Original article was posted at the official account: Watch Traveler (钟表游)

Original article was posted on: April 24, 2019

Address of original article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/I1TXtYTnOB7kCvV4kPW_zQ

This is the Space Day of China today.

 

Everyone knows that China is a world leader in the field of aerospace, and China is one of the world’s three leading space powers with the most advanced technology, which is the pride of China’s space community and all Chinese.

In recent years, with the civil use of aerospace technology, the advanced watch industry has also benefited a lot. Traditional watches of nearly a thousand years of history started to apply some of the latest aerospace materials and technologies to watchmaking over a decade ago. Because of the ultra-light, advanced and cool nature of aerospace materials, these watches quickly became attractive and even high-priced classics. Today, in Switzerland’s advanced watchmaking world, a number of brands are using aerospace materials to make watches.

 

As the core areas of advanced watchmaking industry are in Europe, especially Switzerland, the aerospace partners of these watch brands are also mostly in Europe, such as aerospace companies or research institutes. Few brands have cooperated with China’s aerospace industry to make watches with aerospace materials and aerospace concepts. In fact, China enjoys rich aerospace resources.

 

It is gratifying that right before the 2019 Space Day of China, SAGA Watch, which was founded in the United States in 1950, launched its first space series watch during the world’s largest wristwatch show BaselWorld in late March. This brand new watch series are products under cooperation with China’s aerospace industry!

 

Let’s witness what the three watches of SAGA Space series look like. Are they beautiful and are they worth having?

 

1

SAGA Space Series

Long March Courage Watch

2

SAGA Space Series

Tiangong Exploration Watch

 

3

SAGA Space Series

Shenzhou Pride Watch

 

It can be seen that each of these three watches of SAGA Space series released by SAGA Watch contains special space elements and is very futuristic. SAGA has reached a strategic cooperation with SPACEnter Space Science and Technology Institute to make space series watches with aerospace technology materials of the most advanced and best quality.

 

What are the cutting-edge aerospace materials used in the SAGA Space series watches?

 

The carbon fiber used in the Long March-5 launch vehicle. This special aerospace carbon fiber material is a high-strength, high-modulus new fiber material with a carbon content of more than 95%. It has low density, light weight, high strength and high elastic modulus, and is widely used in the manufacture of space rockets. The watchcase material of the Long March Courage Watch of SAGA Space series is aerospace carbon fiber, which makes the watch light, thin, pressure-resistant and wear-resistant.

Watchcase of Long March Courage Watch of SAGA Space series is made of aerospace carbon fiber

 

The ultra-light titanium alloy, the aerospace high temperature-resistant and corrosion-resistant fluororubber and so on. Titanium alloy is favored by major watchmakers due to its high strength, good corrosion resistance and good heat resistance. Watchcase of Tiangong Exploration Watch of SAGA Space series is made of special aerospace material “titanium alloy”.

Watchcase of Tiangong Exploration Watch of SAGA SPACE Space series is made of aerospace titanium alloy

 

In addition to aerospace materials such as high-tech carbon fiber and titanium alloy, SAGA also uses 904L stainless steel which is used only by a few high-end watch brands. This high-standard steel has been well known for its exclusive use by Rolex. Bezel of Shenzhou Pride Watch of SAGA Space series is made of aerospace carbon fiber material, and the watchcase is made of 904L stainless steel.

Bezel of Shenzhou Pride Watch of SAGA Space series is made of aerospace carbon fiber, and the watchcase is made of 904L stainless steel

 

The most important thing about a watch is its beautiful appearance. In addition to the use of aerospace materials, what are the attractive aerospace elements in the design of SAGA Space series watches?

Long March Courage Watch of SAGA Space series, a watch that can truly appeal for people’s imagination on space. Very few people can fly into space, but each of us can have fantastic imagination over it. Apart from aerospace materials, aerospace elements have been reflected and concealed in every part of the watch. For example, the entire hollowed-out dial like a large space station; if you take a closer look at the hands and time scale indicating the time, you may see launch towers and rockets, while the eccentric small dial shows the near side of the moon, the familiar crater, the moon surface... Every aerospace staff and aerospace lover will surely be able to find different aerospace designs on this watch.

 

The left side of the dial of Long March Courage Watch of SAGA Space series is an aerial view of the launch tower of space rockets, and the right side represents the moon, which signifies the wonderful connection between human beings on the Earth and the once unreachable space.

Bottom of the Long March Courage Watch of SAGA Space series has a hollowed-out design, and it has delicately printed a rocket in the air, allowing people to have immersive experience and deeply appreciate the fraternity and greatness of the human aerospace industry.

 

Long March Courage Watch of SAGA Space series is an ultra-thin aerospace watch, with a thickness of only 4.75 mm. In order to achieve extreme lightness, thinness and durability, the SAGA design team has made numerous modifications to the design and made no less than 100 samples, only for the purpose of making it 0.1 mm thinner.

 

The design of Tiangong Exploration Watch of SAGA Space series is actually an extended version of the Long March Courage Watch. But this watch has two different models, one is hollowed-out and the other shows the vast starry sky on the bottom of the watch.

 

Dial of Tiangong Exploration Watch of SAGA Space series gives you the illusion of really standing at the space station...

Two models

 Back of the watch is a picture of Tiangong-1.

 

The last one is the automatic mechanical Shenzhou Pride Watch of SAGA Space series with three hands and calendar function. At the first look the spacecraft seems approaching the moon. Looking down from the porthole of the spacecraft console, the moon is revealing what it really looks like...

 

Aerospace elements have been delicately embedded in this watch: for example, the shape of space rockets has been used in time scale, hands and straps, alongside with the red elements unique to Chinese space rockets, as if they are poised to be launched at any time; the design inspiration of the dial comes from the mysterious and beautiful moon, the simple and elegant arc is just like the surface of the moon from which the vastness of the universe could be observed. In the long river of time, every minute and every second seems even more cherished.

Looking down from the spacecraft console, the moon is right at your feet

...

Hour, minute and second hands are all designed like Chinese rockets...

 

There is also shape of rockets on the strap

Shenzhou Pride Watch of SAGA Space series has dials of three different color

 

The three new products of SAGA Space series are all made with the aerospace elements such as rocket launch, moon and space capsule, demonstrating the fascinating charm of the starry sky on the watch and celebrating the flourishing development of China’s aerospace technology. It is a perfect cross cooperation between the watch industry and China’s aerospace industry.

 

With the attention to new products of SAGA Space Series, Watch Traveler visited Mr. Eddie Leung (Chinese name is LIANG Weihao), Chairman of SAGA Watch, and Mr. LIU Ren, General Manager of SAGA Watch, in Basel, who have heavy investment and great expectation on Space series. Speech of these two brand executives has been shown below under the alias of “SAGA”.

SAGA Watch releases SAGA Space series in Basel during BaselWorld 2019

Watch Traveler: What has inspired SAGA to develop Space series?

 

SAGA: Watches are already a relatively traditional field in people’s minds. When the time function of watches is gradually weakened, we have always wanted to seek breakthroughs in how to relate watches to frontier, fashion and technology, so that everyone has the desire to possess their own unique watches, which can represent the attitude and personality of the wearer. This is our dream, so over the years, we have been giving watch new meanings. The Space series watches are one of the directions we have affirmed in many choices. When the watches are integrated with aerospace technology, we believe that they will have infinite potential, because aerospace engineering represents the spirit of tireless exploration of human beings, which will exit forever.

 

 Mr. Eddie Leung, Chairman of SAGA Watch, speaks enthusiastically at the 2019 Basel launch site. Second from the right is Mr. Leung, and third from the left is Mr. LIU Ren

 

Watch Traveler: What is the core of the Space series? What direction will it go in the future?

 

SAGA: The core of the Space series is that the production will always be carried out around aerospace elements and space events to demonstrate the fascinating charm of the space on the watch. In terms of material, aerospace technology materials of the most advanced and best quality will be selected and used. In the future, we will develop more sci-fi product series and cooperate with more aerospace institutions, organizations and companies. We hope that SAGA Space will become a leading watch brand representing aerospace technology in the future, and that SAGA can become an international platform for docking aerospace resources.

Mr. Eddie Leung, President of SAGA Watch, communicates with Swiss designers and industry guests

Mr. LIU Ren talks with a guest

Mr. Eddie Leung, President of SAGA Watch and Watch Traveler Mr. BAI Yingze

 

Mr. Diego Bottger, designer of SAGA Space series, presents his design concept at the launch site.

Watch Traveler: How long you have been prepared for this series? Have you encountered any difficulties during the development? Or is there any special story?

 

SAGA: It’s been a few years since I started thinking about this series, but cooperation between SAGA and aerospace industry has been honed and tested for a long time. This time, we have the privilege to cooperate with SPACEnter Space Science and Technology Institute, which is based on the common values of both sides, namely the persistence of the “spirit of craftsmanship”. The aerospace industry represents the spirit of craftsmanship of China as a great power. For a long time, SAGA has been adhering to the spirit of “exquisite craftsmanship” and has been devoted to horology industry. The cooperation between the two sides is a good one. We believe that SAGA will embark on a new journey.

(Some pictures in this article are from the Internet)

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