Good Thinking

Seiko creates insanely complex machine that does very little, beautifully

Seiko creates insanely complex machine that does very little, beautifully
Seiko uses watch parts and watchmaking tools to create a whimsical machine
Seiko uses watch parts and watchmaking tools to create a whimsical machine
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The action starts with winding a watch movement
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The action starts with winding a watch movement
The machine is made from 1,200 parts
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The machine is made from 1,200 parts
The machine took over a year to create
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The machine took over a year to create
The machine uses artificial rubies
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The machine uses artificial rubies
The mechanical city has tiny inhabitants
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The mechanical city has tiny inhabitants
Human helpers nudge the machine along
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Human helpers nudge the machine along
Seiko uses watch parts and watchmaking tools to create a whimsical machine
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Seiko uses watch parts and watchmaking tools to create a whimsical machine
The machine/town forms the hands of a watch face
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The machine/town forms the hands of a watch face
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Watchmaking may seem like the ultimate in humorless efficiency, but Seiko has created an extremely complicated machine that does one very silly task beautifully. The centerpiece of a three-minute video, the "Art of Time" takes watch parts and turns them into a playful mechanical cityscape that recalls the Rube Goldberg or Heath Robinson contraptions of the last century – or possibly the boardgame Mouse Trap.

Based on Seiko Holdings Corporation Group's slogan, "Seiko. Moving ahead. Touching hearts," Art of Time features a song written by Seiko CEO Shinji Hattori with lyrics based on submissions by employees and sung by Etsuko Yakushimaru. According to the company, the idea behind the machine harkens back to the days when timepieces were rare and bells and musical complications were needed to remind people in the vicinity of the time, which Seiko calls the "art with no form."

The machine/town forms the hands of a watch face
The machine/town forms the hands of a watch face

The device itself is a maze of watch parts, watchmaking tools, figurines, and rolling rubies of the sort used to make watch bearings. With an occasional nudge from helpers to provide scale and retain the human element, the device rolls a series of ruby balls along tracks, through hoops made of movement cases, obstacle courses or spiralling counterweights, and across rockers that power an animated beating heart symbol until, finally, the machine reaches the end of its journey and lifts a tiny glass dome to reveal a balance wheel, which a Seiko technician installs in a watch. The camera then pans back and up to reveal the tiny mechanical town forms the hands of a huge watch-like table.

Seiko says that the machine took 1,200 parts and over a year to create while filming consumed 70 hours to get the right take.

You can check out the Art of Time video and how it was made below.

Source: Seiko via A Blog to Watch

View gallery - 8 images
1 comment
1 comment
Watchmaker1946
As a Master Watchmaker with more than 35 years experience, I must congratulate the Seiko Corporation and its fine watchmakers on creating the finest piece of Watchmaking Whimsy I have ever seen. The machine is an exquisite example of watchmaking art. I believe that Rube Goldberg would have been proud to have his name associated with this delightfully creative mechanism. Thank you for showing the world an almost never seen side of watchmakers and making my day.