Case and Wearing Experience

The CLAVIUS comes in a choice of two finishes, Black (Black dial with titanium case), or the Black Edition tested here, which features a black PVD case for a stealthy monochromatic look. The large 44mm diameter case of the CLAVIUS is a bold choice for such a simple watch with not much going on. However, don’t for one minute think that this is a bulky watch, far from it! With an overall thickness of just 9.1mm and no lugs to speak of, although it looks large, this can be worn on a surprising range of wrist sizes. It’s comfortable too, weighing in at a featherweight 42g without the strap, thanks to its Tri-Titanium case. As the name suggests, three different compounds of aluminium are used, with each alloy specifically chosen for its unique qualities best suited to the section of the case it’s used for – the bezel, the mid-case and the caseback. This makes the watch extremely light, strong, resistant to corrosion, anti-magnetic and hypoallergenic. Most of the case has a brushed finish, but sandblasting has been used to the undercut sections of the rear.

Whilst the case comprises three sections, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a two-section case as the integration of the thin bezel and mid-case is virtually seamless. The caseback doesn’t protrude from the mid-case either as the entire depth of the movement, sapphire crystal and slim caseback outer ring are entirely sunken into the internals of the casing. This is discrete and a nice touch.

Another point of distinction is the geometry of the case, which is best appreciated when viewed in profile so that the attractive architectural arc of the rear is visible. A small, signed crown sits at three o’clock, which is surprisingly grippy thanks to the deep knurling and easy to grab hold of thanks to the undercut case design. However, this does also leave it somewhat more vulnerable to accidents!

The sapphire crystal is very slightly domed and has anti-reflective (AR) coating on both sides. The AR does a reasonable job, but for a minimalist watch that’s nearly all black, I feel that there is still too much reflection. Water resistance is just 50m, but this is fine as it’s not really the sort of watch you’re likely to take into the water anyway.

The lug width on the CLAVIUS is a broad 22mm and BOTTA offers a choice of six different straps, including stainless steel options. My watch came on a black unpadded organic leather strap with matching stitching, two keepers, and a simple black pin buckle. It tapers from 22mm to 20mm, and the leather is incredibly soft and supple with zero wear-in period needed. Whichever strap option you choose, they all continue the minimalist, ‘nothing unnecessary’, design language. Plus, with a 22mm lug width, it’ll be relatively easy to pick up an aftermarket strap if you prefer.

The Dial and Legibility

Working from the outside in, the main lower dial is a matt dark grey with simple, but slightly raised, printed batons for each hour marker, which are slightly thicker and longer for each of the cardinal points. The bright green hour and minute hands are only visible in this sector of the dial. The visible part of the hour hand is a stubby isosceles trapezoid shape which extends halfway across the outer dial, and the minute hand is a thin tapering triangle which extends nearly to the edge of the dial.

A large matt black disc obscures most of the lower dial and is raised to the underside of the sapphire crystal adding much needed sense of depth. This disc also conceals the stems of all three hands and the pinion. Arabic numerals in grey can be found at 6, 9 and 12 o’clock positions. Rectangular apertures are precisely cut out from the centre disk, through which you catch glimpses of the white seconds hand as it jumps from window to window in one second increments, in a manner somewhat reminiscent of a dead-beat seconds complication. This is very much the party trick of the CLAVIUS and what makes it unique. It’s ingenious in its simplicity and mesmerising to watch! Even though you know that underneath the floating dial, the seconds hand must be moving regularly at 8 beats per second like a normal automatic watch, no matter how hard you try, you can’t perceive it and you’d swear it’s only ‘ticking’ once per second. The BOTTA logo and ‘automatic’ text are cut-out at the 3 o’clock position, and this text fades in and out when the white seconds hand passes once a minute. 

Although the dial is uncluttered, I wouldn’t say legibility is a strength of the CLAVIUS. Even though the hands are bright, only small sections are visible. And whilst, of course, this is part of the design, I think the overall aesthetic could be retained whilst decreasing the size of the centre floating disk slightly to allow for larger visible sections of the hour and minute hands. Similarly, in low light, it can be difficult to see the time at a glance as the Super-LumiNova is fairly poor and doesn’t glow very brightly. For a watch such as this, I feel that the lume should be exceptional, but it’s sadly not.

Finally, whilst the CLAVIUS does have an anti-reflective coating applied to both sides of the sapphire crystal, I’d like to see reflections reduced further still. With a big expanse of all-black/dark grey dial and a domed shape crystal reflections are bound to be more prominent than on most watches.

Movement

BOTTA has opted for a Elaboré grade Sellita SW200-1 to power the watch, which can be seen through the exhibition sapphire caseback. This simple, but robust and accurate Swiss automatic movement has also been ‘individually adjusted by hand’, although BOTTA doesn’t elaborate any further on this. A custom rotor has also been fitted and bears the ‘CLAVIUS’ name acid etched in a gold colour. A nice design detail has also been etched into the rotor which mimics the cut-out dial apertures for the ‘digital’ seconds track on the front of the watch.

Final thoughts…!

I imagine the CLAVIUS will be a bit of a ‘marmite’ watch that will appeal to a narrow cross-section of buyers. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it means that it’s daring to be different and stands out from the crowd. I can see it appealing to lovers of modernism, younger generations who have been raised on smart watches but have an interest in mechanical watches, and seasoned watch enthusiasts and collectors looking to add some novelty to their collection. However, given the CLAVIUS’ $1953 / €1830 price tag (at time of writing), it’s a big ask to expect the CLAVIUS to tempt people away from more conventional historied Swiss brands such as Oris, Longines and Hamilton at similar price points.

With a reliable Swiss movement, sapphire sandwich and titanium case, the CLAVIUS offers solid specifications, but nothing out of the ordinary. So, I guess its appeal will lie in its design-led, Bauhaus-inspired modernist aesthetic. BOTTA certainly puts out some distinctive watches, and CLAVIUS with its ‘digital’ seconds is perhaps one of the most unique of the brand’s two-handers. But the watch’s simplicity might be a stretch too far for some, and it could be argued that with such a large expanse of negative space on offer, a 40mm case might have sufficed.

With a watch this stripped down, I feel that what remains needs to be amplified. More extravagance could be lavished by way of top-tier engineering such as an oil-filled dial for the ultimate legibility, flawless execution of solid luminescent blocks for the hands, or applied indices cut with precision.

I admire BOTTA for doing things a little differently and the brand certainly has a niche. The CLAVIUS is a very clever design, without being complicated or expensive to manufacture. It’s a strikingly modern watch and a unique conversation piece, with a party trick certainly intrigues!

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Founded in 1986, Botta designs and assembles its Bauhaus inspired watches in Germany and uses only Swiss movements. Led by chief designer Klaus Botta, the German brand has an impressive list of accolades under its belt, awarded mainly for the strength of their designs (think Red Dot Design Award and the like). They claim to have invented the first one handed watch, so it’s fitting that we’re reviewing the Uno 24 Quartz here, a range that epitomises what the brand stands for and takes the one-hand watch concept to the extreme.

The Botta Uno 24 Concept

If you’re not familiar with single-handed watches, the Uno 24 Quartz could have you baffled at first. So, before we delve deeper into the overall design and the specs, let’s get the time-telling concepts out of the way so you can make sense of the images. You’re probably asking, ‘Why do the numbers on the dial go up to 24’, and ‘why is there only one hand?’. Well, there are two concepts at play here – both aimed at encouraging you to think about time in a different way.

Firstly, there are 24 hours in a day and the sun rises/earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours, so it makes perfect sense that the hour hand (or in this case hour and minute) rotates once around the watch dial to mimic this. And I won’t even get started on circadian rhythms!

Secondly, the single hand, which indicates both the hour and the minutes, is designed to slow the perception of time down for the wearer. This concept is at its most extreme on Botta watches with 24-hour dials. The hand moves incredibly slowly – so slow, that I had to check if it was actually working! Life somehow genuinely does feel less hurried. It’s the perfect antidote to today’s ‘everything now’ world. The Uno 24 is to watches what vinyl is to music. 

A Unique Take On Dial Design

Our review watch is listed on Botta’s website as the black/yellow colourway, but to my eyes it looks closer to orange. With very little bezel to speak of, the dial takes up a lot of real estate and is split horizontally by colour, black for the lower half of the dial and grey for the upper. This is a further reference to the 24-hour concept, with the top half representing daylight (06:00-18:00), and the lower half representing night-time (18:00-06:00).

Starting from the outside of the dial and moving inwards – simple stick indices are printed in white onto the sloping black chapter ring, which sits on its own level, closest to the sapphire crystal. The large hashes indicate the hours, the medium the half hours, and the smallest 10-minutes increments of time. A yellow accent ring, which can only be seen at certain angles, sits between the chapter ring and main dial on its own layer. On the main dial, inwards of the chapter ring, white Arabic numerals show the time in 24-hour format, with each quarter of the day being given prominence by slightly larger Arabic numerals in yellow.

Yellow batons applied to the cardinal points indicate the passing of every six-hours, with the midday marker thankfully being at the traditional 12 o’clock position. These sit proud of the chapter ring and cut through the upper two layers of the dial via a gap in the chapter ring. They also protrude inwards of the chapter ring towards the centre of the dial, with the inner edge cut at an angle. These details really help to add necessary depth to an otherwise plain dial.

Befitting of a watch of industrial design, dial text is kept to an absolute minimum, with just the brand logo picked out in white at 12 o’clock. A crosshair draws your eye from the centre of the matt dial to the white-on-black date window at the six o’clock.

Finally, the uniquely designed single hand is long and elegant. It thins from the pinion to the farthest point and a pinion cover with black and yellow accents keeps things looking slick! (Why aren’t all watches designed with a pinion cover?!). I also really like the shape of the bulbous counterweight.

Case, Bracelet and Comfort

The Uno 24’s 40mm case diameter is a great choice and I’d imagine in 2023 it will prove to be more popular than the original 45mm version of the same watch, which incidentally is still available. Overall thickness is a svelte 9.8mm including the sapphire, and the lug-to-lug is the same as the diameter.

The architectural, ergonomic and multi-faceted undercut case design is where the Uno really begins to shine. The geometry of the case is best appreciated when viewed in profile or from underneath. Whilst I wouldn’t call it a ‘lug-less’ design as such, it certainly wears like it is, as the lugs do not extend beyond the case itself. Visually, I’d say the watch looks true to size, but physically it wears much smaller and people with smaller wrists who still like a big dial will absolutely love this watch!

The case is crafted from what Botta call ‘Tri-Titanium’. Three different compounds of aluminium are used, with each alloy specifically chosen for its unique qualities best suited to the section of the case it’s used for – the bezel, the mid-case and the case back. This makes the watch extremely light, strong, resistant to corrosion, anti-magnetic and anti-allergic. The brushed and sand-blasted finishes seem entirely appropriate for the industrial, Bauhaus-inspired design.

A signed crown sits at three o’clock and hardly protrudes from the case at all. Whilst it does look insubstantial and isn’t the easiest to grab hold of, does it really matter? After all, on this quartz version, the likelihood is that you’re only going to be adjusting the date or time once a month. Plus, the trade-off is added comfort!

The sapphire crystal is slightly domed and has a healthy coating of anti-reflective coating on both sides, a good move with a watch such as this. Water resistance is just 50m, but this is fine as it’s not really the sort of watch you’re likely to take into the water anyway.

The single link, non-tapering stainless steel bracelet is a perfect match for the Uno 24, and continues the minimalist, ‘nothing unnecessary’, design language. The straight end links are recessed into the case and partially covered by the bezel, giving the appearance that the bracelet continues ‘through’ the watch in one continuous loop around the wrist. This simple but elegant solution allows the whole design to look unified and is a lovely touch. The butterfly-style clasp ensures this seamless look continues throughout the entire length of the bracelet. The downside, as with most butterfly clasps, is that there is no micro-adjustment. If this bothers you, or the bracelet isn’t your style, Botta offer five additional straps options at the checkout. Plus, with a 20mm lug width, you could always choose an aftermarket strap if you prefer.

A simple, but robust and accurate Swiss quartz movement from Ronda powers the watch, and as you’d expect, there is no display case back here. Change the battery every few years and you’re good to go. One thing I would point out though is that it’s very weird to hear the watch ticking at one second intervals, but to see the hand progress so slowly around the 24-hour dial.

Legibility

Although the dial is uncluttered, legibility could be improved further without impacting too much on the design. For instance, increasing the size of the cardinal Arabic numerals (12, 18, 0 and 6) would make it easier to orientate yourself with the unconventional 24-hour dial layout at a glance. I’d also be tempted to lose the date window to accommodate this, as it’s too small for my liking and feels kind of at odds with the whole ‘slow it down’ minimalist ethos.

Similarly, particularly in low light, it can be difficult to see the grey hand against the grey dial. Simply making the hand yellow to match the other colour accents would solve this. Of course, if you have 20/20 vision (I don’t) these would be much less of an issue. The lack of any lume might put some buyers off too.

Minimalist Approach Leaves Nowhere To Hide!

With such a modern, sterile watch, quality control needs to be stringent and engineering tolerances tight, as there is nowhere to hide. Areas of concern on my loan watch included microscopic paint splatter around the 17:00 and 18:00 hour numerals, a white mark around 06:00 o’clock and a hair at the 05:00 numeral. However, I do acknowledge that these imperfections are not visible to the naked eye.

The quality of the clasp could also be improved on the bracelet, as a very firm hand was needed to lock each side into place. Better still, would be for Botta to craft the bracelet out of titanium to match the watch, although of course this would add to the manufacturing cost.

Of course, there’s every chance I’ve just been unlucky and my review watch is not necessarily a reflection of the brands total output, but as an impartial reviewer, I feel like I must point these out.

Final thoughts…and the quartz crisis of conscience!

I’ve enjoyed my week on the wrist with the Botta Uno 24. It’s a strikingly modern watch and the design is unique, as is the way that you tell the time. There’s something quite romantic and poetic about slowing time down and not being obsessed with the minutes that pass.

The Uno’s 24-hour display takes ‘reinventing the concept of time’ to its extreme. It really does massively slow down your perception of time and it’s an odd feeling to look down at the dial after a couple of hours, to see that the hand has hardly moved! For sure, it takes some time to adapt, but I think that’s a good thing as it keeps your interest.

My favourite thing about the watch is the case design. The geometry is great and the way the watch hugs your wrist is an absolute joy. Thinness, titanium construction and a short lug to lug measurement result in what is probably the most comfortable watch I’ve ever worn. In many ways the quartz movement makes sense for this 24-hour watch too, even for a self-confessed quartz-phobic like me! Why? Part of the joy of mechanical watches for me is seeing the seconds hand glide effortlessly around the dial, something that you rarely get with a quartz. However, with such a sedentary dial it’s irrelevant here – there is no second hand – and the only hand there is moves around so slowly that you won’t even see it move!  

Priced at 628 Euros, the Uno 24 Quartz is sure to win over some watch enthusiasts as a great ‘wild card’ option that won’t break the bank, or a weekend grab-and-go watch for when precise time is less important. However, it may be a bit niche to appeal to wide cross-section of collectors. I see the main audience for this design-led watch being style-conscious lovers of modernism, Bauhaus, architecture, or industrial design who want a unique conversation piece that makes an instant visual impact. Overall, it’s certainly an intriguing watch with a unique place in the market, with few direct competitors. If Botta could just tighten up the engineering tolerances, it could be a compelling option.

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