Press Release No. 143

Orbita’s business has grown in leaps and bounds as more and more owners of mechanical watches experience the convenience of having their watches always fully wound and ready to wear.  Chuck Agnoff, founder of Orbita Corporation, states that “even owners with large watch collections who seldom wear their watches, realize that keeping them “exercised” assures long life and reduces the periodic need for servicing.”

Of course, those with large watch collections are challenged with the need for both regular winding and storing their collections and it is this challenge that led Agnoff to begin developing a modular system that would be both attractive and cost effective.

He turned to his Italian case supplier to discuss his ideas and that discussion led to the case supplier’s introduction to Ms. Gabriella Rossi, a talented and creative furniture designer and architect with whom he had worked before (see sidebar).  Working together with Agnoff, they came up with a very contemporary design that was very attractive and truly modular to allow for both flexibility and future expansion.

Serendipitously,  as the design of this system was in development, Agnoff was contacted by Ed Tonkin, a regular Orbita customer.  Tonkin was building a new house and wanted to build a “watch room” to house his extensive collection of over 400 watches.  Not all of his watches were automatics.  Storage was also needed for many of his other watches in both bracelet and strap versions.  Naturally, all of these watches were valuable and had to be stored safely to prevent physical damage.  Also Tonkin wanted space for his fine library of horological books and artifacts.  What evolved and which would later be dubbed as the “Rossi System,” was a truly modular system comprised of three case elements as follows:

WINDER CASE…a completely self-contained case with 12 winding modules.  Each module is individually powered and is programmed independently.  Orbita offers its well-known programmable module as standard but their recently developed ROTORWIND® oscillating module is also available as an option.  Lockable glass doors swing up and down as required.

STORAGE CASE…this two drawer unit with a slide-out work surface between the two drawers can be configured to meet the specific needs of the customer.  Tonkin opted for stacked trays in the upper drawer for his strap watches.  The lower drawer has padded cushions for his bracelet watches.  Either drawer could also accommodate Orbita’s unique Sempre winders which are used for winding hand-wound watches.  Of course, the trays within the drawers could also be configured for other valuables; rings, bracelets, necklaces and other jewelry.

BOOKCASE…this single case is wide open and can be used as a bookshelf, a display area for table clocks and a host for other items as well.

All three modules mount quickly and easily on the tubular steel poles of rectangular cross-section.  They are custom made to mount from two to five units vertically.  The base of the pole sits on the floor and is adjustable to allow easy leveling.

Naturally, as each system is custom designed, there is no limit to the choice of wood and metal finishes which can be supplied.  Drawers are lined in ULTRA SUEDE material and there are dozens of colors to choose from.

Best of all, the system is easy to ship and easy to install using local talent.  Future expansion is built into the design and the final arrangement is virtually unlimited.

For further information contact:

ORBITA Corporation    Tel: 910-256-5300 Fax: 910-256-5356

E-mail: info@orbita.com