This unusual British watch is actually a bit of a bargain

When I first saw the latest timepiece from British watchmaker Isotope, I thought it would carry a five- or even six-figure price tag – and yet, at £1,800 the OVNI Jumping Hour represents fantastic value

The name comes from the acronym of the French for UFO – objet volant non identifé – and one look at the case and dial makes you appreciate this as an unidentified flying object for the wrist.

The flying saucer-like 904L stainless steel case features a prominent crown at the 12 o’clock position, but it’s the dial that’s the most interesting part. Unlike most other jumping hour watches, where the hour is displayed on a rotating dial presented through a stationary window, the OVNI takes a different approach.

Here, the hour markers are all where you’d expect them, but they are only revealed when a window in the dial passes over them. So instead of the hour number flicking to the next digit, the entire dial rotates at the start of each hour, moving the window along to the next number.

Meanwhile, a small white minute hand made from polished brass rotates around the sandblasted aluminium dial. For reference, the watch pictured in this article is showing 10:10, with a heavily stylised ‘10’ peaking through a window in the dial.

Other features include a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, a screw-down stainless steel case back, and a grey rubber strap with spring-loaded quick-release clasp. Inside, the watch is driven by a Swiss-made La Joux-Perret G101 Soigné automatic mechanical movement with 24 jewels and an impressive 68 hour power reserve.

This watch will be sold in two waves. The first is called the Founders Edition and celebrates 10 years of the Isotope watch company. It’s available to pre-order until 13 September, limited to 150 pieces and priced at £1,800 (including VAT). After that, Isotope says it’ll produce a larger production run, but that’ll carry a higher price, of £2,800 including VAT.

The Founders Edition is already in production, and the second run is expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2026.