L'epee 1839 Time Flies 74.6006/144

TIME FLIES pays tribute to the conquest of the skies and one of the most brilliant inventions ever made: the airplane. Aviation made its mark on the last century, motivating adventurers to go ever higher and ever further, and it changed traveling forever. The plane captured the collective imagination, and there have been many stories of heroic aircraft journeys. Who never had a childhood dream of adventure as a pilot.

TIME FLIES is a partnership between L’ECAL and L’Epée 1839, embodying the adventurer’s airplane of our childhood dreams, its minimalist form evocative rather than definitive.

Hours and minutes are displayed on large diameter stainless steel disks with black PVD coating on a circular-brushed satin finish and stamped numerals. A quick glance is enough to read the time thanks to the excellent legibility of its display, but the spectacular, skeletonized movement is worthy of deeper contemplation. The movement, built specifically for this TIME FLIES, allows the escapement, which regulates precision, to be displayed in the cockpit. Accuracy is in the pilot’s seat!
The architecture of the 8-day movement, developed in-house by L’Epée 1839, follows the form of a real airplane. As in a plane, power comes from the front where the engine is located, and is generated by a fully openworked crown reminiscent of engine cooling radiators just behind the propeller. When fully would TIME FLIES can soar for a full eight days before “refueling.” 

An airplane’s control and instrumentation systems are located within the cockpit; and the same is true for TIME FLIES, which has a horizontal precision regulator in its cockpit, just above the wings. The constantly oscillating balance-wheel of the regulator draws the eye, and is protected from both cosmic radiation and curious fingers by a series of small panels forming the cockpit’s cage.

In another nod to childhood toys and fantasies, the propeller spins freely at a simple push of the finger. Despite of its airy skeleton, TIME FLIES weighs a substantial three kilograms, its three-wheel landing train providing excellent stability.

For a truly sensational display, L’Epée 1839 has developed a mounting stand on which TIME FLIES can be admired taking-off. An innovative latch beneath the movement clips it securely in place. On its stand TIME FLIES is as elegant placed on your desk as on its pedestal in a library.