by Ian Skellern

The days getting shorter and the nights much cooler remind us that the holidays are fast approaching, so it’s the perfect time to have a close look at a watch that would look great under under any angel-topped, tinsel-covered tree: the Christophe Claret X-TREM-1 Chocolate.

It’s easy to miss the fact that Christophe Claret’s X-TREM-1 features:

* Flying tourbillon inclined at 30°

* Retrograde hours

* Retrograde minutes

* Two mainspring barrels driving separate gear trains for the movement and indication

* Quick-set time adjustment

Christophe Claret X-TREM-1 movement in it’s assembly support frame; the tubes with the indication balls are part of the frame, not the movement

On any other watch, those complications would be raison d’être enough, but on the X-TREM-1 it is easy to miss them because of one other significant feature: glass tubes running down either side of the rectangular case, each tube containing a stainless steel ball that moves up and down indicating hours or minutes.

Carefully placing the movement of the Christophe Claret X-TREM-1 into its case from the back

And even more incredibly, the steel balls are controlled by tightly focused magnetic fields, the latter being something watchmakers generally avoid at all costs.

Christophe Claret X-TREM-1 case (upside down) on left and movement in support frame on right

I was fortunate in visiting the Christophe Claret manufacture while this X-TREM-1 Chocolate movement was being cased, so I snapped a few shots of the process.

Unscrewing the movement of the Christophe Claret X-TREM-1 from its support frame

Carefully placing the movement of the Christophe Claret X-TREM-1 into its case

The titanium movement base plate actually angles down at either end so that the case sits more comfortably on the wrist.

The movement of the Christophe Claret X-TREM-1 upside down in its case; the back is still to be fitted

The movement of the Christophe Claret X-TREM-1 upside down in its case with the case back still to be fitted

The case back of the Christophe Claret X-TREM-1 about to be fitted

Fitting the case back of the Christophe Claret X-TREM-1 Chocolate

Fitting the case back of the Christophe Claret X-TREM-1 Chocolate

Fitting the case back of the Christophe Claret X-TREM-1 Chocolate

The movement of the Christophe Claret X-TREM-1, now safely ensconced in its Chocolate case

X-TREM-1 Chocolate by Christophe Claret

This is one Chocolate goody I’d be happy to find in my Christmas stocking. Please, Santa, I promise I’ve been (generally) good.

For more information, please visit www.christopheclaret.com/en/collection-extreme-watches-x-trem-1.

Quick Facts
Functions: hours and minutes indicated by spheres (driven by magnetic fields) inside sapphire tubes, seconds on tourbillon cage; quick time adjustment
Case: 5N red gold and brown PVD-treated grade 5 titanium, 40.80 x 56.80 x 15 mm
Movement: flying tourbillon inclined at 30°, dual gear trains
Limitation 8 pieces
Price: $309,000 (excluding VAT/taxes)