Antonio Fazio aka "Ato" is an Italian art director and designer, born in Switzerland in 1984. He studied graphic and product design at Eracom in Lausanne and graduated in 2010. He has lived, worked and lectured in Paris, New York, Milan and is now based in Lausanne. He collaborates with brands such as Prada, Versace, Maserati, Swatch, Hennessy, Adidas, the NBA and Eterna, to name a few.
© 2023 Antonio Fazio. All rights reserved.
Swatch S51 P. /
1. Movement Concept
Project Sistem51“Movement Concept” Manual, first part.
November, 2011.
The genius of the Sistem51 is that it’s construction is based around circular geometric shapes, spread around five modules and linked to one another by only one central screw. The assembling of the parts, including the 19 jewels and the regulating organ, is done by highly-sophisticated machines and uses only solders. The balance wheel’s assembly and adjustment are usually the most sensitive tasks when manufacturing a movement. It requires the skills of trained watchmakers to achieve a good chronometric rate. In the Sistem51, it is adjusted by a laser that removes enough material to find that perfect balance, and therefore the perfect accuracy. And as the balance wheel and the escapement are made of a synthetic and anti-magnetic material, there is essentially no reason for them to deregulate.
The components are welded together to form a single assembly centered on a single screw. When Copernicus put the sun at the center of the solar system, he changed the whole way we perceive and understand life. Sistem51 is a Copernican idea in contemporary term!
The movement boasts 90 hours of power reserve, an impressive achievement compared to the 42 hours of an ETA or a Soprod.
A bidirectional transparent rotor (which will never hide the view of the technical elements, as the counterweight is located around the rotor) winds the single barrel. Once again, such a detail is usually only found in fine, expensive watches. Last but not least, Swatch states it has an accuracy of +/- 7 seconds per a day, a rate that is actually very close to COSC chronometer requirements (-4/+6 seconds per a day).
︎︎︎ 3D views of the Modules and the Components.
︎︎︎ 3D views of the Modules and the Components.
