Dial Ghost

At its core, a watch is an instrument for accurately measuring time. This gave us the ability to navigate the oceans using the stars, timekeeping has been instrumental in the world we know. The dial is crucial to this function, with a fully Luminous minute track printed within 0.01mm, we are able to get the best possible accuracy from the GT-01S movement.

In the context of the A13, the dial must provide excellent legibility without obstructing the view of the sapphire skull or the GT-01S movement. As with all aspects of the A13, the dial has been custom designed and manufactured in house with the same level of care and attention to detail.

When making dials there is a natural inconsistency in the production process that can not be mitigated. To account for this and ensure that the best possible dial is chosen, at least ten dials are produced per watch, each inspected under a microscope. To find a dial that has been cut with perfectly straight lines and no warping from heat transfer is a very time consuming but crucial process.

dlc
coating

When making dials there is a natural inconsistency in the production process that can not be mitigated. To account for this and ensure that the best possible dial is chosen, at least ten dials are produced per watch, each inspected under a microscope. To find a dial that has been cut with perfectly straight lines and no warping from heat transfer is a very time consuming but crucial process.

Once the perfect dial has been selected, it is treated with a durable DLC coating. When brass is heated by an electrical current during the coating process, it can bend or warp. A13 dials are made of premium brass, this alloy provides a higher zinc content and reduces the metal's thermal conductivity. To ensure it remains perfect, every dial is examined again after this process to ensure every millimetre is coated perfectly.

Upon passing this stage of inspection, each dial is hand silk printed with Swiss Super- LumiNova BGW9. The entire dial can be illuminated at once with an accuracy of 0.01mm using a specialised extremely fine silkscreen and a custom template. If a single line is outside of this tolerance, all the luminous material must be removed and dial prepared again to restart the luming process.

Upon passing the final inspection, the dial is manually secured into the baseplate of the movement using brass pins attached to the back of the dial. A pre-torqued tool is used to tighten these pins into pre-drilled retention holes to ensure the optimum amount of pressure is applied.

Each dial is created in 4 major stages in a process over 9 weeks.

Production Process

Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4

3 weeks Creating the mould.

Due to the unique complexity of the Aventi case shape, a custom dial press die needed to be created and produced in house. Over three weeks, a custom press was designed, and CNC cut creating a perfect negative of the dial shape.

2-3 weeks Pressing the dial.

This dial is made from a 0.8mm sheet of brass using a hydraulic press fitted with the custom mould. Unlike cutting, pressing uses an extraordinary amount of force to push out the perfect shape in a single movement. The heat from this force alone can warp the dial so extra care must be taken. a minimum of 10 dials are pressed for each piece, the dials are then individually inspected to select the best one possible. the 40 internal edges of the dial are then bevelled and the dial surface brushed.

1 week DLC coating.

Each dial is then treated with a DLC (diamond-like carbon) coating for a perfect black finish. The DLC coating coats every face and edge of the dial with a carbon coating, preventing any damage or oxidisation for generations.

2 weeks Lume printing.

Swiss Super-LumiNova BGW9 is screen printed onto the dial using a custom template to ensure consistency. All 60 of the dials minute markers are between 0.2mm and 0.3mm wide and must be printed within a tolerance of 0.01mm. If a single line of lume is outside of this tolerance level, the whole dial must be cleaned and printed again.

7 layers of Swiss Super-LumiNova BGW9 lume are individually applied. each printing must be allowed to cure for a minimum of 1 hour before being baked in an industrial kiln and allowed to cool. if a single line of lume is out by as little as 0.01mm the entire skull must be wiped clean and the process began again.

Specs

Material Brass

thickness 0.8mm

finishing DLC coating

lume Hand printed Swiss Super-LumiNova BGW9, accurate to 0.01mm