S110 EVO Vantablack
SIHH 2017: MCT Sequential One S110 EVO Vantablack by Anish Kapoor – intense black
A genuine UFO in the watchmaking landscape and a world first, the new MCT Sequential One inspired by British plastic artist, Anish Kapoor, and produced in a limited edition of 10 pieces, captures the light, reinvents black and bends space into time.
By Vincent Daveau
Contributor
To reinvent black and create the feeling of a spatial singularity embracing the space-time continuum within a timepiece is a challenge that arose from a unique encounter between MCT Watches and the British plastic artist, Anish Kapoor.
A colour with the properties of antimatter
The fusion that occurred during the encounter between watchmaker and artist produced an innovative compound stemming from an authentic scientific revolution. Vantablack is composed of carbon nanotubes measuring one millionth of a millimetre thick each and capable of absorbing more than 99.9 percent of the light they receive.
An innovative material initially aimed at the military and aerospace industry, this product succeeded in sparking the interest of the British artist, who began to experiment with its properties in his works. One thing was for certain: the visual, almost sensorial experience of this black was bound to be of interest to Pierre Jacques, CEO of the MCT Manufacture. The exceptional nature of this (non-)hue seems to bring about the disappearance of the very material in which it is made merely through the absorption of the ambient light! And there is something fundamentally magical about the end result…
From art to time-telling
It took several months for the teams working in collaboration with the artist, Anish Kapoor, at the MCT Watches Manufacture to strike the perfect balance for the creation of this timepiece. An iteration of the now famous Sequential One-S110 Evo, this timepiece recreates the sensation of time passing. Produced as part of a 10-piece limited edition, this instrument of time-measurement housing a calibre with manual winding comprising 471 parts, and open to view through a transparent back, offers a unique and dynamic take on time-telling. It stands out dramatically from the back dial as if sucked into a black hole created by the Vantablack-coated surface.
At the end of the day, the incredible capture of light that is almost imperceptible confounds the human brain and makes it appear as if the display components are suspended in mid-air. As pointed out by Pierre Jacques: 'When we discovered Vantablack, a year ago, we were instantly spellbound by the surreal beauty, depth and breathtaking power of the effect it produced.'
Looking into the true nature of the void
That's all well and good, but the very particular finish of this watch, the ultra-black hue adorning the back dial and the tip of the minutes hand, is impossible to describe. The image on the screen is simply incapable of transcribing the sheer depth of colour perceived by the human eye, as the onlooker searches for a reflection of light in the dark matter coating the watch case. To some extent, the 45 mm diameter timekeeper forged in grade 5 titanium housing calibre MCT-S1.0 with manual winding developed and assembled in-house is essentially indescribable given the sheer blackness of the black. So, in order to understand how even a simple colour can so radically alter the dimensions of a timepiece to the point where the very time of which it is an expression is distorted, you will just have to visit the MCT Watches stand and experiment with the sense of total vacuum while watching time pass… It's an absolute must!
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