ochs und junior ochs line mese 2.23

Following the first ochs line date watch, the mese 1.22 “Bauhaus”, ochs und junior introduces the ochs line mese 2.23, inspired by the colorways made famous by the iconic American designers Ray and Charles Eames in the early 1950s.

ochs und junior mese 2.23

The movement is the ETA 2824-2, utilizing Ludwig Oechslin’s proprietary module, which consists of 2 single parts. The dial and date disc are black, with light green indices. The hour hand is smoke green, with the minute hand in light green, offering a subtle contrast. The second hand and date dot are in orange.

The case of the mese 2.23 is constructed of Grade 5 titanium and is available in either 39 or 42 mm. The strap is black Ecopell leather and is available in four sizes – Small (S), Medium (M), Large (L), and Extra Large (XL). The buckle is Ludwig Oechslin’s own original design.

Ludwig Oechslin’s mese (date watch) displays the essentials – time and date. Its analogue date display is more legible than a digital display from the same distance. And unlike large digital displays, the date dot is not a distraction when checking the time. The “dot” is actually a precisely calculated curved dash.

Reading the functions

Recognizing the date of the month becomes intuitive after wearing the watch for a few days.

Date

The 30+1 holes around the perimeter of the dial display the date. The 10-minute markers serve as reference points. For example: the marker indicating 30 minutes also shows the 15th day of the month (30÷2=15). These 5-day markers allow for the date to be read at a glance and after a shor t time, you can recognize the date intuitively.

Time

The exact minute and second can be read by the ring of holes, spaced at 2-minute intervals. These perforations mark even-numbered minutes while the adjoining spaces denote odd-numbered minutes.

Mechanics

How does the date function work?

Oechslin replaces the standard numbered date disk with 31 holes in the dial and a precisely calculated curved dash. The holes are arranged in a gentle spiral, with the 31st overlapping the 1st. The curved dash shows the 1st and the 31st, but not both at the same time.

Why does the 31st hole overlap the 1st hole?

The 30 equally spaced holes make the exact minute and second readable (holes are even minutes, gaps odd).

What was the motivation for the design?

Oechslin wanted to be able to read the date with the same clarity as the time. After conducting several experiments, he realized a digital date display would have to be enormous to be as legible as analog watch hands. To be equally legible, the date would have to fill almos t 2/3 of the dial. Oechslin’s analog date spiral provides a date indication as legible as the hours, minutes, and seconds.

Technical specifications

ochs und junior mese 2.23

Case

• Material: Grade 5 titanium
• Diameter: 42mm and 39mm
• Thickness: 10.4mm
• Glass: Sapphire crystal
• Crown: Screw-down crown in grade 5 titanium designed by Ludwig Oechslin (39mm and 42mm)
• Weight: 42mm titanium: 62g; 39mm titanium: 54g 
• Water-resistant to 100 meters

Dial and hands

• Black dial and date disk, date dot in orange
• Markers in light green
• Hour hand in smoky green, minute hand in light green, second hand in orange
• Markers, hands and date dot with Super-LumiNova

Movement

• ETA 2824-2 with 38 hours of power reserve

Functions/Indications

• Hours, minutes, seconds
• Date

Strap and buckle

• Black Ecopell leather strap with large Ludwig Oechslin buckle handmade by Sabina Brägger

MSRP

• CHF 3'230 — Export price.
• CHF 3'500 — Incl. 7.7% VAT

For more information, please visit ochsundjunior.swiss