By Brent Robillard
Voxel’s first watch switches its hour display from 12 to 24 at 1 p.m., then changes back at 1 a.m.—a practical complication inside a distinctly angular debut
A difficult first act
New watch brands usually make life easier by beginning with a familiar movement and a familiar display. Voxel has chosen a more demanding entrance. Its first watch, the Meridion VX01-E, places a proprietary mechanical display module around a Swiss automatic calibre and changes the hour track twice each day.
I met the three First Edition versions in Geneva yesterday, one day before the watch’s official launch. The introduction follows four years of development by a two-person founding team: French designer Thibault Luc and Swiss movement engineer Bruno Herbet. Their first result is technically ambitious, visually busy, and difficult to mistake for an established brand’s cautious opening move.
In a crowded room of revelers and watch enthusiasts at the Margherita Social Cub in Geneva’s Old Town, the Meridion VX01-E fulfilled its press pictures’ promise of decagonal angularity and my eye was immediately drawn to the Electric Blue dial variant. Brand co-founder Thibault Luc accompanied me into the street for a better look in what remained of the daylight, and what I saw impressed me.
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Twelve hours, then twenty-four
The Meridion’s defining feature is easier to understand on the dial than in a diagram. From 1:00 a.m. through 12:59 p.m., six apertures show the familiar even hours from 2 to 12, with luminous dots occupying the positions between them. At 1:00 p.m., those six numerals jump to their 24-hour equivalents, from 14 through 24. At 1:00 a.m., the original set returns. The central hour, minute, and seconds hands continue their usual circuits throughout.
That makes this different from a conventional jumping-hour watch. We have recently covered the digital-hour approach in the Sartory-Billard SB10 and Isotope OVNI. Voxel leaves the hour hand in place and applies the jump to the scale around it. The mechanism distinguishes morning from afternoon without adding another hand or a separate subdial.
The result is functional, though it also creates the watch’s theatre. A wearer gets two rapid changes every day, each involving several displays at once. Swiss Super-LumiNova BGW9 appears on the hands, hour markers, and inner dial elements; the supplied night photograph shows a bright cyan arrangement that preserves the 24-hour state after dark.
A French-Swiss starting point
Voxel was conceived in 2022. Luc, its founder and creative director, works from a French design perspective; co-founder and technical director Herbet brings more than 15 years of movement development, prototyping, and industrialization in the Vallée de Joux. The company’s name comes from the voxel, the three-dimensional equivalent of a pixel. It is an apt reference for a watch assembled from hard-edged volumes and a display that changes its information in discrete steps.
The founders describe the display module as proprietary. They also call the surrounding assembly the ‘Reactor’: a structural plate and casing ring that encircles the movement and helps integrate the calibre into the case. That choice turns the mechanism into part of the watch’s architecture rather than treating it as an isolated complication beneath the dial.
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Ten sides, short span
The 904L stainless-steel case has ten sides, polished flanks, broad brushed surfaces, and separately formed lugs with polished ends. It measures 41.4mm across, 45.5mm from lug to lug, and 12.2mm thick including the domed sapphire crystal. That relatively short span helps contain the width, though the strong angular case gives the watch considerable visual presence. Water resistance is rated to 120 metres.
Two wearing configurations are offered. The Alcantara strap comes in six colours and emphasizes the gap between the lugs and the case body. The integrated 904L steel bracelet uses broad links with small polished inserts running down the centre. Both suit the geometry on paper. Though the bracelet was not on hand, I can confirm that the Alcantara strap offered up a soft juxtaposition to the very mechanical appearance of the case and dial.
The Reactor on the reverse
The display module surrounds the Swiss automatic Newton P092, which runs at 4Hz and provides 44 hours of power reserve. A grade 5 titanium caseback holds two smoked sapphire windows around a central bridge-like structure. They reveal the regulating organ through one opening and a gold-toned rotor across the other, with the Reactor framing the calibre. It is a heavily architectural view, consistent with the dial and case–and frankly, one of my favourite elements of the overall design.
Three versions, 300 watches
While the protoypes I handled indicated a numbered series of 500, in reality The First Edition consists of 300 watches. The Charcoal Grey and Electric Blue versions are limited to 120 pieces each, while Silver Star is limited to 60. Every dial combines grained and sunburst finishing, but the personalities are distinct: black (in actuality charcoal grey) is the most restrained, blue gives the mechanism its clearest visual separation, and silver places greater emphasis on the case and its changing numerals.
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Specs
| Functions & Display | Hours, minutes, and seconds Proprietary mechanical 12/24-hour jumping display 12-hour scale from 1:00 a.m. to 12:59 p.m. 24-hour scale from 1:00 p.m. to 12:59 a.m. |
| Movement | Swiss automatic Newton P092 Voxel proprietary display module 4Hz frequency 44-hour power reserve |
| Case | Ten-sided 904L stainless steel Grade 5 titanium screwed caseback Domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment Double smoked sapphire caseback windows 120m / 12 ATM water resistance |
| Dimensions | 41.4mm diameter 45.5mm lug-to-lug 12.2mm thick including crystal 20mm lug width |
| Dial & Lume | Grained and sunburst finishes Swiss Super-LumiNova BGW9 |
| Strap & Bracelet | Alcantara strap in six colours Integrated polished and brushed 904L stainless-steel bracelet |
Voxel Meridian VX01-E
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Final thoughts
The Voxel Meridion VX01-E is an ambitious first outing for the fledgling brand. But its unique jumping-hour proprietary module and space-age styling really pull it off. The changing hour scale is a bit of drama, sure, but it is also visually useful. The Electric Blue iteration has real impact, and I would love to see the design on bracelet. The case architecture is very strong–from both sides.
It approaches the familiar 12/24-hour distinction through the dial itself and gives a the brand a recognizable technical signature from its first release. The more important question is whether that signature remains legible and satisfying after the twice-daily change has become familiar. Geneva should provide the answer.
Pricing and availability
Pre-orders for the Voxel Meridion VX01-E First Edition open exclusively through Voxel’s website on October 1, 2026. Prices start at €2,500 excluding VAT on Alcantara and €2,850 excluding VAT on the integrated bracelet. Those figures are approximately $4,030 CAD and $4,590 CAD before applicable taxes, duties, and exchange costs. Delivery is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027, with worldwide shipping listed as complimentary.
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About the author
Brent Robillard is a writer, educator, craftsman, and watch enthusiast. He is the author of four novels. You can follow him on Instagram.
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