The watch running on computer-controlled floating belts

By Live Reporter

Updated: 09:07 EDT, 5 December 2010

The screen is made from polycarbonate crystal - the same material that is used in bulletproof glass

American watchmaker Devon had to hire aerospace engineers to design and build its Tread1 watch - the usual mousy Swiss people with eyeglasses would have been baffled by the idea of an electric watch with four battery-driven belts instead of clockwork.

The Tread1 is a modest £9,600, not bad for something so surreal it'll make people think you're a traveller from the far future - and 100 have already been pre-ordered.

Tread1 is powered by a lithium-ion battery and will last two weeks off one charge, but don't expect anything so modest as a solar charger or a coin-sized battery to juice up this beast: you've got to plug the thing into a wall socket...

devonworks.com

The four belts are all mounted on a central chassis, going at different speeds. The time at the moment reads 10:14:40. An onboard computer controls four separate microstep motors - the pulleys use jewelled bearings instead of lubrication