Understanding the Powerful Blend of Architecture and Time in the MIH Gaïa Series III

The MIH Gaïa Series III is the latest chapter in a story that began in 2005, deep within the sturdy concrete confines of the Musée International d’Horlogerie (MIH) nestled in the heart of La Chaux-de-Fonds. It is here, in this otherworldly amalgamation of museum and cathedral, built within the rock itself, that mankind’s lengthy quest to measure time continues.

In this semi-subterranean masterpiece of brutalist architecture developed by Pierre Zoelly and Georges-Jacques Haefeli is where the first MIH Watch was born. Dr Ludwig Oechslin and Paul Gerber, who was also the museum’s curator at the time, masterfully crafted a minimalist annual-calendar monopusher chronograph in 2005 that served to fund restoration projects. A total of 100 watches were made annually until 2020, with one exemplary piece securing its place in the collection of the MONOCHROME founder, Frank.

The Gaïa Watch arrived in 2019, making a successful attempt to encapsulate the museum’s uniquely geometrical architectural complexity into a timepiece. Its refreshing design facilitated the presentation of time through rotating discs. The second series followed this with a black dial two years later. Both watched served as significant sources of funding for the museum’s restoration missions.

The year 2024 saw the MIH celebrating the golden jubilee of its building. To mark this historic milestone, it launched two new watches, the Gaïa 50th Anniversary Edition and the Gaïa Series III. The former showcased a glorious hand-guilloché silver dial crafted by the artisan, Georges Brodbeck, and the other was the Gaïa Series III, a beguilingly crafted blue dial watch.

Witnessing the MIH Gaïa Series III makes for a nostalgic moment as it derives its motifs from the previous watch, yet with a contemporary twist. The 39mm steel case exhibits an incredible proportion in its design: the surfaces alternate between brushed and polished, gravitating more towards an architectural than decorative aesthetic.