Source Aleph Day & Source Aleph Night
Every year, the Maison returns to the same truth, told anew: time is only ever a passing hour. Everything made here, every bridge, every axis, every dial, exists for that philosophy alone: to watch (the) Time move, and to make it visible.
For Geneva Watch Days 2026, Emmanuel Bouchet presents two new additions to the Source collection: Source Aleph Day and Source Aleph Night. In these timepieces, the Master Watchmaker's singular deconstruction of time is illustrated in a playful, nostalgic, and figurative register, with hand-painted elements set against a background of stone that evokes the daytime sky in chalcedony, or the night sky in aventurine.
Launched in 2025, the Source collection translates Emmanuel Bouchet's vision of time. That vision runs through both Complication One and Source alike: the Master Watchmaker uses mechanical complications to illustrate the essence of time, to remind us that every second, every minute, every hour and every day matters. That we are called to remain aware of each moment as it passes and then escapes us. To pay tribute to each of the units that govern our lives is to be brought back to the essential, to the roots of our own existence.
Where Complication One gives each unit of time its own distinct display, the Source collection keeps a traditional reading of hours and minutes, whilst expressing the passage of time in a more philosophical way still. Cones rotate at speeds drawn from different references of timekeeping: the seconds and the twenty-four hours. These are the pillars of time. The motion of the twenty-four-hour cone is far too slow for the human eye to seize. And yet, it turns. An homage to the passing of time, reminding us that time moves whether or not we notice, and that the moment is ours to capture.
Mr. Bouchet is the first to acknowledge that dividing time, in this particular way, is not always self-evident. “Sometimes my complications are hard to grasp, as they reveal themselves only to the attentive eye, per se. They are, above all, a way of expressing a philosophy."
This year, Emmanuel Bouchet wished to render that same philosophy in a more figurative language. Source Aleph Day and Source Aleph Night set the pillars of time within a mountain landscape, an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the Master Watchmaker.
"These pillars of time are illustrated by the elements of nature that endlessly inspire me: the fir trees that grow on the mountainside and the stars that shine ceaselessly in the clear sky. To me, they are the roots of timekeeping, and through this scene, drawn from the nature that surrounds me, I have symbolized the deconstruction of time. The fir tree moves so slowly that you scarcely notice it moving at all. And yet it does: the eye perceives the change of colour, the time elapsed since you last looked at your watch. I want to remind you that life is only a moment, a passing hour, a fleeting day and to encourage you to live the present fully. It is in this slowness that every important change and development occurs", reflects Emmanuel Bouchet on Source Aleph.
In each of the two timepieces, the star at three o'clock rotates at the speed of a second, while the fir tree at four thirty represents both Day - on its white face, and Night - on its dark face, completing its rotation in twenty-four hours. "By juxtaposing the second, the quickest increment in everyday timekeeping, alongside the longest - night and day - you arrive at a dreamlike conception of time. Especially since these increments are not shown in a traditional display; they hide in plain sight. My hope, and the aim of this watch, is to make you think about time. And if it reminds you, gently, to slow down, then it has served its true purpose”, says Mr. Bouchet.
The 39mm cases of these two new pieces may be crafted in precious metal, platinum or 18-carat white gold, and, according to the client's wishes, set with precious gemstones or left unadorned.
The dial bases are cut from stone. On Source Aleph Day, chalcedony renders the intense blue of an open sky: a clear firmament, a few clouds, a line of fir trees on the horizon, where time shows itself in the honest daylight of the mountains. On Source Aleph Night, an aventurine dial captures the starlit atmosphere of winter nights in the mountains: a sky full of stars, still to the eye, yet moving with every second.
The added elements, clouds, stars, fir trees and mountains, are all hand-painted, as are the discs that carry the moon on Source Aleph Day, and the sun and stars on Source Aleph Night. Their gradient of colours follows the passage of the hours and the shifting light across a full day.
Source Aleph Day and Source Aleph Night are driven by the EB21L double micro-rotor movement, which delivers an ample and stable supply of power. At just 4.76 millimeters thick, this movement answers a constant challenge in watchmaking: how to guarantee the precision of the chronometric part of a movement in the presence of energy-hungry complications. The solution not only resolves the question, leaving the power supply untouched by the complication, it also opens the way to future complications that were, until now, impossible.
The Maison also invites clients to personalize Source Aleph Day and Source Aleph Night, whether in colours and materials, or in the landscapes they portray.
Every Emmanuel Bouchet timepiece is designed, manufactured, produced and decorated in our workshop and alongside selected Swiss partners. All Emmanuel Bouchet watches are 100% Swiss Made.
ABOUT Emmanuel Bouchet
Emmanuel Bouchet is a master watchmaker who started his eponymous brand in 2014. With elegantly curved watches and a new type of philosophical complications, his goal is to deconstruct and expand the concept of time while adhering to watchmakers’ holy grail of precision and haute horlogerie principles. This results in philosophical timepieces that challenge watchmaking fundamentals by having unique features such as decimal minutes or an extra escapement. All Emmanuel Bouchet watches are 100% Swiss Made in his Les Bayards workshop with the help of a handful of Swiss suppliers. It takes weeks of passionate labour to perfect every single component of an Emmanuel Bouchet watch, which is why only around 50 watches per year are delivered to selected retailers and passionate watch collectors.
For additional information:
www.emmanuelbouchet.com or contact us directly: press@emmanuelbouchet.com
Technical specifications – Source Aleph Day
Functions
Dial at 12 o’clock: hours & minutes
Dial at 6 o’clock: day & night indication, moon phases indication
Star at 3 o’clock: seconds indication
Fir tree at 5 o’clock: 24 hours indication
Movement
In-house designed movement EB21L, including additional complication EB10-003
Design, construction, fabrication and assembly at Emmanuel Bouchet workshop
Hand-finishing
Mechanical self-winding with double rotor
21’600 alt./hour, 3Hz
Diameter: 33.45mm (movement EB21L: 30mm; complication EB10-003: 3.45mm)
Total height: 7.65mm (movement EB21L, including double rotor: 5.21mm; complication EB10-003: 2.44mm)
Power reserve: 45 hrs (constant amplitude / full functionality)
Number of components: 299 (movement EB21L: 201; complication EB10-003: 98)
Total number of jewels: 58 (movement EB21L: 40; complication EB10-003: 18)
Case
Size: 39mm
Height: 9.56mm
Materials: available in 18-carat white gold / 4N rose gold, platinum or titanium
Available with setting on the side of the case with diamonds or colour gradient from diamonds to coloured gemstones (emeralds, rubies, or blue sapphires).
Glareproofed sapphire crystal and caseback
Crown: available in 18-carat white gold / 4N rose gold, platinum or titanium
Dial
Dial base available in stone (chalcedony or other) or in ceramic
Dial at 12 o’clock: available in stone (chalcedony or other) or in ceramic
Indexes in metal with rhodium or gilded treatment and polished
Dial at 6 o’clock: Moon disc in metal with rhodium or gilded treatment, colour applied by hand
Hours and minutes hands: metal with rhodium or gilded treatment
Star at 3 o’clock: colour applied by hand
Fir tree at 5 o’clock: colour applied by hand: dark grey for the night and white for the day
Clouds and other elements: colour applied by hand
Strap and buckle
Hand-stitched leather strap
Double pin buckle available in 18-carat white gold / 4N rose gold, platinum, or in titanium
Water resistance
30m / 3 atm / 100 ft
Technical specifications – Source Aleph Night
Functions
Dial at 12 o’clock: hours & minutes
Dial at 6 o’clock: day & night indication
Star at 3 o’clock: seconds indication
Fir tree at 5 o’clock: 24 hours indication
Movement
In-house designed movement EB21L, including additional complication EB10-004
Design, construction, fabrication and assembly at Emmanuel Bouchet workshop
Hand-finishing
Mechanical self-winding with double rotor
21’600 alt./hour, 3Hz
Diameter: 33.45mm (movement EB21L: 30mm; complication EB10-003: 3.45mm)
Total height: 7.65mm (movement EB21L, including double rotor: 5.21mm; complication EB10-004: 2.44mm)
Power reserve: 45 hrs (constant amplitude / full functionality)
Number of components: 292 (movement EB21L: 201; complication EB10-004: 91)
Total number of jewels: 59 (movement EB21L: 40; complication EB10-004: 19)
Case
Size: 39mm
Height: 9.56mm
Materials: available in 18-carat white gold / 4N rose gold, platinum or titanium
Available with setting on the side of the case with diamonds or colour gradient from diamonds to coloured gemstones (emeralds, rubies, or blue sapphires).
Glareproofed sapphire crystal and caseback
Crown: available in 18-carat white gold / 4N rose gold, platinum or titanium
Dial
Dial base available in stone (aventurine or other) or in ceramic
Dial at 12 o’clock: available in stone (aventurine or other) or in ceramic
Indexes in metal with rhodium or gilded treatment and polished
Dial at 6 o’clock: Day & Night disc in metal with rhodium or gilded treatment, colour applied by hand
Hours and minutes hands: metal with rhodium or gilded treatment
Star at 3 o’clock: colour applied by hand
Fir tree at 5 o’clock: colour applied by hand: black for the night and white for the day
Clouds and other elements: colour applied by hand
Strap and buckle
Hand-stitched leather strap
Double pin buckle available in 18-carat white gold / 4N rose gold, platinum, or in titanium
Water resistance
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