Trilobe Creates Dome from Timekeeping Ring Display

In the run-up to Watches & Wonders, some brands have decided introduce their interesting models ahead of the crowd to avoid having their novelties drowned out by the flood of debuts expected on March 30.

One of these models is Une Folle Journée, where the company Trilobe has taken its tried and tested idea of telling the time using three alternatively sized rings to new heights. Here, height is meant in both the figurative and literal sense of the word. The brand's engineers have almost scrapped the dial completely and have made the rings levitate.

Une Folle Journée has its timekeeping display powered by the X-Centric movement that debuted in Les Matinaux models. The watches released in 2020 had a flat display but now the rings rise up towards the domed glass like a cupola.

The introduction of such fragile domed sapphire crystal was a challenge in and of itself: it was manufactured in Japan and polished in Switzerland. The crystal measures 10.2 mm in height for a case which is 17.8 thick. The three floating rings are actually supported by nine columns. The outer ring is for the hours, the middle one is for the minutes and the smallest is for the seconds.

The source of inspiration for Une Folle Journée is in its name: it's the play "the Marriage of Figaro" by Pierre de Beaumarchais, who mastered his father's profession before turning to literature. His father was the watchmaker Caron, and the name de Beaumarchais was given at birth was Pierre-Augustin Caron.

There have also been literary references in previous models with ring displays: Les Matinaux is the name of a volume from 1950 written by the French poet René Char. Une Folle Journée can alternatively be translated from French as "the Mad Day".

The movement it uses was developed by Jean-François Mojon and received its micro-rotor for partners at the company Le Cercle des Horlogers. The micro-rotor may be modest in size but it's able to ensure a 48-hour power reserve. That's not so short when you consider the unconventional mechanics at work here.

Thanks to the novelty's openworked dial, the movement comprised of 196 components can be admired in all its glory. The movement itself is 6.49 mm in height and 35.2 mm in diameter. X-Centric is framed by a titanium case measuring 40.5 mm in diameter.

The designers showed what they're capable of in the movement and didn't let up when it came to finishing the case. The caseband has been vertically satin-brushed, while the lugs and bezel are mirror-polished. Two versions of Une Folle Journée have been released with DLC-coated titanium rings in black or blue.