The expression "expect the unexpected" is an entirely appropriate phrase when used to describe the portfolio of watches by Romain Jerome. In an industry known for its traditional values, Romain Jerome watches stand apart for their show-stopping aesthetics but with meticulous attention to detail and superb build-quality as standard, they are also finding favour with watch collectors all around the world.

The Romain Jerome Spacecraft is a watch quite unlike any you have ever seen before. Even for Romain Jerome - a brand who are no strangers to conceptual watchmaking, their Spacecraft marks a departure into unexplored territory. The piece features an unprecedented combination of functions married with a highly original architecture which we feel our customers will appreciate. In the genre of high-end conceptual watchmaking, we think it really does not get better than this.

From concept to wrist, the Spacecraft, which is one of Romain Jerome's most complex timepieces to date, took three years to develop and create. A collaboration of three of the best minds in the business - Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, who engineered the complex movement, Manuel Emch CEO of Romain Jerome, who was involved in the creative process and the acclaimed designer Eric Giroud whose work always adds a "wow" factor to any watch - ensured that the project would be unique, wearable and useable.

The end-result of this merging of talents is a stunning timepiece which appears to rest on the wrist like a magnificent wedge-shaped space machine in miniature. The unusual lines of its trapeze-shaped profile and its faceted surface are pure 1970's sci-fi and clever use of alternating finishes of black PVD treatment and beadblasting serve to emphasise the sharp edges further still. Even though it is generously proportioned at 50 x 44.5 x 18.5 mm, it is surprisingly light thanks to the use of titanium in its construction and when secured to the wrist on its textured black polyamide mesh strap it offers itself up at the perfect angle for time reading.

At a first glance one might be forgiven for thinking that radical, edgy design is what makes this model stand apart - and of course it does. But equally impressive are the micro-mechanics which were created to make its unusual time-telling indications work.

The complex movement devised by Agenhor's Jean-Marc Wiederrecht enables the Spacecraft to combine four uncommon time-telling functions - lateral, linear and jumping and retrograde hours - a remarkable achievement which elevates this piece into the echelons of Haute Horlogerie.

The hours are displayed through a sapphire crystal located on the front of the piece, onto which the numerals have been transferred. A unique spring-driven carriage was created in order to enable the red lacquered cursor to move forward once every 60 seconds to indicate each hour until it reaches the "12", after which it makes its instantaneous "jump" back to one. On the top of the case, a black rotating disc with a red indicator transferred directly onto the sapphire crystal serves to indicate the minutes. Both sapphire crystals have been given an anti-reflective treatment and both are at the optimum position to enable readability. Time-setting is via a crown located at the 12 o'clock position.

The Romain Jerome Spacecraft is a striking and controversial piece which skirts the boundary between high-end horology and art beautifully, and with the added exclusivity of a 99 piece production we are delighted to add it to our portfolio of fine watches.