Let’s just get this out of the way up front – for many of us, the idea of a 6-figure watch launching now, with the economy being what it is (and the world falling apart), feels like a bad idea. But that ignores the fact that developing something like the Corum Lab 02 is not a quick process – so let’s see what’s in this visually stunning piece.
When you look at the photos here of the Corum Lab 02, you can see that this is something unusual. Sure, there are a lot of skeletonized components, but you’re seeing a LOT more of the movement than you normally would, and that’s because the figured out how to build the movement without sandwiching it between a the mainplate and bridges. So how is it all being held in place?
Well, the movement of the Corum Lab 02 is set onto a sapphire plate, so you can still see everything while it’s held in place. Past that, they went with ball bearings (instead of rubies). In case that wasn’t enough – along with the visual display, you’ve got a flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock, a grand date indication at 4 o’clock, and then a power reserve. Where’s that at? Well, it’s at 8 o’clock, but you actually need to look through the sapphire side of the case to see it.
That means while you have metal on top and in the back, you’ve got a lot of sapphire here – front, back, and sides – that will let a LOT of light in there, letting you see all of the various pieces that make up the movement (416 to be precise). Almost makes you want to see some sort of custom lighting solution to get it lit up from the inside.
While there are three variants (with 10 pieces being made of each), pricing for the 45mm Corum Lab 02 starts at $180,000 for the one we’ve had pictured in this article, with any additional customizations of course raising the price. And I did ask around a bit, and it seems like some have already been sold – so you may actually run across one in the wild when we can get back out there. corum-watches.com
