🛸Back on the mic is the engineering and 3d printing visionary Karel Bachand, founder of Barrelhand Watches. You might remember him from AE 15, where he discussed the fusion of 3D printing and cutting-edge watch design. But this time, all systems are finally ready to lift off with the project he teased at the end of that episode; the Monolith.
Barrelhand was kind enough to include me months ago as a beta tester of the Monolith right here on planet Earth here in the PNW. After weeks of wearing it and providing feedback, it was incredible to be able to look behind the scenes as this project progressed. But even after that prototype that was on my wrist, which I’m glad I can finally share with you now, they still continued to improve upon what was already out of this world in design. As you’ll hear, they made it even lighter (20%) and more robust than the prototype I had on my wrist! It was already the lightest automatic watch, in a 38mm case, I had ever felt. Being made from an alloy as light as aluminum, stronger than titanium, and, of course, 3d printed.
Karel opens up on the podcast and shares all the research and development behind this all-new watch set to come out this summer. We get into the nuts and bolts, literally, in their thought process of building Monolith. The Monolith’s ethos of being a professional astronaut-grade watch, using bleeding-edge manufacturing technologies is redefining being explorative in manufacturing and watchmaking. But the Monolith isn't just pushing technological boundaries or trying to be avand guard this time– it's serving a mission.
Its mission was to be a modern-day watch built from the ground up for the harsh realities of space exploration. Not just being a watch retrofitted for the job, or paying homage to space exploration - it is Barrelhand’s platform that is meant to be a modern tool-watch for real space use. Being built from the ground up with that mission in mind to pass and exceed NASA’s tests, the Speedmaster once did, be qualified for EVA certifications, and be made to be experienced by the watch enthusiast here on Earth.
Voyager Disk 2.0 | Memory Disk lands on the moon(lander)
You might have seen a shiny disk that hitched a ride as one of the payloads on the most recent moon lander. The same technology, that same kind of Memory Disk, will be embedded in the back of every Monolith. 5gb of high resolution image data that fits on about the size of a US nickel using a futurist technology called NanoFiche.
But the Monolith was made to be more than just a moon or space-inspiring accessory. It is Barrelhand using high precision engineering and, fundamentally, using technology to explore how we could perceive time, space, and exploration. Their exploration of making a space watch has led the company to really think about all aspects of commercial space travel. Sure, the mechanics of it, but also the impacts of space travel on the human that will be wearing a Monolith. From thinking about the psychology of space travel, how humans might want to stay connected to Earth in their own way, and what it means even to be a human in space.
Now, let’s boldly go where no podcast has gone before... and discover a future of timekeeping in a potential new space-race engineering frontier. (I’m allowed one geeky dad joke, right?) 🚀
Materials
Scalmalloy - https://www.carpentertechnology.com/alloy-finder/Scalmalloy
NanoFiche - https://nanofiche.com/
Transparent Aluminum - https://theconstructor.org/building/building-material/transparent-aluminium/561733/
Pre-Orders available today
https://www.barrelhand.com/products/monolith
Monolith, priced at $8,750, requires a 20% ($1,750) refundable deposit for reservation.
Shipping Q3 (Summer) 2024
Links
Barrelhand Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/barrelhand
Monolith - https://www.barrelhand.com/monolith
NASA Artemis - https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/
PopSci : “Odie the lunar lander is not dead yet'“ Despite toppling on its side during landing, Odysseus is outliving its 10-20 hour prognosis. https://www.popsci.com/science/odysseus-lunar-lander-mission/
“Intuitive Machines-1 Lunar Landing (Official NASA Broadcast)”
“NASA, Intuitive Machines Moon Mission Update”
