Special features of Niveau élevé

There are over 800 watch brands in Switzerland. Everyone tries to stand out, to be special. But with 800 brands, it is difficult to demonstrate originality. The character of a high-quality watch is usually defined in terms of style and design, technology, tradition, flair or reference to a particular theme. Every brand is struggling to show its profile in these four disciplines. But with over 800 brands and an average of about 50 models per brand, we end up with over 40,000 different watches! The gap between the different designs is getting pretty thin! To really recognise the specific character of a particular brand among 40,000 watches often requires a lot of good will. If we are honest, we have to admit that a certain identifying feature, which the brand then clings to, is often purely artificial, unrelated to the “soul” of the watch, “attached” so to speak, and without real substance.

The Niveau élevé watches do not have this problem. In terms of design, they stand out naturally from the sea of hands, numerals, logos, indices, shades of colour, division of the dials. The Niveau élevé has a three-dimensional design, and this design is not simply “invented” or “stuck on”, but results from the substance of the clock, from the fact that the hands run in the background, behind the time division. In all 800 Swiss watch brands, the hands run above the numerals. Except for one, where they run under the time allocation. The dial glass, which brings the division of time to the fore and relegates the passage of time, the hands, to the background, results quite automatically and naturally in a three-dimensionality that is so new and different that the watch, even without a logo and without a specific shape, immediately reveals its identity. The depth of the watch space behind the cypher glass is so refreshing, has so much room, that it inevitably makes the watches of Niveau élevé stand out from the mass of all the other, two-dimensional-looking watches.

The distinctive feature of the Niveau élevé, the space, derives from the philosophy of the watch and was not invented by designers. It is not a composition out of a compulsion to distinguish oneself, but simply the natural expression of the substance of the clock: the inversion of the planes of the dial and the hands, symbolic of the inversion of our attitude to time, the inversion of our priorities, the inversion of our consciousness.

The watches of Niveau élevé are available with or without logo. But the logo is not, as usual, just an identifying mark. The logo itself expresses something. It stands for a philosophy, for the attitude to life in which one tries to be on a high level with one’s consciousness, on a “Niveau élevé”. It stands for freedom, freedom from oneself, or rather from that part of the “self” which is affected, arrested and cannot distance itself.

The twelve-rayed star of light in the logo, which also appears in the diamonds that are worked into the watch, stands for time. Thanks to the ancient Egyptians, time has the twelve system as its mathematical system, not the decimal system. Let us imagine for a moment that time was aligned according to the decimal system, not the duodecimal system: twelve is divisible by 2, by 3, by 4 and by 6. The ten is only divisible by 2 and by 5. If our dial had a division into tens, then the quarter hours would be partly crooked numbers. Then, after the first quarter of an hour, the hand would not be at one number, like three, but between two numbers, at two-and-a-half.

Anyone who has read the book on the philosophy of time knows that there is no superordinate, uniform time in this universe, but that time is always only a property of a process or a thing. With Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, the classical notion of a uniform and universally valid time and also of absolute simultaneity was exposed as inaccurate. Time is, according to today’s understanding, a property like colour or temperature, which is always related to a specific process and anchors its speed in light. That is why the twelve-rayed light star is the perfect symbol for time.

The combination of the “sublime level”, the Niveau élevé, which stands above time, i.e. above the star of light, is the perfect symbol for that consciousness of time that our philosophical clock wants to embody: a consciousness that stands above time, that does not let itself be driven by time.

The Niveau élevé logo is therefore not just a reference to a brand, but a statement. It neither denotes the name of a watchmaker whose time had already passed 200 years ago, nor is it a graphic element with recognition value, i.e. a piece of decoration.
Generally speaking, the design of our watch is not based on the logic of the decorative, but is an expression of the “inner philosophical mechanics” of this watch. This does not mean that the watch has an unattractive design. Quite the opposite! The design elements are so interesting precisely because they have not been created on the background of the laws of the decorative and, in their originality and freshness, rise above the “beautiful-beautiful”. Niveau élevé does not employ a designer and does not spend money on design. And yet, with its simple spaciousness, it has perhaps the most striking and possibly the most interesting design of all 800 Swiss watch brands. What a paradox!

The second important trait of a high-quality watch is the aspect of technology. In the time of James Cook, when success in navigation depended on a precise watch, and when ingenious minds and craftsmen were building ever newer and more sophisticated mechanical movements, the technology of mechanical watches was a factor of enormous importance. Accurate navigation could determine the timely arrival of a fleet at a theatre of war, the precise navigation of a trade route, the success or failure of a colonisation. Today, there are timepieces that are so precise that you can already measure the distance over fractions of a millionth of a second with laser pointers. A laser light beam is emitted and the device measures the time until a light reflection from the laser arrives back at the device. If the light needs one millionth of a second to reach the object and back, the distance is about 170 metres. Since such a device, which is only the size of a hand and quite cheap, can measure to within centimetres, this means that it measures time to within a billionth of a second.

The technical masterpieces of mechanical movements still have their flair of watchmaking art in themselves. But the relevance of technology for watches is no longer in the practical realm, but rather lies in the imaginary, rather than the technical-physical.
The watches of the élevé level also have a high degree of technical innovation, but not in the field of movements. The technical innovation, the invention of the “dial glass”, makes it possible to let the numerals or diamonds float above the hands. The completely new appearance of the watch and the implementation of the philosophical concept by rearranging the levels of the hands and dial were only made possible by this technical development. So technology is still on the real front here. It conquers new areas and possibilities that were not feasible before. Likewise the development of special brilliant cuts which, when viewed with a colour-separating magnifying glass, produce a twelve-part light pattern. Here, too, there is no known state of the art that has achieved this before. Aligning the watch with the rhythm of time down to the micro level, and then making this alignment, this “secret message”, visible to the naked eye via colour-separating magnification, is new territory in the watch industry that has not been entered before.

Thus, the watches of Niveau élevé contain technical innovations that are not a publicity stunt, but that enable a real change that would not have been feasible with the techniques used so far. In this respect, one can say that the watches of Niveau élevé also stand out from the mass of high-quality watches in technical terms, because their technical innovation does not consist of bringing to perfection a technology that has long been outdated and that no one needs any more, but still has an actual relevance for the watch.
The third trait, the tradition of a brand, is unfortunately as misunderstood as it is unused in the vast majority of cases in the watch industry and therefore has little real substance. The purpose of maintaining a tradition is to preserve old values that have not managed to manifest themselves into the present day. Without tradition, these values would disappear. But unfortunately, little attention is paid to reviving the underlying values in the watch industry today. It is enough to name a year that is as dusty as possible, and that is already enough to maintain tradition. The mere naming of a year, however, is no longer connected with a substantial statement. Then the essentials are missing. Then only the coffin arrives from the past, without the corpse that one wanted to resurrect.

The watches from Niveau élevé embody exactly the opposite. Since the watch has a philosophical and intellectual background, and since philosophy is often based on a certain mindset of ancient Indian or Chinese mysticism, the attention falls only on the values, not on the packaging. For a more detailed understanding of the philosophy of the brand, it is best to have read the book on the philosophy of time. The last section discusses the symbolism and origin of the dial and hands. The rearrangement of these two levels (dial and hand) symbolises a certain attitude to life or to time. This results in a completely new, clear and concise structure of the clock that wants to inspire a change of priorities in the personal handling of one’s time and one’s own life.

While many noble brands market a tradition without really naming and owning its substance or its values, Niveau élevé names and cultivates a tradition without claiming such a tradition. Here, the connection to long-forgotten values and knowledge at Niveau élevé is a very essential part of the watch. Her whole concept, both of the physical construction of the clock and of its mental background, refers to the mysticism from the time of the origin of time measurement several millennia ago. In the book about the philosophy of time, it is also shown where the division of time into 12s comes from, where the division of hours into minutes and minutes into seconds into 60s comes from, where the circular dial and the moving hands come from. All these details are not considered in any way by the vast majority of today’s noble brands. The knowledge of this seems to have been lost throughout the watch industry.
The essence of time, its relativity, the philosophical significance of the relativity of time, the scientific findings regarding the structuring of our universe in time and space, the role of the time axis as the founder of each further higher dimensional level are also covered in great depth and thoroughness in our book on the philosophy of time and are included in many small details in the watches of Niveau élevé. It is precisely the twelve-rayed light stars in the diamonds that are processed in our watches that unite the scientific knowledge and fundamentals of time with the history of the origins of the watch from ancient Egypt, Babylon and Greece, and with the tradition of the diamond.

The fact that the concept of the dial derives from research for the matrimandir, which in turn is a symbol of evolution, i.e. the historical progression of time, is a living connection of the watches of Niveau élevé to the deepest core and essence of time.

The watches of the Niveau élevé brand breathe time, its essence, its tradition, the tradition of the watch in its beginnings several thousand years ago, as well as a deep knowledge of the materials diamond and glass. They capture the individual elements such as the dial, the hands, the 12-division, the watch glass, the diamonds, play with them, rearrange them, in a concept of philosophy and mysticism. They live the old tradition of the founding era of the clock and actually express it in their elements. In this respect, the watches of the Niveau élevé are deeply rooted in tradition, much more deeply and substantially than many a brand that refers to its tradition.

The fourth important discipline is the flair of a watch, the environment to which the watch relates. In recent years, this aspect has found a new form of expression, the so-called “claim”. This is understood to be a motto, a motto that conveys a message in a short and concise form that represents the core message of what the clock wants to express. The use of a claim represents a major step forward for the watch industry. While a brand previously had to demonstrate its presence in a certain environment with a lot of effort via sponsoring in order to prove what the watch actually stands for, it can now simply formulate this verbally. The battle between the different brands has thus moved a little away from the material battle of the advertising posters and shifted to a battle of ideas. Although it is often not quite clear why a particular brand should stand for what its claim says, the freedom to formulate a motto and to promote it as belonging to one’s brand is of course open to everyone.

Niveau élevé has the Claim „Time is mine!“. What this says exactly can be read at the end of this book, in chapter 24.
With the claim “Time is mine!”, Niveau élevé does not simply show “the” time like most other watches, it shows “my time”. There is a subtle difference between “the time” and “my time”. Science has proven that “time” does not exist. There is no general, superordinate time, and certainly no actual “simultaneity”. To understand this in detail, please refer to the book on the philosophy of time. In any case, time is relative and adapts its speed to the respective situation. If we transfer this scientific fact to the psychological level, it means that I have my own time that I do not share with others. “My time” – the more I become aware of it, the more I hopefully find myself in my own time.

The other watch brands show themselves in the worlds they assume would be the ambience their customers would like to have around them. Tennis tournaments, golf tournaments, Formula 1 races, in short, the world of high society. The brand “Niveau élevé” does not try to convey the flair of “rich and beautiful”, not the “ideal world”. On the contrary, the publications of the Niveau élevé show that this world, as it is today, will soon no longer exist if we do not radically rethink. Instead of selling a feel-good package with the watch, we deliver the concern for our environment, the call to put our behaviour and personal goals to the test. We are not delivering the illusion of a world of abundance and carelessness, but a world of spiritual values, of engagement with the mystical worlds to which access has not yet been discovered or has been buried again. We draw attention to the diversity of undiscovered areas and possibilities.

In addition to the four classic elements or areas of a high-quality watch, Niveau élevé challenges its competitors in two new disciplines that have so far received little attention in the competition for the favour of watch lovers. On the one hand in the relationship of the wearer to his watch, on the other hand in the watch as a portal, as a way into knowledge, recognition, the conscious inner work via the symbolism in the details of the watch. A car equipped with technical refinements, a software, a technical device, usually has an operating manual, a description of how to use the individual elements. The manual for using our clock are the two books on the philosophy of time and on the philosophical clock by Niveau élevé. The actual fullness of the functions of these clocks can only be developed if one has actually read both books and has filtered out, internalised and consciously worked with one’s very specific part, which concerns one personally, in the many individual statements of the two books. It is not at all important to understand what is written mentally and logically. It is important to read something out of the books that finds an inner correspondence in us, that speaks to us, that triggers recognition.

The real functions of the watch do not lie in its decorative effect or in the reproduction of time. The essential functions lie far behind the surface, invisible and in the consciousness of each individual. Here we should work with the watch and use it. With our inner eye in an inner world and landscape, we should look at the otherworldly aspects of the clock and work with them consciously.

A high-quality watch is always an expression of the wearer’s self-identification. Self-discovery via the watch should be active with this brand, not passive. The study of the self is an endless one, a journey that once begun can become the most exciting and fulfilling part of life. A Niveau élevé wants to be an instrument which, through the path of symbols and parables, is an aid to entering the inner world of each individual, an aid to understanding the mechanisms and laws of the inner worlds. For access to these worlds is not through mental logic, but through direct experience.