At Baselworld this week, Corum added several novelties to its Admiral’s Cup collection. Part of the AC-One family of watches, these Admiral’s Cup pieces draw upon different aspects of the brand’s signature twelve-sided bezel and maritime design features. Corum’s new skeletonized watch, the AC-One 45 Squelette, gives the wearer a clear view into the workings of the movement. The AC-One 45 Tides, which first launched over two decades ago, provides detailed nautical information.
If you feel a little overwhelmed when you first look at the AC-One 45 Squelette, be not afraid: it’s a standard three-hand watch with date display at 6 o’clock. But it can seem like there’s a lot of information on the dial because of the two rings of visible numerals below the hands. These numerals rotate to present the date vertically (one number above the other) in the window at 6 o’clock. At the center of the dial, one can better see the workings of the movement. Still, the signatures of the Admiral’s Cup watches are present here: nautical pennants are visible in outline along the flange, and the Corum key logo is on the seconds hand.
The Squelette is powered by an automatic CO 082 movement, which beats at 4 Hz and has a 42-hour power reserve. This is an integrated in-house movement: not all of its components are designed by Corum, but it is a development towards a full manufacture caliber. The plate has to be specially designed before it is skeletonized, so that it matches the 12-sided case and can fit perfectly into it. The case is 45 mm in diameter, made of titanium, as are the bezel and PVD-coated crown protector. The Squelette comes on a black crocodile strap with a triple-folding clasp.
Another new release, the AC-One 45 Tides, uses a movement developed more than twenty years ago. Corum spent three years working with the Astronomic Observatory of Geneva and French Navy’s oceanographic institute to bring out Caliber CO 277 in 1993.
Essentially, this caliber operates like a moon-phase watch. Because the moon’s relation to the earth and sun dictates the strength of the tides – tides are strongest when the moon is full or new – the watch gives the wearer information about how strong and high the tides are, and when high and low tide will next occur. (For most of the world, each happens twice in a day.) A hand on the subdial at 12 o’clock indicates the tidal coefficient, or range between high and low tides. A subdial at 6 o’clock tells when the next two tides will occur. Meanwhile, the 9 o’clock display tells the wearer if tides are rising or falling. The date is displayed at 3 o’clock.
Like the Squelette’s movement, CO 277 runs at 4 Hz and has a 42-hour power reserve. The watch is cased in blue PVD-treated titanium and has a diameter of 45 mm. It is water resistant to 300 meters. It comes on a bright blue strap of vulcanized rubber.
