Swiss watch company Parmigiani has revealed the world’s first mechanical clock based on the Hegirian Calendar or Islamic lunar calendar and costs a grandiose 9.5 million Dirhams. The clock took a reported 20 years to developed and has been termed by its developer as a “project dedicated to the Muslim community.”
The prototype clock was unveiled this past November at the Yas Hotel in Abu Dhabi by Parmigiani’s top officials in the presence of Mohammed Khamis bin Hareb Al Muhairy, Director General, National Council of Tourism and Antiquities. The Arabian peninsula was the perfect place for the world premier of the clock asserted master watchmaker and company president Michel Parmigiani.
The Islamic Hijri calendar year is shorter than the Gregorian with 354 days instead of 365 days. The clock is thus equipped with a continuous 30-year mechanical Hegirian calendar which displays the mean time in hours and minutes and is also adapted to the precision of the moon phases. The particular movement of the motor mechanism is housed at the base of the clock and is manually wound using a retractable click lever in the base. This algorithm took Michel Parmigiani around 20 years to manufacture and the prototype recently unveiled took 4 years to work on since “every element was manufactured from scratch, internally,”said Parmigiani.
And having enough money to afford this special and very pricey object will not be enough. Only a few pieces will be made each year. Parmigiani will be selective in determining who can purchase this unique luxury object; the client will have to have culture and taste, not just enough money. The clock is scheduled to have a global launch this month at the Geneva Time Exhibition.
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