How I designed a watch with a new date display

by Alexander Burhans

When I presented my first small watch collection at various trade fairs in Germany almost 30 years ago, I realized that, as a small watch manufacturer, I needed a unique selling point in order to stand out from the jungle of watch brands. Then I got the idea to give my watches a special face.

The date display on wristwatches is often very small and not easy to read for many. The idea of displaying the date as a point running all around and thus using the entire running surface of the movement made this display the face of these models. The first watch of this type was created in 1992. 

At that time you quickly became a customer, especially in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Norway and Japan. At the end of the 90s, the watches found their way to the USA. There they were found in well-known design and museum shops, such as The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York. 

Alexander Burhans, early 90s

As a recognition feature, I use this type of date display in my very latest collection:

   Here goes to the new one collection