The Navigator – Rhodium & Black Lacquer

The Navigator is Comitti’s tribute to John Harrison and the mechanical conquest of longitude, presented as a sculptural grasshopper timepiece. This edition pairs a rhodium-plated movement with a high-gloss black lacquer base, protected beneath a mitred crystal-glass canopy.

The eight-day fusee mechanism uses maintaining power to support consistent timekeeping. White enamel-finished hour and seconds chapters, Roman and Arabic numerals, and fine Breguet hands keep the exposed engineering remarkably easy to read.

The Art of the Movement

The Navigator is built to place traditional English horology in full view. Comitti finishes and assembles its grasshopper movement by hand, with the gear train cut from solid brass before the components are fettled and polished. Pivots are burnished, bearing holes carefully finished, and the completed mechanism receives its rhodium plating so that the movement carries the same visual refinement as the cabinet work surrounding it.

The fusee and maintaining-power system is more than a technical specification. The fusee moderates the changing force of the mainspring over the eight-day run, while maintaining power keeps the train driven during winding. Beneath the mitred crystal canopy, that engineering remains completely exposed—the movement itself becoming the centerpiece of the timepiece.

Craftsmanship & Details

• Movement: Hand-finished rhodium-plated grasshopper movement with solid-brass gear train
• Regulation: Fusee regulation with maintaining power for steadier timekeeping
• Power reserve: Eight-day power reserve
• Dial: White enamel-finished chapters with Roman and Arabic numerals and fine Breguet hands to indicate the time and passing seconds
• Storage: High-gloss black lacquer base with key drawer
• Glazing & fittings: Mitred crystal-glass canopy protecting the movement
• Authenticity: Individually numbered and accompanied by a Comitti Certificate of Authenticity
• Included: A copy of Dava Sobel’s Longitude
• Presentation case: Mahogany-finished travel case

Dimensions

• Height: 18.9 in. (48 cm)
• Width: 12.6 in. (32 cm)
• Depth: 9.1 in. (23 cm)
• Weight: 56.8 lb. (25.75 kg)

Made to order by Comitti of London. Subtle variations in natural materials and hand-finished details are part of each piece’s individual character.