FOUNDER'S NOTE
Marloe HQ, once upon a time, sat in a leafy lowland suburb of Perth and Kinross-shire. Modern, cosy and quiet, the only interruptions (other than Oliver barking for updates) was the sound of guinea fowls tapping on the office door. It was a lovely place to be. Then in 2023 HQ moved back down to Englandshire, and an opportunity to have an adventure appeared at the Design Office’s feet.
Moving to an island has been nothing short of magical for Marloe’s design arm, raising the bar of design intent and execution, through adversity and raw determination, to arrive at a place where the work we’re releasing into the world is our proudest yet.
One element of island life that isn’t spoken of, especially in the Hebrides, is that of it being a playground for the Royal Air Force. Within days of setting up The Outpost Design Office and Sauna complex, fast jets were ripping the skies above and transporters were buzzing the tower. How exciting to know that The Outpost sat in a Low Flying Area known as LFA14.
When the weather is nice, the low, scorching rumble of EJ200 turbofans begins, as the Eurofighter Typhoons approach. Sometimes it’s a whole day of rumbling and no show - the jets are training on the opposite side of the peninsula or higher up in the Troposphere. Other days it’s a full-on Top Gun tower buzz, with coffee thrown in the air as the Typhoon splits the sky above the office. It’s incredibly loud, incredibly quick and incredibly exhilarating; running to the window like a wee boy to try and catch a glimpse of the delta-winged death machine/tactical fighter as it tears across the heather at 500ft altitude.
To be uninspired by this is, probably, impossible. And so the SkySplitter exists. Inspired by watching the ultimate flying technology slice through this stunning landscape on the Isle of Skye. It feels like it belongs in the cockpit, but does just fine when sitting in the office, too.
We hope you find it as exciting as we do.
To the future and whatever it may hold.
OLIVER GOFFE - OPERATIONS & MARKETING
There’s a reason that Marloe is regarded as the most customer-loyal and friendly watch company around. It’s because of Oliver’s unwavering commitment to doing things the right way; he could be called a perfectionist, but we prefer to call him immensely pernickety.
GORDON FRASER - CREATIVE & PRODUCTION
Design through immersion is what makes each Marloe watch unique. A professional empathiser, Gordon highlights the spirit of pioneering, human endeavour and love of discovery in everything we do. A patriotic Scotsman, lover of pretzels and whisky. Maybe jazz too.
A CONUNDRUM
It’s a privilege to be inspired by things happening right outside your window, to have uninterrupted viewing of things others travel hundreds of miles to witness. To have impressive machines playing around, chasing each other, weaving through the glens and using the geological oddities on Skye as landmarks for their training. If you stand on a fine day in certain places on the island, you will often find them.
To be inspired is wonderful - feats of endurance, human ingenuity, endeavour or skill. To be impressed or influenced enough to want to channel that energy into something tangible is also wonderful - engineering prowess or cutting edge technology. But to be inspired by something that is used for aggression, for defence or as a show of force? The line begins to blur.
The Eurofighter Typhoon and the Airbus A400M Atlas, two of the most common aircraft that fly around these parts, are both instruments of war. Their existence is due to the threat of adversaries, of conflict. Their Low Altitude training up here isn’t for fun - it’s to make pilots combat ready. To give them the experience and skills required to fly at low level so that they can go unnoticed, undetectable. Their expertise is then used in combat, to strike upon targets with little time for reaction.
From many perspectives these aircraft dazzle: engineering prowess, pilot skill, technology on board - radar, sighting, targeting, mapping - all inspire. The equipment, from enhanced augmented reality helmets to the flightsuits themselves, they’re all a product of human intuition, research and development. The aircraft and its abilities to fly in unorthodox ways - a result of fly-by-wire computer systems and negative stability design.
It’s been said before and continues to ring true - the theatre of war is unparalleled in the advancement of invention and innovation. That’s the unfortunate reality of being inspired by war machines - whilst they are incredible and we marvel at their speed, sound, sight and abilities, they are also used for combat. It’s a conundrum for anyone inspired enough to create a tangible product based upon its existence, and as we bear witness to a world in turmoil, never before has this distinction between appreciation of the engineering, and celebration of intent been so crucial.
INSTRUMENTAL
The design of the SkySplitter stemmed from questioning what it is about aviation that Gordon likes so much. Is it the act of flying itself? Is it the environment, the cockpit design, the experience of being in that space? Maybe it’s the instrumentation and the design of those crucial gauges and dials?
In the end it was an amalgamation of all those elements, and the determination to create a watch that felt like it would belong in any cockpit, not just cutting edge multi-role fighter jets.
Designing an “aircraft” watch is likely the most susceptible to gimmick or laziness - make it look like a gauge and be done with it, or stamp a plane on the dial and call it a pilot’s watch. The approach to the SkySplitter had to be more ethereal and integrated, and so the delicacy of how cockpit instrumentation and their design cues were referenced became vitally important.
The case around the dial also had to feel like it belonged inside a cockpit, and not just form the frame for an aviation dial to be suspended within - a case that flows, that angles and reflects in a way that evokes the aerodynamic fuselages of delta-winged fighter jets, while also feeling like you could screw the watch to an instrument cluster and have it feel at home.
Bringing all these facets together into an integrated, cohesive design that is original yet recognisable for what it is - a watch that belongs in the cockpit.
JETSTREAM
This is the classic cockpit instrument - jet matte black dial base with white printed/luminous marks. It’s clean, clear and instantly readable.
The GMT ring comprises a midnight-blue evening hemisphere, and a mid-grey daytime hemisphere, for easy identification of time - coupled with the aviation yellow marks to correspond to the GMT hand’s painted aircraft tip.
A subtle metallic blue colour ring is sandwiched between the GMT ring and the upper chamfered minute track - a little hidden flash of colour bringing depth to the dial.
The hands are colour matched at the bases to blend in with the dial, leaving only the white tips of each hand visible for ease of time reference and, if we’re honest, to look incredibly cool.
AIRWAY
This is the alternative cockpit instrument, taking its colouring from the Airbus A400M Atlas transportation aircraft - an unmistakable silhouette, sound and speed, seemingly floating slowly above the ground. It’s a striking sight, and the Airway colourway feels right at home with the A400M.
The dial is a colour-referenced mid-grey to replicate the paint used on the A400M’s fuselage. It also closely matches the grey of the cockpit. The hands are colour matched at the stalks, again to blend into the dial as if the white tips are floating.
The GMT ring is painted in two tones - the PM hemisphere is painted in a black/blue whilst the AM hemisphere is a cerulean blue. The same aviation yellow printed numerals and GMT hand are deployed here, as is the colour ring sandwiched between the GMT ring and the upper chamfered minute track - again painted in aviation yellow.
The date disc is silver with black printed numerals for clarity.
ABSOLUTE INTENT
From the get-go Gordon wanted the case to feel special - aviation inspired and tactile. He didn’t want it to be a generic “watch case”, but instead something with absolute intent - to look like it belongs in a cockpit.
The use of an aerodynamically inspired form, with polished chamfer that runs the length of the case giving it a fuselage silhouette, and adding a keyed, machined bezel above this to hold the crystal and frame the dial, alongside the beautifully knurled screw-down crown, makes this case feel technical, utilitarian, machine-like but still beautiful, reflective and elegant.
Little details - the 45-degree polished chamfer between the bezel and crystal to add an extra reflective quality plays its part against the light sand-blasted finish of the main case.
Using marine-grade 316L Stainless Steel with an anti-fingerprint coating means this is a strong and resilient case as well. It’s purposeful.
AVIATOR ALIGNED
Avoiding gimmicks was the main brief for the dial design to produce something that eschews the inclination to make it replicate an altimeter or airspeed indicator. It should feel like its own instrument, something that would sit alongside these essential instruments. Depth, clarity, poise and discretion - all things that were part of the brief for a dial that sings from inside the case.
For the Jetstream we’ve used a matte jet-black dial base to create contrast against the pristine white markings for the main elements - hours, minutes and seconds. All the white markings are luminescent, deploying the finest Swiss Superluminova BG-W9.
The date, integrated through matching matte black base and white printing, is stepped down and marked to show that the date can be changed in either direction - a unique ability thanks to the Miyota 9075 GMT movement.
In the multi-level design of the dial, the main time surface is stepped up to a GMT indicator, painted in two tones to indicate day and night, with aviation yellow numerals to match the GMT hand. This ring then extends past a colour ring and up to the chamfered minute track, clean and clear with minutes and hour blocks in different thicknesses. Clarity in spades.
The hands follow the tradition for aircraft gauges, using a tapered stumpy sword shape for the hour, a long thin sword baton hybrid for the minutes, and a super thin hairline seconds hand with striped counter-weight. All hands feature white printed outlines and Swiss Superluminova BG-W9 lume.
Combine all these elements and, despite having 4 hands and a date complication, the SkySplitter feels clean, instantly readable and above all, like it belongs in a cockpit.
SWISS BEATER
The SkySplitter is as capable inside as it is outside. Featuring a Miyota 9075 “True” GMT movement, with jumping main hours and bi-directional date, this incredible calibre takes the very best of the 9000 series’ attributes - reliability, accuracy, dependability - and meshes an additional time-zone and date complication. With over 40 hours of power, hacking seconds, anti-shock protection and high-beat 28,800bph, this is another Swiss-beating movement.
The case also features a screw-down crown, to achieve a robust and capable 200m/20ATM of water resistance - perfect for any and all duties for which you require the SkySplitter - as well as an anti-magnetic plate in the caseback to protect against magnetisation. This is a go anywhere, do anything watch, like most of our watches - why wouldn’t you want a watch that can stay with you no matter where you go or what you do?
FLIGHT SURFACES
Legibility is everything inside the cockpit of a cutting-edge fighter jet. Cluttered gauges, ambiguity, obscurity are all things that are the tip the balance from function to failure.
The SkySplitter, from the outset, needed to be both functional and legible, but also to feel like the design belonged in that environment.
The handset is the place where a design can rise or fall, depending on its execution. The SkySplitter has an extra hand, which complicates matters further.
In the end we took inspiration from the gauges and instrumentation of existing cockpits from the Eurofighter and A400M to design our hands. Each hand is unique, purposeful and grounded in the aviation instrumentation world.
The hour hand is big, sword shaped and tapered, with a large flared counterweight - taken from an altimeter, and features a white section around a pool of Superluminova. The base is colour-matched to the dial for increased clarity with a sense of the white tip floating around the dial.
The minute hand follows, with a parallel edged, elongated baton shape, pointed tip and long counterweight which perfectly overlaps the hour hand without obscuring. The white section is again outlined in white with a Superluminova fill in the middle, with the base colour-matched to the dial for that same floating aesthetic.
The seconds hand is as thin as we could make it, with an elongated Superluminova white tip and chequered counterweight, taken from the chevron design found in many places inside a cockpit - yellow and black/grey, an aviation-specific detail that brings huge flying spirit to the SkySplitter dial.
Finally the GMT hand, discreetly set with a dial-matched colour and a bright Aviation Yellow tip, inspired by the aircraft symbols found in airports. For where better is a GMT deployed than when travelling? The GMT hand matches the same Aviation Yellow numerals on the GMT ring, giving visual clarity and connection.
Combined, all the hands are unique yet completely connected, grounded and above all resolved to indicate the time instantly.
GLOW TIME
Is there anything more magical and impressive than an aircraft cockpit at night? All those glowing buttons, screens and levers, begging to be pressed, actuated or turned. There’s something inherently human about the in-built desire to press a glowing button, and the thrill of that action making something happen.
That’s the feeling we wanted to get across with the glow capabilities of the SkySplitter - like it was alive at night. For that reason we decided to make everything that is white in the daytime glow blue at night.
The hour, minute and seconds hands all glow brightly in their respective shapes. The main hour numerals, aviation triangle and date gauge glow likewise. Perfect for low-light orientation of dial and reference.
Of course the outer minute track glows, and as a final flourish our own logo glows too! It’s a feast of luminescent magnificence that reinforces the underpinning sentiment that this belongs inside the cockpit.
TAKING OWNERSHIP
When we began in 2015, our dream was, one day, to take control of our watch assembly. We already design and manage everything in-house, but the idea of getting kits of parts and making sure every single watch was assembled to our standards was exciting.
10 years later and we are now realising that dream - with a team of three in our Head Watchmaker Alison, our Chief Assembler Jaz, and our newest team member Trudy, we now assemble everything at our HQ in Sonning Common.
The SkySplitter in your hand has been assembled by ours, and we couldn’t be more thrilled and proud of what we’ve achieved. Built in Britain is one thing. Built in-house by our watchmakers is another.
TWO-WAY DATE
You’ll notice that on the dial, where typically a standard rectangular date window would be stamped through, is instead a rather deliciously dynamic setup.
Using the Miyota 9075 brings with it a unique complication - what we call “features” in Watchland - that allows the date to be changed in both directions, at any time in the day. Traditional date mechanisms warn that there’s a specific time (typically between 10pm and 3am) when you mustn’t fiddle with the date, in case the tiny teeth on the date wheel are damaged.
The bi-directional date change is also unique in that if you need to go back a few days, for any reason, you can easily go in reverse, without having to scroll through the month of dates. Hence the two arrows at the top and bottom, indicating that there’s more to the date than at first glance. The date is linked to the “True GMT” capability, explained below.
TRUE GMT
The SkySplitter is a “True GMT” watch, meaning that the hour hand is able to be jumped hour-by-hour, forwards or backwards. This differs from an “Office GMT” where the 4th hand is the one that can be jumped.
Why this matters? Well, it means that the main time-telling hands, the hands that you’re used to quickly referencing, are the hands that can be updated quickly when you move between time zones. Extremely handy, doesn’t impact the date mechanism and keeps everything legible.
The 4th hand (GMT), in the SkySplitter’s case the yellow aircraft, points to “Home” - the time-zone that you come back to. This hand rotates around the dial once every 24 hours, and can’t be jumped - it’s linked directly to the minute hand.
Let’s now go through the crown positions, before then setting up your SkySplitter for peak performance.
OPERATION
WINDING THE MOVEMENT
GIVING YOUR MOVEMENT ENERGY
The movement inside your SkySplitter is an automatic movement, which means that, so long as you move around, walk, jump or swim, the oscillating weight (rotor) will rotate around the movement and inject energy into the mainspring, keeping it topped up and running forever more.
If your movement runs out of mainspring energy, you’ll need to introduce some finger-powered charge.
To do this you’ll need to unscrew the crown first, turning the crown anti-clockwise when observed face-on. Once the crown pops out from the case, you can wind the crown clockwise to introduce energy to the mainspring. Wind this way for 80 turns, or thereabouts, before screwing the crown back into the case to seal the crown against water ingress.
Or if you want to change the time or date, read on.
INITIAL SETUP
MAKE SURE YOUR GMT IS READY TO GO
Follow this guide to set your GMT watch properly.
Step 1 - Set ‘HOME’ time: Pull the crown fully out to Position 3. Turn the crown in either direction to set the GMT hand and the minute hand to the current time, using the GMT ring (24-hour scale) for the airplane-tipped GMT hand only. Once these two hands are in position, click the crown in once, to Position 2. This sets up your ‘home’ time on the GMT scale, and the movement will begin running.
Step 2 - Set the date: Once the crown is in position 2, you can set the date by turning the crown, either forwards or backwards, advancing the main hour hand around the dial. Advancing past midnight will click the date over to the next. We suggest, if moving the date backwards, you continue to ‘yesterday’ and then advance forward just past midnight to today’s date. This will align the mechanics appropriately for Step 3. Keep the crown in the same position for Step 3.
Step 3 - Set the ‘LOCAL’ hour: When the date has clicked past midnight into the present day you can continue to jump the hour hand in hourly increments clockwise to the current hour, or whichever time zone you wish - this will be your ‘local’ time. If the local time is currently PM, make sure to rotate the hour hand past the midday point and into the second half of the day, otherwise the date will not advance at midnight as expected.
Once you’ve done all that, it’s time to finish setup by screwing the crown back into the case - do so by pushing the crown, whilst turning it clockwise inwards, and you’ll feel the crown grip the thread on the crown tube.
Twist the crown until it’s tight against the case, thus sealing the crown from water ingress. That’s it! Your SkySplitter is now set up and ready to use.
THE ENGINE
How else to say this? The Miyota 9000 series is the best mechanical movement around today, measured by cost and reliability, accuracy and availability.
This is the rock solid mechanical engine that has powered more than 6,000 of our watches so far, and we’ve never had any serious issues with them.
It’s thin. It’s accurate. It’s wonderfully simple. Yet simplicity in this context comprises 100 tiny little parts all coming together to mechanically release energy over 40+ hours to show us the time of day.
Magnificent. The SkySplitter needed a special movement, and the Miyota 9075 blasts it out of the park.
SKYSPLITTER
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Assembled in-house
40mm diameter x 12.45mm depth
20mm lugs
Dual-finish bespoke Aero case
Screw-down crown
GMT function with customised date disc
Anti-magnetic protection
Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
Multi-layer altimeter textured dial
Luminous hands & indices
Altimeter hand design
Hairline seconds hands w/ striped counterweight
79.5g
20 ATM
Launch Edition of 250 pieces
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Miyota 9075 automatic movement
Japanese Made
28,800 bph
24 jewels
Handwinding override capability
40+ hour power reserve
Accuracy of -10 ~ + 30 sec/day
Hacking function
Parashock anti-shock
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A mechanical movement, like a car engine, uses oils to lubricate the moving parts. Over time this fine grade of oil can become gloopy, causing your movement to lose accuracy. Every 3-5 years, think about having your watch cleaned and re-oiled by our Workshop team - it’ll keep everything ticking along nicely.
The SkySplitter enjoys a 2-year limited warranty which covers manufacturing defects. T&C - see our website.
40MM AVIATION-INSPIRED WRISTWATCH
IMAGE CREDITS
HEADER
Photo by Guy Croisiaux on Unsplash
CONUNDRUM
Photo by Lincoln Holley on Unsplash
DESIGN DETAIL IMAGES
Used with permission of and gratitude to Vincent Deschamps
@ Mainspring Watch Magazine