Embe Special

The mid-century EMBE is not a real jump hour, but technically a direct-read mechanical watch. The dial features a sharp, two-tone textured finish with a dual-aperture display — the top window tracks the hours, while the curved lower window reads the sweeping minutes disc.

The discs in this watch are constantly in motion, as they are geared directly to the motion works, meaning the hour digit slowly drifts through the top aperture as the time progresses, rather than snapping cleanly into place like a real jump hour would do.

EMBE was originally registered by watch merchant Max Russe in Berlin in 1921, though this specific piece is Swiss Made. Watches like this were typical of the era's space-age aesthetic, utilizing accessible, unjeweled pin-lever movements (like the RPG 8056) to offer a mechanical digital layout. It's a typical example of mid-century direct-read design.