Jumping Back in the Game

With the jump hour complication once again in the spotlight, we take a look at microbrand Amida that pioneered a unique interpretation with the Digitrend, a driver’s watch, in 1976

- by Digvijay

—The jump hour is having a moment again in watchmaking.

In recent years, brands like Audemars Piguet, Chronoswiss, Cartier, Bremont, Louis Vuitton, and more have either unveiled completely new designs or revisited and reinterpreted icons from their archives. Amida is another such brand, though its expression is certainly a distinctive one.

Amida S.A. was founded in Grenchen, Switzerland, by Joseph Zwahlen, a watchmaker. Established in 1925, with origins tracing back to a 1918 workshop, the company initially made economic watches with affordable pin-lever movements, earning a reputation for producing forward-looking timepieces. What put the brand on the horological map was the launch of the Digitrend at BaselWorld 1976. It was the first mechanical ‘casquette’ driver's watch, undeniably futuristic for the time. Its 42 mm x 38 mm stainless-steel case mimicked the aerodynamic, sloping lines of 1970s sports cars, but what stood out about it was a display of time through an optical grade sapphire crystal prism that reflected the horizontal hour and minute discs, and displayed them vertically.

The Digitrend was driven by a single jewel one-hour jumping movement that rotated the minute wheel continuously, and a cam/ratchet causing the hour disc to ‘jump’ once per hour at 0 minutes. The numeric graphics were typical 1970s style—bright orange on black. Through the prism, the digits appear magnified and right-side-up, framed by the triangular side crystal, uncoated with lume. The side-view layout allowed drivers to read the time on their wrist without having to let go of the steering wheel. The Digitrend was supported by two patents: The jump-hour patent for re-imagining how time could jump from one hour to the next, and the second patent for its horizontal light reflecting display using a prism effect inspired by a submarine periscope. Unlike the LED or LCD watches of the era, the Digitrend was a purely mechanical endeavour.