Mastertimer Sawm

Mastertimer Sawm

The most prestigious mechanical watches come from Switzerland. The smartest ones don’t. And no one has dared to combine the two into something that is both classic and clever – until now.

The timepieces in the Aramedes Mecca Collection have a traditional mechanical movement that tells the time with hours, minutes, and seconds. In addition, these watches display information that supports Muslims in the practice of their faith. With three additional functions, the Mastertimer Sawm is the flagship of this collection.

At 3 o'clock is the Qibla Indicator. The hand on this sub-dial indicates the direction of Mecca at the push of a button. The Salah Indicator at 9 o'clock shows the upcoming prayer time. When this is reached, the watch vibrates 5 times. After 15 minutes, the display changes automatically and the two hands move to the next prayer time. If you prefer not to feel the subtle vibration of the alarm, you can turn it on and off by pressing the pusher at 4 o'clock. Finally, at 6 o'clock, there is the Sawm Indicator, which shows the beginning and end of fasting times during Ramadan. This dial indicates sunrise and sunset by means of a hand that rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours.

The display of these functions is not possible in a purely mechanical way. The direction of Mecca, contrary to the direction of north, is relative and depends on the location. The prayer times are tied to the position of the sun and therefore shift by a few minutes every day. The same applies to sunrise and sunset, which also shift daily and, like the other two pieces of information, vary according to location.

To make this daily changing and location-dependent information available in the watch, an electronic module was mounted on top of the mechanical movement. The AraTec 1 Module is equipped with a processor that calculates the direction of Mecca via triangulation with the support of the compass, which is also located on the module. Pressing the button at 2 o'clock triggers the calculation, and the step motor located under the Qibla Indicator moves the hand in the direction of Mecca. The prayer times on the Salah Indicator and the position of the sun on the Ramadan Indicator are automatically calculated and displayed by the module and do not require manual activation. The movement of these hands is made possible by two step motors located under these two sub-dials.

The AraTec 1 Module and the underlying technology were conceived, developed, and built by Aramedes in Zürich. In December 2020, the patent for this technology was granted by the Swiss Federal Office of Intellectual Property.

With the Mecca Collection, Aramedes is not only building a cultural bridge, but also a technological one, as these watches combine traditional mechanical watchmaking with timeless design and pioneering technology.