Completely unique to most other watches. This Ochs Und Junior Day Night in 40mm grade 5 titanium displays the length of the day time and night time for Adelaide, South Australia, solar noon, sunrise and sunset, position of the sun and moon in the sky, a moon phase, time, and date. So literally it is a very complicated watch but technically it’s not complicated at all.

To make all this possible, ochs und junior uses a Ulysse Nardin Caliber 320 as its base, automatic, 39 jewels, 48hr power reserve, anchor escapement and a silicon hairspring. Making this watch very anti-magnetic and reliable. Only 13 additional parts are added to this base caliber that contributes to the astronomical complications.

I wanted something different. The design speaks to me but won’t speak to all. No logos, no finishing and a brutalist aesthetic. Over the years, as my tastes have changed, I have longed for things that simply cannot be bought in a shop. It’s not that they aren’t great watches, but the retail setting does not appeal to me and I feel like if you can just walk in and buy it, I don’t want it. To me, form follows function, I need something to do what it needs to do before any focus is given to its aesthetics.

My goal for the Ochs Und Junior Day Night is for a few reasons that I will list below.

1. It is to slow down time. When you look at this watch nothing moves, but when you look again later, the sun, moon, and hands will have moved. The lack of a seconds hand will hopefully allow me to slow down and take time for things that are important.

2. I am awake early and out with my dog so being able to connect with my watch on our walks and connect with the sun will give me a greater appreciation for the time I have. It is always a good feeling when you are up before the sun.

3. I want to use it to teach my daughter about time. But in a non-conventional way. By asking questions like, how long until the sun sets? has the sun come up yet? And associating the summer and winter sun positions with different times of the day. It will also allow me to teach her about the seasons and lengths of the day throughout the year as they shorten and lengthen.

4. Most importantly, I want to use it to check how much sun is left and use it for inspiration to get outside with my daughter, my wife and my dog to enjoy the last hours of an evening not sitting on the couch.

5. I also realised that this watch can be used as a compass. In the Southern Hemisphere, if I face north, I will find the position of the sun. Thus, if I find the position of the sun and match it to the watch, this will make the direction of 12 o’clock North. I have already been standing north in the morning and looking at where the sun is knowing the length of our summer days and it’s perfect.

The watch is currently running at -1 second per day which is very impressive for the level of complication and module. There is another watch that will tell you the sunrise and sunset and can be adjusted for anywhere in the world, but it starts at CHF600,000 and boasts how many parts are used.

I couldn’t be happier, when you buy a watch that you’ve never tried on, paid 50% upfront and wait a year for it to be built, it is not an easy thing to do. But this watch has far exceeded my expectations and I am so glad I took the risk, narrowed it down to exactly what I wanted and now I am enjoying it every day. With a lifetime warranty on all parts made by ouj, it’s a truly honourable watch to wear everyday.

This is a watch you get for yourself. Most won’t know what it is nor have an appreciation for what it can do. But when I sit down and explain it to someone, it blows their mind. I like that.