The watch that works in OUTER SPACE: Device boasts zero-gravity timekeeping and a shield from radiation - but it costs £150k
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A limited-edition watch designed to work in 'outer space' has been released by a Swiss company.
There are 50 units of the HM6 Space Pirate watch being made, and its design is based on a spaceship piloted by fictional character Captain Future from a 1970s cartoon.
Bu,t although it might boast an interesting design, space and watch enthusiasts alike might baulk at the asking price of £150,000 ($230,000).
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Swiss wathchmaker MB&F has created a futuristic limited edition watch (pictured). The HM6 'Space Pirate' (Horological Machine Number 6) is designed to operate in outer space. Each of the four corners is a 360° sphere tapped at the top and bottom with sapphire crystal domes
The watch, created by Maximilian Busse from Swiss watchmaker MB&F and David Candaux Horlogerie Créative, has five distinct segments.
It uses a technique known as tourbillon to make it able to counter the effects of gravity.
This means it can be used even in a weightless environment, such as on board the ISS.
Of course, astronauts on the ISS aren't in zero-gravity, but their constant state of freefall towards Earth allows them to float around the station.
The Space Pirate watch mounts the timekeeping element, namely the balance wheel, inside a rotating cage.
This means that, if it were to be used on the ISS, the cage would constantly move in order to keep the time on the watch accurate.
On the watch, the central sphere, which keeps track of the time, is capped at the top and bottom by transparent sapphire-crystal domes, as are the other four domes.
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The central portion of the watch also has a retractable dome that can protect the timekeeping elements from ultraviolet radiation - for those moments when the wearer hasn't got the benefit of Earth's atmosphere for protection.
Two spherical segments at the front then rotate to display the hours and minutes.
Two spheres at the front of the watch display the hours and minutes, while two twin spherical turbines at the back (seen at the bottom of the watch here) regulate the winding system to reduce stress and wear
The interior workings of the Space Pirate watch are shown on the left, including the semi-spheres that show the time, and keep the watch working. It is based on a comic released in the 1940s called Captain Future (shown right), which was later adapted into a cartoon for TV in the 1970s
On the back, two twin spherical turbines spin to regulate the winding system, reducing stress and wear on the device.
The entire watch is made of 475 individual components, 80 of which make up the case. It is also embedded with 68 jewels.
'Space is an extremely hostile environment,' the company said in a statement.
'To survive you need protection against powerful accelerations, dangerous thermonuclear radiation, extreme temperature fluctuations and constant risk of unexpected collisions.'
At the centre of the watch is the tourbillon (shown left), a rotating timekeeping element in a cage that moves depending on how the watch is orientated, meaning it can work even in zero-gravity. A radiation shield (shown right) can cover this element to protect it from UV rays
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