When watches are named with such alarmingly anonymous names as this one, collectors may start to worry that the terminally unintelligible terminology of gadgetry is making too many inroads into fine watchmaking. While this may be inevitable, rest assured that this one-off from DeWitt is not such a coda.

First of all, Jerome DeWitt himself tells us that this watch – inspired by the amazing unique piece made by the emerging manufacture for the Only Watch auction – is intended simply as a work of art. Indeed, the watch appears suitable and impressive on a desk, as the pictures immediately show.

Its configuration (vertical flying tourbillon and linear arrangement of barrels) along with dial-side but off-kilter display of time make it difficult to wear in the traditional way. It is almost as if DeWitt is questioning the role of the wristwatch itself. The pictures of the watch should reveal this essential truth. Underlying this truth is the purpose of this fantastic proposition, which in nothing less than a pure tribute to the sculptural possibilities of the mechanical watch.

Briefly, the multi-part case opens up to reveal the barrels when two pushers (2 and 5 o’clock) on the outer case are activated. Each of the 33 pieces in this limited series comes with the specially designed desk stand pictured here. Nevertheless, the point of a piece such as this is not in how to wear it or display it. It exists to provoke debate and discussion, not through controversy but through the exigencies of its construction and the audacity of its form.

Make no mistake, this is as much a cultural artifact as the Chrysler building in New York. With the WX-1, one can see a commentary on current affairs and a critique of contemporary lifestyles. To put it another way, this is not merely a functional object, it is an object invested with meaning. Above and beyond watches and watchmaking, the DeWitt WX-1 seeks the higher ground as an expression of the human spirit.

To those who insist that products of the industrial sector cannot be art, we suggest a trip to the cinema. As an aside, DeWitt introduces a touch of irony in the WX-1 in its winding system. This system is an electronic tool – with USB socket – that allows the watch to be wound in just a few seconds. Placing such a sophisticated electronic tool at the service of a mechanical watch is indeed laudable. The watch itself has an impressive power reserve of 21 days.