, is now at the back of the watch, well protected, but still visible under glass. The butterfly, or Papillon in French, thus withdraws into the background, in its cocoon, hidden under the dial.

Nevertheless, the watch does have a certain transparency. Strehler opted against the classical layout of the dial displaying hours and minutes with a separate small seconds dial. Instead the breathing of the spirals is visible through the dial. This enables the wearer to look into the dial rather than at it. Starting with the small seconds counter in its dominant position at 10 o’clock which has never been before realized in any movement, one can follow the different increasing increments of time as they are displayed on different levels of the dial.