Horology Planet Exhibition Series — 06
In October 2026, Beijing becomes a meeting point for Chinese imperial aesthetics, traditional craftsmanship, and contemporary design. Held at the National Foreign Cultural Trade Base (Beijing), the “Forbidden City Divine Craft” Chinese Imperial Aesthetics & Contemporary Creation Exhibition and the “Horology Planet” International Creative Exhibition bring together a range of creative works that explore the connections between Eastern cultural heritage and modern craftsmanship.
The exhibition is about more than the objects on display. It also asks how traditional art forms can continue to evolve, finding new relevance through modern materials, innovative design, and precision engineering. From decorative techniques rooted in imperial workshops to the intricacies of independent watchmaking, the works on show offer different perspectives on how the past can inform the present.
As part of this exhibition series, Horology Planet takes a closer look at the participating watch brands and the ideas behind their creations.
GearMagus: Engineering Time Differently
Founded in Shanghai in 2020, GearMagus is an emerging watch brand focused on mechanical innovation and contemporary design. Rather than relying on conventional heritage-driven aesthetics, the brand explores new ways to display time through unconventional mechanisms, kinetic elements, and openworked structures. Its watches turn the movement of time into something to observe, combining engineering ingenuity with a distinctly avant-garde visual language.
Since 2021, GearMagus has introduced a series of distinctive models, including the MS01, MS02, MS03, and MS05, each reflecting the brand’s ongoing exploration of alternative time displays. From retrograde mechanisms inspired by sport to a three-dimensional tourbillon that rotates in multiple planes, GearMagus challenges familiar ideas about how a mechanical watch should look and behave.
For the Horology Planet exhibition, the brand presents three timepieces that illustrate different sides of this philosophy: the MS2.1 Relay Baton, the MS06 Fight Time, and the MS10 Vertical Tourbillon. Each transforms a mechanical complication into a dynamic visual experience, bringing movement, precision, and storytelling together on the wrist.
MS2.1 Relay Baton — A 330° Retrograde Relay
Inspired by the athletics relay race, the GearMagus MS2.1 Relay Baton transforms the passage of time into a mechanical competition. Here, the race takes place not across a track, but across the dial: the twelve hours become a team of runners, while the sixty minutes form the track. A single hand acts as the baton, passed from one hour to the next as each runner completes a lap.
When the minute hand reaches the end of the sixty-minute cycle, the pointer snaps back through a dramatic 330-degree retrograde movement, ready to begin the next hour. This unusually wide-angle reset gives the watch its striking visual impact and makes the transition between hours part of the performance itself.
An openworked design reveals the layered gears and their coordinated movement, allowing the wearer to observe the mechanism behind the display. The result is a watch that combines an inventive interpretation of timekeeping with the kinetic appeal of mechanical engineering.
Key Specifications
- Model: MS2.1
- Movement: Modified movement based on the Sellita SW200
- Case Material: 316L stainless steel
- Crystal: Synthetic sapphire
- Case Diameter: 42 mm
- Case Thickness: 14 mm
- Strap: Cowhide leather
- Water Resistance: 30 m
MS06 Fight Time — A Mechanical Duel in Motion
The MS06 Fight Time draws inspiration from the precision, speed, and anticipation of fencing. Two three-dimensional fencers occupy the dial, their movements synchronized with a pair of retrograde minute hands. As each minute passes, the figures move with the hands, turning the act of reading time into a miniature mechanical performance.
When the minute cycle reaches sixty, both fencers swing their swords downward as the hands return instantaneously to their starting positions. The synchronized motion marks the completion of one hour and the beginning of the next, capturing the split-second drama of a fencing bout through mechanical animation.
By combining a dual retrograde display with animated figures, GearMagus gives the MS06 a distinctive sense of movement and narrative. The dial is not simply a surface for displaying time; it becomes a stage on which precision mechanics and the energy of sport meet.
Key Specifications
- Model: MS06
- Movement: Modified movement based on the Sellita SW200
- Case Material: 316L stainless steel
- Crystal: Synthetic sapphire
- Case Diameter: 42 mm
- Case Thickness: 14 mm
- Strap: Cowhide leather
- Water Resistance: 30 m
MS10 Vertical Tourbillon — A Three-Dimensional Dance
With the MS10 Vertical Tourbillon, GearMagus explores a more architectural approach to mechanical watchmaking. Instead of remaining within the familiar horizontal plane, the tourbillon rotates through a three-dimensional, 360-degree movement, with its axis oriented perpendicular to that of the balance wheel. Completing one rotation every thirty seconds, it moves at twice the rotational speed of a conventional one-minute tourbillon, creating a more dynamic visual effect.
The dial provides a refined counterpoint to this kinetic display. Its guilloché pattern features closely spaced, regular lines that interact with the light, creating a subtle sense of depth and motion. The hands are made from heat-blued steel, whose surface can reveal delicate iridescent tones under strong light.
Three-dimensional tourbillons often require substantial space, making it difficult to create a case suitable for everyday wear. GearMagus has reworked the construction of the MS10 to reduce its thickness to just 10.9 mm. Housed in a 39 mm stainless steel case, the result brings a visually complex complication into a comparatively compact and versatile form.
Powered by an in-house vertical tourbillon movement, the MS10 reflects the brand’s ambition to rethink not only how time is displayed, but also how complex mechanics can be integrated into a wearable design.
Key Specifications
- Model: MS10
- Movement: In-house vertical tourbillon movement
- Case Material: 316L stainless steel
- Crystal: Synthetic sapphire
- Case Diameter: 39 mm
- Case Thickness: 10.9 mm
- Strap: Cowhide leather
- Water Resistance: 30 m
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Exhibition Guide
- Exhibition Name: “Forbidden City Divine Craft” Chinese Imperial Aesthetics & Contemporary Creation Exhibition, and the “Horology Planet” International Creative Exhibition
- Opening Date: October 23, 2026
- Exhibition Dates: October 23, 2026 – December 16, 2026
- Venue: 3rd Floor Art Space, Building D7, National Foreign Cultural Trade Base (Beijing), No. 3 Jinhang East Road, Shunyi District, Beijing
- Organizer: National Foreign Cultural Trade Base (Beijing)
- Academic Support: Research Group on Qing Dynasty Court Craftsmanship Inheritance Examples, The Palace Museum; Watchina
- Executive Curator: Horology Planet
