Introducing the MMT Ephemeris: A Poetic Take on the Custom Watch

While most of the watch news you’ll read over the next couple of weeks will be coming out of Basel, perhaps the most conceptually interesting watches to be released this month will be coming from Kickstarter. Yes, you read that right. MMT, whose minimal and refined watches we’ve reviewed before, just announced a new series called Ephemeris that takes the elegance of their previous watches and adds a unique customizable twist unlike any you’ve seen before.

The aptly titled Ephemeris will be available to order for only a little over one month, only though the crowd-funding platform. But what makes them interesting is not their exclusivity, but that each watch will be customized for its owner. Looking at the dial, you’ll see clean pieces of brushed metal in steel or rose gold, with a series of concentric circles punctuated by dots of varying sizes. The astute might have already figured it out, but those dots represent the planets in our solar system, and the lines their orbits around the sun, which is the center of the dial (not to scale, of course). But, it’s not the shapes that matter, but rather their locations, as each dial can be precisely configured to show the positions of the planets on any date for your choosing.

The idea is rather poetic. Rather than engrave something memorable on the back of a watch as an afterthought to a purchase, the whole watch gracefully portrays the date in its very design, through an abstract but meaningful motif. Since it’s so subtle and stripped down, it’s not some ostentatious way to celebrate a day that’s special to you, whether it’s your anniversary, the day you got a promotion or just some date from world history you find fascinating going back to 1500. If you have a date in mind, you can visual the dial on this page. It doesn’t scream memorabilia or nostalgia, but rather looks like a stylish watch… one that happens to contain a story.

The rest of the watch exudes the same level of class and restraint as the dial. Coming in at 39mm with a very thin profile, it’s a nice contemporary dress size. It’s basically a lug-less design as well, with fin-like protrusions underneath acting as lugs, making the 39mm wear smaller. The cases match the dials, giving the watches the effect of being made of single pieces of metal, which has a striking look. Powering the Ephemeris is a Japanese quartz movement.

To make things even more appealing, the MMT Ephemeris is very affordable. On their Kickstarter page, which went live on March 17th, 2016, prices range from $128 – $332, the latter of which gets you two of the watches. If I hadn’t reviewed their watches before, I’d be suspect of those prices as they seem too good, but I know first hand they deliver a solid watch. So, on top of being very attractive watches that offer a unique style of customization, they are good value… Seriously, if you have any birthdays coming up that you need to get gifts for, this might the perfect choice. As with all ephemera, these wont last, and the Kickstarter ends on April 24th, 2016. Get them while they last!