Alterum Worldtimer Horizon: In Design We Trust

Modernism is not for everyone. In art, its forms are geometric, abstract and bold, at times distorted. In writing, its stream of consciousness, loud and strident. In music, too, it is discordant and dissonant. In architecture, its structures are rational, experimental, sometimes austere, holding fast to that most quintessential of modernist axioms, that form should follow function.

 

But the single thread that runs through them all is irresistibly compelling — and that is the idea of a radical break from convention and tradition. Whether it is William Carlos Williams shaking off the poetic shackles of meter to describe the prosaic beauty of a red wheelbarrow or Igor Stravinsky’s fierce irregular rhythms and primordial themes, or Frank Lloyd Wright’s organic architecture, modernism is the courage to chart a different course, to push the vanguard.

 

 

Justin Walters’ Alterum Worldtimer can be understood in this light. Says Walters, who is American and grew up on the influences of American modernism, “To me, Modernism is a clear way to define the brand. It challenges norms and embraces cleanliness and simplicity over ornamental design. Modernism plays a major role in what the brand stands for and continually inspires my approach to design.”

 

 

Indeed, the Alterum Worldtimer is a radical break away from conventional ways of telling time, and it does so in a marvelously simple fashion — by distilling timekeeping and time-telling to their bare essence, stripped of complications and what-nots.

 

 

“The Alterum story starts with a lesson in simplicity — designing less, cutting away the chaos, to simplify,” Walters explains. The result is a fresh, original-looking watch — the Alterum Worldtimer — which won the inaugural Dubai Watch Week x Grail Watch design competition in 2024.

 

Its calling card lies in a pared-back dial that does away with conventional hands, reminiscent of Ressence. But while Walters admires the likes of Ressence, Urwerk and Ikepod, for the Alterum Worldtimer, “the inspiration was really architectural,” he declares. Specifically, he referenced Wright’s Guggenheim Museum in New York, and Apple Park, designed by Norman Foster for Apple’s Cupertino headquarters in California.

 

 

 

The first is a stunning, swirling six-storey spiral of concrete that has become one of Manhattan’s most photographed landmarks. The second is a sprawling structure with massive, curved glass facades and literally encircles a park, an oasis transplanted on what used to be a parking lot. Although completed more than half a century apart — Guggenheim Museum was built in 1959 and Apple Park, in 2017 — the two, nonetheless, share a stark clarity of vision that sets them apart from their immediate surroundings. In their sculptural forms, stripped of cornices and columns, they stand uncompromised and unwavering.

 

 

Both, too, are anchored in one singular form — the circle. Pure, infinite and complete. Says Walters, “I was really influenced by my visit to Apple Park. In particular, the ceiling of the Steve Jobs Theater, which consists of concentric radial panels. There’s this incredible sense of harmony and infinity in this structure.”

 

 

At the same time, he tapped Wright’s masterpiece for inspiration. “When you look down from the top of the museum, its spiral ramp starts to look like a series of disks and, in my mind, I saw a watch without hands. I started to see the four main disks for the hours, minutes, the 24-hour disk and the city disk of a world-time watch.”

 

Intentional Design

On the Alterum Worldtimer, there are no hands. Instead, time is presented as efficiently as possible via four concentric rings. The first at the center is marked with a single hash mark for the minutes, while the circle on the next ring tracks the hour. To create a depth of field, the indexes, including the red one, are cleverly marked on the underside of the flat sapphire crystal instead of on the dial. The third disk displays the 24-hour scale, half of which are in grey for day and black for night, fringed by the last disk displaying names of 24 cities around the world.

 

 

Two crowns sit at 2 and 4 o’clock, slightly recessed into the case and bearing a red line and the Alterum logo respectively. The former lets you set the bidirectional city disk while the latter winds the watch and sets the time.

 

Time is read off the rotating dials sans distraction; there is not even a logo in sight. “At the core of Alterum lies a philosophy that values clarity over complexity, where every detail serves a purpose,” says Walters. “Alterum is a testament to the belief that less can be more.”

 

 

Beyond the dial, its stainless steel case with integrated bracelet carry a similar minimalist aesthetic, shorn of decoration save for the stepped bezel with polished bevels and the engraved lines on the lugs and links. Both case and bracelet are vapor blasted for a softer, more contemporary finish, juxtaposed against its sleek angular lines.

 

 

To ensure the highest level of quality and mechanical competence, Walters tapped Roventa-Henex, Switzerland’s most renowned “white label” watch factory that manufactures timepieces for some of the biggest and most famous brands in the world. This probably explains why the watch feels reassuringly solid on the wrist. At 38.5mm, it wears well for both genders and as the links are connected by screws, they can be easily adjusted to fit different wrist sizes. It is powered by the automatic Sellita SW330-2 GMT, a reliable workhorse with 56 hours of power reserve and one that can be easily serviced.

 

A Palette in White

This latest edition of the Alterum Worldtimer continues the narrative of the brand by deepening its core themes of clarity, simplicity and a global perspective — while introducing an important detail to the dial.

 

 

Following the matte black dial of the original Alterum Worldtimer, which sold out instantly, and the gold-black-gray combination of the New York and L.A. editions, the final iteration of the Alterum Worldtimer completes the quartet with a pure white dial that closes the circle.

 

“The white dial brings the design language back to its purest form,” says Walters. “The use of white emphasizes legibility, openness and precision, allowing the world-time display to be clear and present, inviting the wearer to see the world with clarity.”

 

“Singapore” is highlighted in red on the city disk, an intentional detail created to honor the partnership and collaboration between Revolution and Alterum. Walters explains, “This detail pays tribute to Revolution, whose headquarters are in Singapore. Quite frankly, without Wei and the team at Revolution, neither I nor this watch would be as widely recognized. Their support helped place my brand on the map and gave me the opportunity to share my design with the world.”

 

 

The pleasure is ours. Indeed, Revolution’s collaboration on the Alterum Worldtimer is testament to our commitment to uncover and support new talent, and in doing so, bring fresh perspectives to the watch community. Revolution Founder Wei Koh says, “Justin Walters set out to create a hybrid American-Swiss watch brand that expresses the beautiful, brutal simplicity of American watchmaking that just might be the most original new voice in microbrand design the industry has seen in a long time.”

 

 

And that is exactly what we have with our final edition of the Alterum Worldtimer Horizon, beautiful and original in its simplicity.