Watch companies have pursued the digital display of time from as early as the 19th century, with one prominent example from IWC standing out. Essentially windows on the dial revealing parts of rotating dials, this sort of digital displays occasionally find their way into fine mechanical watches, as can be seen in offerings from Svend Andersen and DeBethune.

This year, De Grisogono is seriously upping the ante with the world’s first mechanical wristwatch to display time in true digital fashion. Yes, the image you see is of a mechanically generated digital display of time.

In a stroke of genius, De Grisogono boss Fawaz Grousi has unlocked the creative potential of his designers and devoted resources to having an exclusive movement built to realize the watch. Briefly, the movement uses an assemblage of 23 cams wedded to a system of gears and a triggering and synchronization system to drive the mobile micro-segments that display the second time zone.