Minotaur Dark Edition by Antti Rönkkö

A few years ago I was contacted by a young Finnish watchmaker, who wanted to show me his first self-made wrist watch. His name is Antti Rönkkö and that first wrist watch was the Steel Labyrinth. Rönkkö’s newest timepiece, the Minotaur Dark Edition, clearly shows that he still finds his inspiration in mythology. According to Rönkkö his watches are made in Finnish silence… Let’s have a look at the Rönkkö Minotaur Dark Edition with a unique dual moon complication.

In order to understand this watch, and its complication, we’ll have to tell you about the mythology of the Minotaur. Here at Monochrome we do know a few things about watches, however when it comes to Greek mythology we are out of our comfort zone so we prefer to rely on other sources, so here’s a quote from Wikipedia: “In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man. He dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus, on the command of King Minos of Crete.”

After creating the Steel Labyrinth, Antti Rönkkö wanted to create a complication that took the story of the labyrinth, and the wandering beast inside, the Minotaur, as a basis. The Dual Moon Complication highlights the dualism of the Minotaur, animal vs. human, and also good vs. bad. Rönkkö’s second timepiece is logical sequel, after the Steel Labyrinth.

The Dual Moon Complication is built in-house and indicates both new moon and full moon. The moon phases are indicated by two talismans representing the dark and light sides of the Minotaur. The light full moon Minotaur talisman is made of stainless steel and represents the human characteristics of the creature, while the new moon Minotaur talisman is made of dark DLC coated stainless steel and represents the animal side. Each of the two talismans has a total of 148 different facets. An additional talisman is in free-rotation at the middle of the labyrinth-shaped rotor, and visible through the sapphire crystal in the case back.

Its base is now a customized Soprod A10 movement, put in a 42 mm stainless steel case that is black coated. The case is hand-finished with satin finished surfaces and polished edges. The two sapphire crystals, one in front and one in the case back, are flat and have anti-reflective coating on the underside of crystal. The crystals features the Rönkkö-name etched on the inside, and you won’t find the name printed on the dial.

The case with its typical lugs show a lot of resemblance with Rönkkö’s previous timepiece, and also the hour and minute hand are skeletonized again (albeit shaped differently). The dark Minotaur comes with a matte black alligator leather strap.

The Minotaur Dark Edition is a limited edition of 5 handmade pieces, and comes at a retail price of € 19,400 Euros (before tax) and can be ordered only direct from the watchmaker himself: www.ronkkowatches.fi