Review: Cyrus Klepcys Mars Black

Hands-on review of the Cyrus Klepcys Mars Black ref.539.102.B whose price of €88390 is in line with its exclusivity and limited production (33 pieces)

Swiss Haute Horlogerie manufacturer Cyrus creates timepieces that are never banal or conventional.

Thanks to its independence and the unique relationship with Chronode, a renowned manufacture of high-end mechanical movements that is part of the same group, Cyrus can use mechanical calibres that are exclusively invented and developed for the brand leaving them the freedom to be more creative and daring.

If you add that the Technical Director at Cyrus and Founder of Chronode is Jean-Francois Mojon, one of the most ingenious and respected watchmakers of our time (you can read our interview here), it is easy to realize the potential of the brand to innovate.

The avant-garde approach of Cyrus is clearly evident in the Klepcys Mars Black, a model that we had the opportunity to explore and test for a few days. We are now delighted to share our impressions and pictures with our readers.

In particular, we put our hands on the Klepcys Mars Black, a model whose imposing 47mm-wide (excluding the crowns) and 20mm-thick cushion-shaped case is crafted from Grade 5 black DLC titanium. The satin-finished titanium bezel, enhanced by rounded and mirror-polished edges, is secured with customized screws bearing the Cyrus symbol, a further confirmation of the level of attention that the brand pays to even the smaller details.

Like all Klepcys models, the Mars Black is characterised  by two functional crowns whose functions we will describe later in the article.

Protected by a slightly domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment, the dial is particularly eye-catching with its three-dimensional architecture and innovative systems to display the time and the date. Instead of displaying the Moon phases like in the Klepcys Moon, for this limited edition characterised by red accents Cyrus decided to create something really unique by reproducing a 3D miniature of Mars at 5 o'clock. The whole timepiece is a demonstration of watchmaking virtuosity.

Two patents have been filed for the Klepcys Mars. The first is about the linear display of time. The patented mechanism controls the speed of the wheels of the retrograde hours as well as those of the minutes and seconds displayed on the central disks.

In particular, the uniquely-shaped hour hand performs a retrograde movement over a 180° arch of the dial’s circumference. Small cubes with painted sides rotate and change colour to distinguish daytime hours (in white) from night-time ones (in red). The change occurs at the transition from number 6 on the flange of the hour indicator. When the hour hand passes 6 PM, the colour changes from white to red to indicate the end of the day and the start of the evening. In a similar way, when the colour changes from red to white, it indicates that the night is ending and the day begins, with 6 corresponding to 6 AM this time.

Embellished with the Cyrus symbol at the central fixing point, the two concentric disks respectively show the minutes on the outside with Arabic numerals on a scale of 5, and the seconds on the inside. Once you get accustomed with it, this unique system makes it possible to read off the linear time accurately at a glance.

The crown at 9 o’clock is used to wind the movement in position 1 and to adjust the time in position 2.

Another patented solution is the retrograde date display, placed between 12 and 4 o’clock. The date is indicated by a rotating jumping cube of tens, engraved and filled with red lacquer, that slides along a grooved arch. 

When the tens reach the number nine, it becomes retrograde and rotates through 90°, making way for the next ten digits. The adjustment is performed by pushing the button that is integrated in the crown at 3 o’clock.

Mars rotation on its axis is displayed in a spectacular way. The 7.6 mm spherical red lacquered miniature of the planet Mars completes a full Martian day every 24 hours, 37 minutes, and 22 seconds.

Closed with customized screws, the solid case back displays a reproduction of a precious coin minted during the reign of Cyrus the Great. Above it, together with individual number (xx/33) of each timepiece of this 33-piece limited edition, we find the following concentric text: "LIMITED EDITION - DEDICATED TO ONLY FEW WHO HAVE THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CONQUEST. PROUDLY MADE IN SWITZERLAND BY THE ARMY OF CYRUS - 3ATM"  

The sophisticated functions of the watch are controlled by the in-house designed and manufactured 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour) CYR598 calibre, a self-winding movement comprising no less than 390 parts and offering a power reserve of 40 hours.

Water resistant up to a pressure of 3 ATM (approximately 30 metres / 100 feet), the watch is completed by an integrated black caoutchouc strap with a triangular prism pattern and red stitching. It is secured to the wrist by a customised double folding clasp embellished by the recurring Cyrus symbol.

Combining a bold style with a unique representation of the flowing of time, made possible by an innovative in-house manufactured movement, the Cyrus Klepcys Mars Black ref. 539.102.B has a price of Euro 88,390 which is line with its exclusivity and limited production (33 pieces only). cyrus-watches.ch