PRIMA Hour Striking
- Category
- Complication
- Case
- Platinum
- Movement
- Manual-winding mechanical Power reserve: 72 h, 28800 vph Poinçon de Genève
- Functions
- Hours, Minutes, Jumping hours, Striking Watch Stop-to-zero second mechanism
- Size
- 27 x 42 mm
- Thickness
- 7.9 mm
- Water resistance
- 30 m
- Reference
- 1919P
- Price
- 51,618 CHF
Description
PRIMA marks the rebirth of Niton, a historic Geneva watchmaking name founded in 1919, and stands as the first contemporary expression of the Maison’s renewed vision. Conceived as an archetype rather than a one-off creation, PRIMA translates Niton’s heritage into a modern horological object guided by the brand’s founding philosophy: ART + PRECISION.
The watch takes inspiration from Niton’s historical jumping-hour display, registered in 1928, and reinterprets it through a contemporary architectural language. Its dial offers a distinctive decomposition of time, combining a digital hour indication with analogue minutes and seconds. The hour appears through an aperture at 12 o’clock and jumps instantaneously at the top of each hour, while the minutes are displayed on a rotating central disc and the seconds are indicated by a sweeping hand at 6 o’clock. This composition creates a strong visual identity, so recognizable that the watch requires no logo on the dial.
At the heart of PRIMA is the in-house, manually wound Calibre NHS01, developed specifically for this timepiece. True to Niton’s historical expertise in form movements, the calibre follows the architecture of the rectangular case, reinforcing the link between mechanics and design. The jumping hour is achieved through an hour disc mounted on a star wheel, indexed by a snail-and-spring mechanism that stores energy progressively over sixty minutes before releasing it instantaneously to advance the hour.
The movement has been conceived to meet the demanding standards of the Geneva Seal and chronometer certification. It offers a 72-hour power reserve and features a Swiss lever escapement, variable-inertia balance and Breguet overcoil hairspring. Its construction combines traditional Geneva watchmaking elements, such as a blade shaped ratchet click, with a contemporary architecture defined by distinctive bridge shapes and a clean visual layout free of visible screws.
PRIMA also integrates two discreet complications designed to enrich the user experience. The hour jump is accompanied by a subtle mechanical sonnerie, produced by a hammer striking a hand-soldered copper gong integrated into the inner flank of the case. In addition, a stop-to-zero mechanism allows the seconds hand to halt precisely at the end of its revolution during time-setting, enabling accurate synchronization.
Produced in precious metals and limited for the inaugural Souscription series, PRIMA is not simply a revival piece. It is meant to live in time as the foundation of Niton’s next chapter.
Supplied by the brand to the GPHG for its entry.