Rotor One by Scatola del Tempo

Before the Rotor One was concieved Scatola del Tempo were well known for producing exquisite watch cases. It was over 30 years ago that Scatola del Tempo headed up at the time by late founder Sandro Colarieti brought the first watch winder into circulation. Borne of necessity for his own vast collection of complicated timepieces. Colarieti required a device that could keep his watches going while not wearing them. This to avoid them deteriorating and the requirement for long and involved resetting procedures.

The 1RT was the result. A cuboid design wrapped with the quality leather and crafted to the the highest standards. Unique and exquisitely made it wasn’t long before the elite watch houses began to take note. Seeing the value of the watch winder were maisons such as Patek Philippe. This resulted in the ordering branded units to distribute with their timepieces.

Italian flare

Moving forward and it will come as no surprise that Scatola del Tempo with a flare for design and passion for creation, offer an option of winder that is not of conventional cube design. The Rotor One breaks the mold and offers the collector a modern alternative. Sleek and unique with options to explore and create over 50 combinations of winder.

Opening up the beautifully simple and understated outer box you realise that the Scatola del Tempo do not waste resource and energy on extras, the box contains a user manual, guarantee card and the winder. No plugs, promotional literature or anything else – only what you need. And why not?! If buying a Rotor One, it is likely that you have done your research and decided that this no-nonsense product of the highest quality is what you need, what you want!

The Rotor One has a reassuring heft. It’s not too heavy at around 700g with batteries but weighty enough to back up the quality/weight feel. The intricately designed and molded unit is predominantly made from a tough plastic. It features a wonderful black soft touch ABS coating, quite unlike anything else. Around the centre, a grained leather strap is hand stitched into the unit giving a further feel of Scatola quality and depending on the chosen colour, a certain sporty element.

Bold colours

Colour choices of leather include black, grey, chocolate, chestnut, blue, red and green, each with a complimenting colour of stitching. The rear of the unit has a machined battery cover plate featuring the brand logo. There are also machine tool markings reminiscent of the ‘snail trail’ decorations on luxury automatic watch movements. The plate also doubles up as the conductor between the batteries – the sole power source for the Rotor One, removing the need for unsightly jacking sockets.

The Rotor One can be used with or without a window cover (reflecting in the price too). A range of ‘bezel’ styles are available from Scatola del Tempo should you wish to liven up your winder to co-ordinate with your chosen timepiece – among the most popular are the blue/red or blue/black options tying in with the GMT watches by Rolex (among others). A simple chrome bezel might be the most conservative option or even no cover at all. So with the eight window variations and seven leather colours, you could end up with over 50 combinations, more if you have no cover at all.

Premium mechanics

Now, in case you were unaware, Scatola del Tempo was, in 2017, acquired by watch winding supremos Swiss Kubik. This means that the winding technology, precision and quality within your Rotor One has been 100% Made in Switzerland while the unit is assembled and loving finished in Italy. Surely, the very best of both worlds!

The winding motor is exactly the same as in the Swiss Kubik Startbox, an ultra silent, low energy unit with zero magnetism that will interfere with the operation of your watch. The mechanism will deliver a 900 turns per day Bi-directional program (900 Clockwise and 900 Anti-Clockwise), suitable for 95% of the automatic watches available today*. The efficient winding mechanism should return 3 years of regular use on one set of C cell batteries making it a great option for storing in the safe – knowing that your watches are getting the exercise they require.

The watch holder is also the same that is shared by the Swiss Kubik Startbox, available in two sizes, small & standard, covering wrist sizes from 15cm to 19.5cm.

The Rotor One by Scatola del Tempo currently lists at £530 for a winder without a window cover. Yes, cheaper winders are available which in fact offer a plethora of options and features, however, as stated previously, the Rotor One brings the finish, feel and quality of one of the the finest luxury brands in Scatola del Tempo together with Swiss Kubik – manufacturer of perhaps the finest watch winders and mechanisms in the world. When described as such, the Rotor One represents extremely good value indeed.