Hi friends,

You may have noticed it, I was absent from the forum in 2014, as I was writing chronicles about the NM adventure:  http://www.legardetemps-nm.org/

Le Garde-temps, la Naissance d’une Montre is aiming to safeguard and transmit traditional know how.

It has started a few years back, almost by accident, in a discussion between Robert Greubel, Philippe Dufour, Kari Voutilainen & Vianney Halter. As they were exchanging views, they realised the full extent of the erosion of know how...

The main reasons for this  lie in the different crises of watchmaking industry, especially that “of quartz” and the progressive robotization of industry by means of numerical controls. The leavings, the deaths and the race for profits were the primary vehicles.

As Philippe Dufour put in: “cemeteries are full of secrets”.

Aware of that problem, and facing the industry’s relative indifference, Robert Greubel decided to take the bull by the horns, initiating a preservation of know how project, on the modest scale of Greubel Forsey. The best way to tranfer knowledge is to have some teaching skills, and it’s even better to actually be a teacher.

So, in July 2010, Robert contacted a long-time friend: Michel Boulanger. The latter, motivated by learning, moved back to his workshop in Chartres, France, to teach in Paris. They had been considering collaboration for a long time, and this was a godsend for Michel. In order to stimulate his creativity, Robert asked him to think about a project that would reflect his vision of transmission.

Robert suggested Michel create a watch from start to finish, using traditional tehniques called “conventional” that would allow him to  become a learner again.
That also meant that Michel couldn’t use any numerical control machine. the whole production had to be either  done by hand with the appropriate tool, or with a lathe or a milling machine. However,  the design stage had to be run on a computer.

The intellectual maturation phase of the project had been quite long before the selection of the tool was made. During this phase, Michel presented some ambitious projects, perhaps too much, as he wasn’t yet aware of the inherent constraints.   

Indeed, La Naissance d’une Montre is one of the rare pieces produced on the basis of a brand new designing, which means that the mechanism was born from the imagination of Michel and developed by the NM team rather than being the copy of an existing calibre.

During that phase, Robert decided on two major aspects: le Garde-temps has to be a simple watch (HMS) with a traditional tourbillon, and Philippe Dufour must be one of Michel’s teachers.

Now that the stage is set, and before Michel tells you about the first years of the adventure, here’s a brief overview of the main players:

Robert Greubel : although relatively unknown to the general public, he’s the conductor of Greubel Forsey. In the middle of the 90’s, he founded CompliTime with Stephen. Then they commercialized their first invention,  le Double Tourbillon 30°, in their own names as no brand wanted it… The verdict of the collectors spoke: in only ten years, GF got tremendously succesful and the brand positioned itself at the pinnacle of  modern watchmaking...
Robert is the project manager of NM, he allows the members of the adventure to push back their personal limits.

Robert examining le Garde-temps at the SIHH
 

Stephen Forsey : he’s Robert’s partner and also the ambassador of GF and NM. During the long conception phases, he intervened to validate the main technical orientations. He started watchmaking early on, in the family workshop. Using pieces of meccano, he validated the technical concept of the Double Tourbillon 30°.


Stephen & Robert at Philippe Dufour’s birthday



Philippe Dufour : the master Yoda of watchmaking. In Japan, “ “a living national treasure”. He is so cult down there that he’s even portrayed in a school manual in the form of a manga.

By presenting the Simplicity in the early 90’s, Philippe pushed the finishing standards of watchmaking.

His knowledge is as vast as his hand is sure, and even excellent watchmakers such as Didier Cretin can hardly keep up.  This is the failure of Philippe, he hasn’t been flexible enough with his apprentices to transfer them all of his expertise. As Master Yoda, Philippe isn’t a whiz at teaching, but everything has changed with his Padawan Obi-Wan Boulanger.


Philippe in the swirling pipe smoke
 

Didier Cretin : a few years back, prior to working for GF, I have had the opportunity to meet Didier. We had spent over an hour talking about watchmaking. Didier is an enthusiast who have worked for the most prestigious  watchmaking houses, Breguet, Audemars Piguet, Philippe Dufour (he produced 18 Simplicities) and above all Greubel Forsey. He’s a designer at GF, and he’s also, as part of NM, the main acolyte of Michel, who validates the plans of the Garde-temps...   

Didier (right) & Michel, at the SIHH



Sévérine Vitali :  Those who know well Greubel Forsey have already met her. She undertook a classical watch training at the French border. She also worked for Renaud & Papi, prior to joining Greubel Forsey at the beginning of the adventure, in 2004 (remember,I talked about it in the interview of Nathalie Jean-Louis LINK). Since then, she has substantially honed her craft and she’s currently responsible for the finishing workshop at Greubel Forsey. Notably, she teaches the sand-blasting techniques to Michel.

 

Jean-François Erard : though not yet a household name, he’s an elite precision mechanic, who has worked a lot for the greatest manufactories. In particular, he designs gongs for striking watches. He changed the supply picture by developing monobloc gongs at Renaud & Papi in the 90’s. Jean François is about to retire, and the NM project is an opportunity to share his know how with Michel. He assists Michel with the design of the production procedures of the garde-temps’ components, in particular with Schaublin 70 & 102 lathes and the milling machine.

JF (right), Didier & Michel at the Greubel Forsey permises



Michel Boulanger : he’s “the hero of the adventure”. At 46, the six-foot-tall  watchmaker is litterally the tallest of his generation. Michel fell into watchmaking as a child, as his father owned a clock restoration workshop in the south of Chartres.
After obtaining watchmaking qualifications, he had a taste of Swiss industry, working at Renaud & Papi, where he met again Robert and was introduced to Jean François.
But Michel was interested in teaching, so he passed the  competitive examination of the French National Education, and he’s  been teaching watchmaking for many years now at the technical college Diderot, Paris 19th.

Michel and his coat « La Naissance d’une Montre »
 

The Schaublin 70 lathe :   any self-respecting hero has his super-tool: car, sword or gun in all good movies, novels or series. From Arthur and Excalibur to the dirty Harry’s 44.Automag, or the Michael Knight’s Pontiac Trans Am K2000.

The point is Michel’s 70 lathe is a lot more customisable than the latter, which however have caused scores of wet dreams among tuning fans. The 70 lathe is crucial in NM, as it’s Michel’s main tool, the one he uses two-thirds of the time ( and 90% of the “tool” time).

The 70 lathe was presented in 1925.  It was requested by the watchmaking industry, with a will to standardise the equipment, with a versatile lathe allowing to work on micro-scale. It’s  600mm long*120mm high for a tare weight of 13,5kg. It is particular in that it is still produced nowadays, and thus endowed with a plethora of accessories specially designed for a watchmaking-scale use. Any young watchmaker can purchase a second-hand 70 for 3000€, and fit it  with accessories as it goes along.

But the story of Michel’s 70 lathe is way more excinting. This lathe belonged to Robert, and he gave it to Michel in the beginning of the 2000’s, just when the GF adventure started. Within the context of NM, this handover  is hugely symbolical.


Le Garde-temps : this piece is something of a Holy Grail, as it is more of a pretext for an initiation quest through the lost paths of traditional know how rather than an end in itself. Intellectually, while a car or a pair of shoes have practical purposes,a watch is a pure abstraction, an artistic creation. This one will be the vehicle of the perpetuation of old contemporary watchmaking master’s expertise.

The production target is modest, 11 finalised Garde-temps. It actually means that Michel should probably produce triple, if account is taken of the rejected pieces and components retained to ensure the future after-sales service.

The Garde-temps will be round and will have a dimension of 45mmx32mm, for an approximate weight of 220 grams, with a frequency of 18000bph for a minimum of 36h of PwR, in the spirit of vintage pocket watches. It will be a simple piece with no stricto sensus complication, but however equipped with a large one-minute tourbillon of 18-mm diameter.

For the real watch enthusiats out there, it will also be fitted with the following devices:


●   Double click called “de la Vallée de Joux”, instead of the Breguet pinion. This system can be found on the Grandes sonneries. This implementation was a Philippe proposal.
●   No seconds hand on the frame.
●   Independant time-setting system (no motion-work system attached to the going train, the time-setting is connected to the barrel).
●   Wolf-tooth at the barrel level.
●   Bevel gear.

 

In order to narrate to you the first years of the adventure, I interviewed Michel:


Hi Michel Boulanger,

Hi Pifpaf,

PP : how did the adventure start for you?

MB : by the end of June 2010, I got a phone call from a member of GF. I didn’t understant what he wanted. I listened carefully and I said yes. Then I hung up, went on holidays and forgot about it...   


PP : like Gary Kildall who missed the MDSOS sale at IBM in 1980, you nearly missed the deal of the century too, didn’t you!! 

MB : yes and no, everything worked out, because Robert is much nicer than IBM, he called me back a month later and gave me the details of the project. I would have found it hard to believe if I hadn’t known what he is able to produce. I came to Switzerland and we discussed it in detail, and it  appealed to me immediately.  I wanted to take a step back from National Education. As a teacher, if you want to do the job well, you have to keep connected with the professional world to remain competent. I felt I had an opportunity here. Robert told me: “try to picture a handmade watch mechanism you’d like to produce conventionally”...   


PP : what did you have in mind?

Several complicated projects, including chronographs, countdowns, grandes sonneries… some stuffs that might not have worked. Besides,  some of them were focussing too much on watchmaking, and not enough on the learning process.
So we decided to go back to the beginning: I make the watch from A to Z (apart from a few elements, such as the rubies, the balance-spring and the barrel spring), with pre-quartz-crisis tools and alloys: watchmaker lathe (including the 70), spiromatic, mechanical calculator, profile projector, jig-boring machine, tap and die, ect… I work with tools from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s 99% of the time, and most importantly, the constraint is the following: no numerical control machine (LINK the watchmaking farmer). Every action is manual: I push the chariot myself toward the chisel, and if I’m nervous or tired, I spoil my part.


Michel at the watchmaker lathe



PP : how did you manage to master all those old tools?

MB : Robert suggested that Philippe joins NM, which strenghtened my desire to move forward on the Garde-temps and I wasn’t disappointed. Philippe transmits openly, in full-hearted partnership. He’s very generous, the antithesis of  “taiseux” (for montain dwellers, the term refers to an individual who remains silent). He’s as communicative as he is difficult to work with, with a high level of demands, which is not unnecessary given the NM constraints.       


PP : can you tell us more about those constraints?

MB : the NM project combines as many constraints as possible: the use of old and little productive tools, diffucult to adjust , together  with the high level of demand required by GF and Philippe Dufour in terms of finishings, reliability, chronometry or level of interchangeability  of the parts. 
It is intrinsically very challenging to produce 11 pieces from A to Z in my own garage, with Robert and Philippe as excellence keepers. It’s a constant challenge to go beyond myself to reach the ultimate objective.

PP : When did you start the production?

MB : wooh, not so fast, we’re in septembre 2011. I got 100% involved in NM, it was the beginning of the adventure and the work sessions were full of people. We wasted a lot of time during the first year, because every one had an opinion (some said I should try to do like this, like that...). The postive side is that all this contributed to the tremendous evolution of the drawings. Compare the first version of the calibre and the one we have today, it’s like night and day. There have been around ten different drawings of the calibre and more than twenty of the tourbillon cage so far, mostly in 2011.

 
PP : here we are, early 2012...

MB : it was the SIHH: we presented NM to the public for the first time. Most of the people had come to see Philippe.  We hadn’t communicated much on the project, we’d just said that we were making a watch without any CNC intervention. It was well received, but the people didn’t really understand. They were still a bit sceptical, which is natural. It was difficult for them to picture what we had in mind, as we still hadn’t presented any concrete watch. 


PP : then you started the production?

MB: We continued the discussions from 2011. By confronting the theories of 2011 with the reality, we realised that they were obsolete, for lack of a  global vision of the production of a piece from A to Z with no numerical control. 

With Didier Cretin, we conducted historical research at the storeroom of the International Watchmaking Museum (thanks to Mr Piguet) and at the storeroom of the Musée du Château des Monts (thanks to Gerald Vouga). We only met really cool people who gave us complete accessibility. We consulted everything between 1750 and 1850.
Our discussions mainly focused on the production of the pieces, how many and what type of wheels, and the methodology of the traditional fabrication. This was a crucial step to push back limits of my mastery of the 70 lathe.


PP : destination SIHH 2013 ?

MB : we wanted to introduce the finalised tourbillon cage to the public. We made some mistakes in terms of production. Thanks to JF Erard, the drawings evolved considerably. I took two months to produce the first frame. At the same time, we continued to develop the winding/time-setting part of the Garde-Temps.
Once at the SIHH 2013, we had achieved our goal: the frame was there: partial case (bottom, top + the two carriage-bridges)+ balance, all installed on the plate. As it started to look concrete, we could feel a slight quivering, in particular because we communicated on the functions of the Garde-Temps.

The tourbillon cage, SIHH2013
 


PP : This is 2013, is the project taking shape now?

MB : we’re clearly at the heart of the action. Our objective was to hear “tic tac” from the movement at the SIHH2014, without targeting the chronometric accuracy. This was a huge challenge. Indeed, I had to produce 90% of the components (mainly the moving parts)and make it all work!

In addition, like every year, we slightly improved the plans… In particular, we removed an arm and a screw on the tourbillon cage, which reduced the weight by 30%.

This year was especially intense, because I thought that the plans were definitive. I produced some micro-series of 5 or 6 pieces.  The numerous videos on the Garde-Temps web site were made at that period.


PP : 2014, after three years of maturation, the first concrete result?

MB : the big issue for the SIHH2014 was to have this working movement… I worked very hard. Eventually, I was ahead of schedule, I could hear “tic tac” the saturday morning before the SIHH!!
And above all I was very proud because the mechanism, in its most basic form, worked during all the SIHH despite a simple glass dome covering it, and it’s still working today!!

The calibre of the Garde-temps, 2014
 


PP : were there any changes during the year 2014?

MB : well, indeed, Didier suggested an in-depth re-examination of the plans of the Garde-Temps, which Robert accepted, still with this orientation for excellence... it was complicated for me, I wanted to improve my movement, already produced in micro-series... additional constraint: I had to go back giving classes in september 2014, and lastly, I had to perfect the production of the Breguet-overcoil spring with Philippe. 
Finally, iI made a whole new movement. I saved a few parts, but most of it had to be revised, in particular the plate and the bridges . I remanufactured 60% of the parts that year.

PP : impossible task ?

MB : yes and no, because without the help of Jean-François Erard, I would have waste some time as the latter was becoming a rare commodity. His precious advices provided me a better understanding of the turning and milling, and I could produce and assemble the components. 
The case was another issue. We agreed to use a service provider, who had to respect our qualitative requirements and production constraints: no use of numerical control.
During the whole year, I juggled between many trips back and forth to Switzerland, especially to learn how to raise the balance-spring with Philippe… to give you an idea of the athmosphere: on Christmas day,  I was having lunch with my sister’s family in Picardie, and I hastily left at 2 pm to go back to my place and start working at 7pm...

Philippe Dufour on the balance-spring




PP : that’s crazy !! you even worked on Christmas day to present the assembled Garde-Temps at the SIHH? 

MB: Yes, but it was worth it, because I finalised the whole assembly of the Garde-Temps in extremis. The success was proportional to the stress, I couln’t take any lunch break during the show. I decided to accompany the Garde-temps wherever it was going. I thus attended the conferences, but also the meetings with the collectors and the retailers… And I have to say, it was kind of a strange feeling, when you have spent so many hours producing a watch in your cellar. Icing on the cake, I could bring two of my students with me, which was a beautiful symbol of the transmission spirit behind NM.   

MB: This copy of the Garde-Temps is going to be sold at Christie’s, in May in Geneva, as a school-watch, that’s to say without the finishings. This will be a good test of the enthusiasm of collectors for the Garde-Temps.

The Time Aeon foundation, which was at the origin of the project, has become the platform for knowledge-sharing of NM. Several institutions, retailers and watchmaking houses have joined us, and the project gets bigger as the Garde-Temps takes shape. For instance, the FHH offers us a whole little stand during the SIHH. 

Le Garde-temps set & functionnal




PP : what did you learn this year?

MB: The decoration, the last step! I approached it a bit differently, because I knew nothing about it. But to keep this experience fun, I wanted to keep a fresh eye.
In order to learn, I decorate and polish on my own, then I show the result to Séverine and Philippe so they can teach me their methods. The advantage is that failure provides an incredible experience: it’s tough, I spoil parts, but my learning isn’t linear, it’s more pertinent, I get a better understanding of the whys, and I recall information better. It also helps me perfecting my machinig skills: a well-machined component is easier to decorate.

To me, learning is a quest rather than a reproduction of knowledges.


PP : which aspects of the decoration have you worked on?

MB: The Garde-temps will be decorated according to the standards of the golden age of mechanical watchmaking, between 1750 and 1850, which therefore excludes the Geneva waves, typical of Switzerland (at that time, watchmaking was mostly based in London and Paris). Thus, I learned the roughening of the bridges, the axis polishing (arbors), drawing, circular graining, bevelling on the wheels, hand-polishing of the bridges flanks. This last part is innovative, because we try to find an expertise that had been lost since then...

PP : is the year 2015 much slower for you?

MB: Yes and no. The decoration part is super exciting, it’s great because the piece really gets magical at that point, it’s the culmination of the first phase.

PP : the first phase, isn’t the project completed yet?

MB: This is just the beginning. First of all, I have to finalise the production of the 11 Garde-temps, which is far from being done… Then, and this is the objective of NM, I have to train a few young watchmakers, so one day  some others will be trained by them. In a few years, I will probably be done with NM but, ultimately, the project is designed to outlive us all, so that the great watchmaking tradition will never again be forgotten .

Hello my friends,

I was absent from the forum in past year, as I was working for a watchmaking company, for which I was involved in preserving know-how projects.

But I missed my blog activities! I don't feel I am cut off to sit behind a desk, so I created a new website:
www.foudroyante.com

Let's talk about watchmaking, without complacency, and also about history and know-how. Here is a condensed version of an article I wrote recently about the Farmer-watchmaker, from 1380 to the beginning of the « glorious thirties ».

In Europe, Roman Empire collapsed by the end of the 5th century, but it left behind a continent more united than ever, using a single language, Latin, and a single religion, catholic Christianity.

This unity led to one of the longest period of deadlock in European history: the middle ages. Its economy was based on the clearance of vast forests that covered the continent. In these conflictual times of relative stability, the population
grew until the end of forest cleaning, in 1280. Contemporary Europe was less wooded than it is today.



Celtic and Gallic agricultural skills had been forgotten and the yields were minor: between 5 and 10 quintals per hectare.
The current productivity in comparison is 80-100 quintals per hectare in intensive and 40-50 in organic. It was only in the 17th-18th century that Europe started its first agricultural revolution, with new techniques of crop rotation, accompanied by forage plants.
Doubling yield were translated into savings on labor, and feeding several generations of scientists. One of them was
Christian Huygens widely regarded as the inventor of modern watchmaking concepts. This will be the beginning of the industrial revolution.



Let us return to the 14th century, the darkest period in Middle Ages history, which unfortunately tends to provoke a skewed vision of that period, yet relatively prosperous and peaceful.
Poor crop yields were hardly sufficient to feed the increasing population. In addition, in the early 14th century, a series of years of drought followed by years of torrential rains caused widespread famine in Europe. Malnutrition was a fertile compost for diseases, especially for the terrible black plague.

The tensions related to the resources led to a war series, in particular the one hundred years war. To finance wars, taxes rose disproportionately, provoking violent jacqueries. It is thus in this particularly dark context that ended the 14th
century.



Imier De Ramstein, Prince-Bishop of Basel was elected in 1382. His bishopric included the Canton of current Jura. Its debt remained huge at that time. Imier made repeated attempts to boost the local economy. In 1384, he published a ery innovative edict: a tax exemption for those who settle 1000 meters above sea level.

Many farmers, by the end of the century, weakened by a hundred years of shortages, diseases and violence, set out to conquer an environment famous to be inhospitable, even hostile.

In the year of our Lord 1384, the Canton of Jura wasn't completely wild, as evidenced by the village of Montfaucon, built in the early 11th century.
However, the nature remained particularly wild, probably unchanged since the last glacial era. Wolves and bears reigned supreme over the fauna. The common point of these species is their adaptability in the conditions of height, thanks to their coat, their muscular power, their overdeveloped vascular network or their large-scale wings. If this fauna prospered, it was because Jura was protected for a long time from the human presence, thanks to a rough microclimate and to a steep topography.



In spite of a modest maximum height (1720 meters), the drafts and the high perched valleys cause very low temperatures during the winter : in the Vallée du Joux, or, even worst, in the vallée de la Brévine, the temperatures
Sometimes dip as low as -40°C.



Nowadays, Jura is divided between Switzerland and France. The wars made the border move, notably during the 30 years war (1618-1648) and also during the Napoleonic wars (1798-1815). The imperial desires of the French autocrats
Sometimes overflowed on the future territory of the Swiss Confederacy, the people from Jura have always shown themselves to be extremely supportive, especially in the Franches-montagnes, where contraband (notably watchmaking) was wisely organized.



But in 1384, our « Franc montagnard » had to become established. As he often does, man changed his environment and farmer-watchmaker ancestors organized vast slash-and-burn, in order to increase the building and arable surfaces.
That is how a multi-thousand-year-old forest of broad-leaved trees disappeared. The inhabitants of Jura planted coniferous trees which push away much faster in extreme montain conditions.
This choice of essences made them precursors of sustainable forestry exploitation. With a view to preservation, fences were forbidden in « Franches montagnes » by the Bishopric of Basel. That explains the presence of these magnificent demarcation low walls in the fields.



It should be pointed out that contrary to common beliefs, until the industrial revolution, serfs in traditional society did not work a lot, three days a week in average. The rest of the time was dedicated to parties or celebrations (religious or not), household activities, collection in the forest, handiwork and wine.

But the farmers of Jura had to work a lot more. In order to gather enough provisions to get through the cruel winter, the brief six month sunny season was a period of intense work. Thus, in the summer time, they had to get up even earlier for long days of agricultural labor: do the transhumance, plant and collect cereals, fruits and vegetables quickly, cut hay, and take refuge with the hearth before the snowfalls. The agro-sylvo-pastoral balance was particularly fragile in such a hostile context. Moderation, patience and precision were essential to the survival mountain farmers. They also needed those virtues for craft sector, and even more for watch-making.



From the beginning of the 15th century, the « Franc-montagnards » farmers knew the torments of contemporary work pattern, with the stress of a "deadline", literally!

At this beginning of the Renaissance, the leisure society was still distant. The future farmer-watchmaker were about to spend their winter time making crafts.

And as the constraint makes the man, they adapted their crafts to logistic constraints, in a typical Darwinian logic. It takes a daytime to walk 15km in the mountains. This difficulty of access weighed against any manufactured product of consequent size, so they specialized in small accessories with high added value.

From the 15th to the 18th century, as the raw material was plentiful, they worked mainly the wood of conifer.
They began to excel at the following fields: The turnery, the white cooperage, the pipe, the toy...



But in spite of the sustainability of the model farmer-craftsman, history came into the mountains: by 1450, a goldsmith called Johannes Gutenberg improved an old Chinese invention: printing.

Gutenberg and his successors massively printed the Gospels, as the Bible was the only best-seller of this period. The holy word quickly spread to wealthier classes and then to working classes of the beginning of the Renaissance.
The possibility of interpreting freely the Christian writings without intermediaries led to a schism between the partisans of Roman clergy and the reformist’s partisans of a free reading of the Bible. Protestantism was born.

One of the founders of the Protestant thought, Calvin, sought refuge in the cities of the future Helvetic Confederation.
He lived in Basel and finished his days in Geneva in 1564, where he forbade notably the bearing and the sale of jewels. To by-pass this ban, Jewelers moved into the luxury accessory, watch cases in particular. The watch-making industry was born.



In those days, current Switzerland did not exist, but the current cantons existed under other names and were already more or less independent. By the 15th century, the social tolerance, particularly regarding religion, encouraged many great reformers, artists, philosophers, such as Calvin, Voltaire, Rousseau, Patrick Mac Goohan, ect... To settle in the confederation.

Therefore, numerous religious minorities, mostly protestant, streamed in the « cantons », and so did some Jews, running away from the commonplace judeophobia in Europe.
The reform offered a greater freedom as for money or work, just as judaism. Although wealth was frowned upon by
Catholics, the Protestants and the Jews were storekeepers, craftsmen, intermediaries... And every storekeeper needs a factory. Progressively, the Chaux de Fond or Neuchâtel became meeting places between the « Franc montagnards » producers and the merchants.



Thanks to those new outlets, the « Francs-montagnards » specialised even more in precision crafts, such as stone cutter, diamond worker, eyewear, pottery work...
It's an important step in watch-making farmer's history, because he left the wood processing sector to turn to strong value-added occupations.
In a more melancholic way, it is also the first time that the Franche-montagnes farmer's agro-sylvo-pastoral balance was disrupted.



As well as the Middle Ages were not so dark as we let it think, the Renaissance was not so flamboyant.
Golden from the Americas made a large majority of the imperial courts crazy, and the religious wars plunged the populations into inhumanity.

Thus, the revocation of the Edict of Nantes led many protestant refugees to flight to Geneva, including some talented watchmakers. Consequently, from the 18th century, Swiss Romandie became a major watch-making place.
Until the French revolution and during the first empire, the watchmakers benefited from a crucial role in society …
In this time, for the French, British and Dutch sovereigns, the key to maritime domination was the precise chronometers.



 The attraction represented by the technological skills made that the Genevan workforce was quickly overworked, so people from the mountains provided reinforcement.
From the 18th century, the craftsman farmer became farmer-watchmaker. This phenomenon accelerated after 1750 thanks to flat movement of Lépine. Jean-Antoine Lépine was born in the « Pays de Gex », at the end of the Jura chain, close to Geneva. He took advantage of the improvement of the quality of springs to put forward an innovative construction of watches allowing to reduce their thickness.

The watch-making technology progressively reached maturity and demand increased as watches were getting more compact and more precise. The rugged Franches-montagnes became fertile watch-making lands.



Every farmer-watchmaker's family specialized in the making of a single type of component, wheel, pinion or bridge.
The pieces were gathered at an « établisseur » who made the assembly and the possible endings.

At the time of autumn fairs, he took orders in the local village. The delivery was made during the spring fair.
Within a season, the farmer turned into a skillful assembler. The more windows a watch-making farm counts, the richer the farmer is: that meant he could afford to get a lot of family members working.



From cheese, wine and fodder productions, which allowed humans an animals to get through the winter, to education and craft, autonomy was imposed by the climate and the topography. And contrary to what one might suppose, farmer-watchmakers were extremely efficient. The educational level was very high from the 18th century. Most of the
Francs-montagnards were able to count (essential to produce watch-making components), read and write. Mothers played a crucial role in basic skills learning process, and they were at the root of the creation of a craft elite.

This anarchist social organization (in the original sense) was close to the libertarian thought of the American pioneers, with this fierce will of independence, this cult of the free enterprise, this autonomy... And the end arrived subtly precisely from the United States of America.

By 1850, the American watch-making industry woke up in a thundering way. The Americans from Waltham led the watch-making production to a new era: industrialization.
In their manufactures, they imposed standardization: all the parts were to be exchangeable, which was in contradiction with the tradition of “appairage”.



As the distribution methods had also been modernized, American watches killed the market. Swiss watchmaking had to reform to remain competitive.

Step by step, Switzerland industrialized too, but the investments were expensive and it was necessary to cover them.
After 1870, the situation gets really tricky. The Americans almost started with a clean slate, and their workers were very flexible.
To the contrary, Switzerland had an enormous watch-making heritage, and this powerhouse of skills and also the long history were a burden to the scientific organization of work. Farmer-watchmaker had to become an employee.
The rural exodus and the employer’s' pressure on ébauches prices jeopardized the farmer-watchmaker activity.

The 14-18 butchery had an unexpected consequence on watch-making: the small wristwatches. Soldiers wore them in the trenches in order to coordinate the artillery barrages.
This led to an unprecedented miniaturization: watchcases moved from about 60mm to 35mm. As a consequence, the average size of movements moved from 20 to 10 lines. For the Watchmaking famer, it was almost an impossible task to adapt : all the precious tooling, passed down from one generation to the next, had to be replaced to produce twice smaller components according to traditional methods.



As always, Americans adaptation was quicker, but it did not last long, because the 1929 crisis brought to an end the good old days. The impact of the crisis on the old continent was limited, as France and Switzerland remained rural and their financial centers were not yet fully developed. It provided respite to our Farmer-watchmaker from Jura; they kept on feeding the market with pocket watches...
While European industry was bled dry because of the hostilities, Switzerland worked twice as hard to supply the
belligerants (the GI were often equipped with Swiss watches).

Finally, as Worl War II was ended, discoveries of nuclear energy and computing were made. It was a fantastic technological leap forward, just as it was after the First World War.

As regards watch-making, it was a paradigm shift, as wristwatches were no longer a fashion: they were watch-making.
Indeed, pocket watches seemed old-fashioned and their demand was in freefall.

Europe was euphoric, as a result of the Marshall plan. The glorious thirties began. In the United States, the American
Way of Life was born. American laboratories created the digitally operated machine tool.

In the early fifties, the first numerical controls were presented in the USA. It was certainly at this moment that the last farmer-watchmaker went out of business.

Until the next time my friends!
Pifpaf.

1963. A pivotal year in horology history. It is the year that undoubtedly marks the last great epoch of the “utilitarian” mechanical horology. At this time is created the legendary chronograph Heuer Carrera.

Jack Heuer transcends the Helvetic neo-classicism of the 50s to introduce functionalism into the chronograph. The reason behind this decision? Mechanical sports.

The connivances between mechanical sports and Tag Heuer are old and intimately linked to the La Chaux-de-Fonds’ brand history. This adventure began before the Great War. In 1963, Tag had already been manufacturing pocket watches dedicated to sports timing for more than fifty years. For instance, the “Mikrographe” vintage was manufactured at the start of the 20th Century or, some years before the Carrera, the “Rally Master”, a dashboard chronograph.
As an opposition to what the neophyte may presume, the Carrera name is not linked to Porsche; it was rather inspired by the mythical race of the 50s, the Carrera Panamericana AKA “Pan Am”. What can be seen as an astonishing paradox is that before 1963, this event had not occurred since 1955, following a decision of Mexican authorities. This interruption was the result of the psychological trauma caused by the tragic accident of the Mercedes 300 SLR at the 24H of the Mans 1955… However, Jack Heuer turned out to be a visionary by betting on the resurrection of this anthology race... The event is back on track since 1988.
It is this vision, this intuition, this understanding which are the forging factors of the Carrera history…


Heuer Carrera 45 Dato "Cobra Shelby" 3147


Likely to be seen as something minor nowadays, one was aware that even the most minor detail was relevant in performance research at the time.
Heuer applied the solutions giving a maximum readability to military watches of the interwar period to sports watches: greater aperture and black dial for a maximum of contrast.
The first reference of the Carrera is the 2447. Bicompax, panda or full black, it is a round watch of 36mm (which was relatively big for the time). Animated by a Valjoux 72, a standard movement during the after-war; its frequency is at 18000 vph for 45 hours of power reserve.



It presents numerous similarities with the Rolex “Pré-Daytona” ref. 6238: the calibre, the dial and the push-pieces. What is even better is that the future 6239, just like the Carrera, will adopt the name of an automobile event across the Atlantic: Daytona.
However, even if the Daytona and the Carrera started off at almost the same point (in the 60s, the products were less “identity-oriented” than today) and were presented in the same year (the Daytona also celebrates its 50 years this year), they had diametrically opposed destinies.
On the one hand, the Daytona evolved very little, as much in terms of motorization as aesthetics, since Rolex privileged reliability and durability above all.
On the other hand, the Carrera became a permanent, aesthetic and technical laboratory.

Here, we have to make reference to the Heuer Carrera 45 Dato « Cobra Shelby » 3147. In fact, in 1963, it was rare to have “branded” watches (the 70s and 80s were the Golden Age of the “branded” watches).
It is thus due to the logo of the British constructor that the 3147 will be of more interest to us than the 2447.
Despite the legitimacy and the explosive potential of a partnership between the AC Cobra and Tag Heuer niche constructor, the Dato 45 was not a commercial watch.
In the 60s, Carol Shelby, ex-racing driver (he won the 24h du Mans in 1959 Mans with Aston Martin), decided to create the American racing car; he turned to Ford, which was able to supply the motor and the money and was helped by AC, a British constructor which owned the European know-how in terms of chassis.



The AC Cobra was born; it would know a qualified success: sales during the 60s did not exceed 1000 copies, divided into diverse versions.
The car is too early and too pointed, it precedes the Muscle Cars era; however, the latter will aim higher in the objective set by the Cobra Shelby: be as powerful as the GTs of the moment for much less money.
Shelby had opted for a compromise between the dynamic qualities of the automobile and its cost. The Muscle Cars would be much more radical, leaving behind all equilibrium in terms of behavior, in favor of atmospherics V8s under steroids, at dumped prices…

To motivate sales forces, the Ford group asked Jack Heuer to manufacture its Dato 45, declined into two series : the first (1966-67), Bicompax and the second (1968-69) more radical, Monocompax, the latter consisting of the AC Cobra initials.



It is obviously this version which will be of interest here since it prefigures various heavy trends through its aesthetics. First and foremost, the automobile/horology partners which are henceforth the forgotten passage of any large-scale watchmaking firm.
The dial is decorated with an automobile brand’s logo (a first?!) And what a logo! AC’s Cobra is incredibly aggressive and perfectly corresponds to Shelby’s sports vocation: combine the best of European and American automobile.
Then, the watch proposes a big date and a big white timer of graduated minutes up to 45. Obviously, everything is done in the scope of a maximum readability: with its great aperture at the dial, the watch cuts more than the announced 36mm.
The case is the embodiment of simplicity; its horns are very long which is logical given its size. Besides, the current Carreras will conserve this characteristic but with a greater-sized case.
Furthermore, the watch is motored by an unusual caliber (in the Carreras only; it was relatively common at the time) of manual chronograph: the Landeron 189, 31mm in diameter for 6.85mm in width. It has a frequency of 18000 vibrations per hour for 42 hours of power reserve.



It is to be noted that the steel case resonates quite a lot and that the sound characteristic of 2.5Hz is quite audible for such a small watch.
If the Heuer Carrera 45 Dato “Cobra Shelby” is almost impossible to find by chance, you may find a 45 Dato without logo for approximately 3’500 CHF…
Which is much less expensive than an original Cobra Shelby, because let’s admit it, it is much more simple (and economic!) to wear a vintage watch than to drive an appropriate car.


Heuer Skipper 7754 « Skipperera »


Another model which is slightly off-beat but very much iconic of the creative medium that defines this series is the Skipperera. The Skippers are a bit difficult to classify in the Heuer lines, as they are sometimes Autavia and sometimes Carrera. Experts air varying opinions about it…



As far as the aptly named “Skiperrera” presents a Carrera case, one can consider that it is a full Carrera.
The interest of this watch lies in its aesthetics. It neither distinguishes itself by its case, which is the standard version of the Carreras, neither by its calibre, a Valjoux 7730.
However, before focusing on the dial, it is useful to linger on this calibre a bit. The Valjoux 7730 is a calibre of manual chronograph having a frequency of 18000 vibrations per hour for 45 hours of power reserve, it measures 31mm on 6, that is, almost the same dimensions as the Landeron 189.



One will note that at the time, the size ratio of the caliber/size of the case was different from that of today. Back then, like sports cars’ motors, big calibers were cased up in small cases, at shoehorn.
What makes the particularity of this 7730 (which is probably the reason for his choosing this Skipper) is that it offered the possibility to display 30 or 45 minutes on the sub-dial at the 3 o’clock position. And here, Heuer had driven this function into a corner: by modifying a wheel, it was possible to display only 15 minutes by thirty jumps of thirty seconds.
Why is that? The answer is, as always, that it was for this famous countdown of the regatta launching. One will equally note that the minutes’ timer is graduated in the inverted direction: it is launched 15 minutes before the regattas start, the last third indicating the “warm-up” of the event.



However, the main interest of the watch does not concern the above but rather the dial, which is one of the most beautiful that I have ever held. The dials from that epoch are of a great quality and are no less appealing than the current productions. The reliefs are qualitative, the textures very clean and above all they grow old in a very good way, of which the good quality of the epoch’s lacquer is proof.
The colour scheme of this Carrera 7754 is perfect: night blue, almond green, orange, in ideal proportions. In a visionary way, it synthesises everything that was best made in sports and summer dials of the next 40 years. Night blue for looking good, orange for relaxation and almond green for nostalgia.

Moreover, the very streamlined context of the Carrera (white railroad, index and simple hands) further highlights the colour scheme.
The collectors are not wrong; it is approximately quoted the double of a Carrera from that time, often as from 7’000 CHF.




Heuer Carrera « Automatic 70’ » 110.253, Côte de Genève


Directly moving on to the year 1978, we will interest ourselves with the Heuer Carrera 110.253 since the latter joins numerous emblematic elements of the 70s’ Carrera.
The first major change was the case: it became barrel, was enlarged by 2mm and lost its long horns, very characteristic of the 70s. For the purists, it is undoubtedly slightly shocking; so much as this model distanced itself from the 60s’ models. However, in opposition to a Daytona, which is monolithic by vocation, it is a laboratory; it is thus legitimate that its creators attempted to change the shape of its case.



From a personal point of view, I prefer the 60s’ case due to the fact that its streamlining seems completely achieved to me. Here, the case is very sympathetic, very funky but slightly clumsier than the one from the 60s. While the 60s’ case was the avatar of Jack Heuer’s modernism passion, the 70s’ case ensued from a simplification wish of a case already very streamlined, of postmodernism all in all… Consequently, the case called “automatic 70’” has two advantages: its more solid horns and its superior diameter; as a result, these Carreras seem much bigger on the wrist than their predecessors.

It seems that Tag Heuer has made the same choice for its contemporary watches, in preserving the 60s’ case shape (this will further be developed at the end of the article).

If the case has been named «Automatic 70’», it must be known that a good deal of the watches it equips are manual!

In fact, the 70s are the time at which automatic chronographs appeared right in the middle of the quartz crisis… Between financial and suppliers problems, reliability issues of the automatic chronographs, a great deal of the Carreras from the 70s were equipped with manual movement.



However, this is not the case for this 110.253, which is equipped with a variant of the legendary Heuer Buren Calibre 11: the vintage calibre 12.

The calibre 12 is thus an automatic chronograph with 21600 vibrations per hour, contrary to the vintage calibre 11, with an intermediary frequency of 19800 vibrations per hour. The caliber has a 42-hour power reserve and measures 31mm for 7.7 in width.

It has been nicknamed «Chronomatic» and the oscillating mass will not be visible on the photos: which is normal since it has been hidden by the chronograph’s mechanism.
Like the Calibre 11, the vintage calibre 12 is a Buren 1281 with a Dubois Depraz 8510 chronograph module.
Nevertheless, if it is more classic in its frequency, it is also more legitimate: a six jumps per seconds basis is the most legitimate in a sexagesimal time system.



Last detail, the crown has been fitted at the 9 o’clock position but the push-buttons (less protruding than that of the 60s’ models, alas) are in their usual position, namely at the right of the case. The contrary might have been more ergonomic, it seems more instinctive to activate a chronograph with the right hand’s thumb rather than with the index…

On the dial’s side, like the other vintage Carreras, it is sportive classicism with a touch of madness, the whole served by an execution level which is no less appealing than the most beautiful current productions.
Proof of this? The dial is crossed by three big blue Côtes de Genève, very well made, the black sub counters almost break its harmony. In fact, the latters are flat and matt with white indexes. However, despite the beauty of its dial, this Carrera 110.253 is a tool watch, thus the functional aspect prevails.

Besides, the whole of the index/hands remains very classic, polished steel, streamlined design. Priority is given to efficiency.

It is not very hard to find one at approximately 2’500 CHF, which isn’t much if the dial’s execution quality and the embedded legendary movement are taken into consideration.




Heuer Carrera « Automatic » 510.511, military aviation.


Just like the Skipperera, the 510.511 is a rarity, outside the Carrera series. So why is this piece being described?

Contrary to the Skipperera, it is not the most beautiful of the Carreras, but its technical interest is enormous.

As an introduction, it is worth knowing that this watch has a false twin, the 510.513, identical with a dial presenting blue Côtes de Genève arranged horizontally. Unfortunately, this piece was not available at the Tag Heuer museum where the photos of this reporting have been taken.



The watch exists in two versions: one in steel (ref 510.523), and one in PVD steel, this latter finish reinforcing its military aspect. The case takes up the design of the « Automatics 70’ » (even if the watch dates from 1984), but it is slightly bigger, with 40mm in diameter. The watch is water resistant to 100 meters and the push-pieces are of the right size.

This watch’s interest resides in its caliber: back then, Lemania was not in the Swatch Group circle (Lemania’s industrial tool served to build the Breguet firm) and produced numerous watches and calibers to the destination of armed forces.

Thus, the legendary Lemania 5100 which equips this Carrera 510.511 is an automatic chronograph mechanism of second generation intended for military aviation, including fighter pilots. It is why this movement presents an extraordinary resistance to the accelerating forces (11G) and to strong decelerations (7G).

It may be used for several years without service and is exceptionally robust. Its construction is unusual, the movement is structured around pillars, like a building and has some nylon pieces (which was trendy at the time…)



It has a frequency of 28800 vibrations per hour for 48 hours of power reserve and measures 31mm for 8.2, thus slightly bigger than a 7750.
Many wrote that it is not very beautiful. It is certainly not the incarnation of sex-appeal, but apart from the El Primero (Calibre 36 at Tag Heuer), the automatic chronographs’ movements from the years 70-80 were much less beautiful than the manual chronographs’ calibers of the after-war.

Moreover, this movement has several functions. The most noteworthy and playful is the central minutes’ timer, materialized by the aeroplane-shaped orange hand. The watch has four hands which pass through the central cannon: hour, minute, chrono second and chrono minute.
In addition to the 60 seconds and minutes at the center, the chronograph indicates the twelve hours cumulated at the 6 o’clock position, the 24h time at the 12 o’clock position, the small second at the 9 o’clock position and finally the date at the 3 o’clock position. Even if it is relatively charged, it is no less readable.

A relatively rare and totally mythical watch, which can be found at approximately 3’500 CHF, which is completely correct given the product’s quality. I cannot advise strongly enough the 510.513 if you bear it an interest, less military-aviation in its look and more Funky-Carrera.

In our contemporary world, music is everywhere, every time, brightens up and glorifies our everyday life. From the startups of the Silicon Valley up to the workshops of horology of our valleys, it is not uncommon to cross employees with earphones, which is a tolerated attitude because it seems that music increases productivity! Personally, when I am bustling about late at work, I listen to a hard piece so that I regain energy and inspiration.

Music, just like the Internet or modern medicine, is one of the greatest progresses of our civilization. Our ancestors did not know our happiness, music in the 19th century was so rare, and without our contemporary recording capacity they were dependent upon folk singers, only able to play intoxicating sonorities…

A singing bird is a complex machine where the constraints are quite different from those of a watch. In a watchmaking movement, we seek above all consistency so that an accurate count of the time can be provided whereas in a singing bird mechanism, it is more a matter of generating an important force to animate the bird and to produce the necessary air to produce an audible whistling.



With the techniques of the 19th century, it was easier to obtain force (through heavier springs) than consistency (the quality of the springs, of the barrel, of the balance-springs has penalized chronometry for a long time). It was thus easier and more spectacular to produce a singing bird than a chronometer.

Since then, watchmaking craft has highly evolved, the progresses of metallurgy (elinvar…) and the new precision machines (milionometer…) have made it possible to rise to the double challenge of consistency and miniaturization.
Outshined by the appearance of gramophones at the start of the 20th Century, these singing birds have only marginally beneficiated from these technical progresses.

Jacquet Droz, which was one of the most prestigious mechanics Art house (automata, prostheses, singing birds and horology) wished to dust off the concept of the singing automaton while making it beneficiate from the last technological innovations and thus realizes a tour-de-force by presenting the first watch in history to embark a singing bird: the Charming Bird.



To attain this original musical complication, the Jaquet Droz watchmakers had to go from square one to palliate the relative lack of data about the singing birds automata and answer the miniaturization problematic imposed by the bulk of a wrist watch.

In a traditional singing bird automaton, we wind a lever that winds a complication barrel (like in a traditional minute-repetition) which will provide energy to two distinct parts: the animation of the automaton and the sound of the whistle.

A lamb leather bellows animated by the spring of the barrel provides air to the sound of the whistle. Therefore it is the spring that pumps air in the whistle, the sound is modulated (generally) by a kind of cylinder lined with sprockets; this will produce a melody. As for the bird, it is animated in various positions by a complex automaton system.



Often, in the mechanical field, the constraints are not proportional but exponential and if the mechanical parts are relatively easy to miniaturise today, it is not the case with the lamb leather part. Another obstacle that needs to be considered to the excessive miniaturization of the traditional system is that the product will be too weak to be audible for a human adult.

To rise to this challenge, the Jaquet Droz watchmakers are inspired by a piston of an internal combustion engine to obtain the same sonorous result as the traditional whistle. The compression ratio of this piston is very close to that of a sporty engine (approximately 1:10). Every organ: pump, air reservoirs and whistle are produced in sapphire in order to limit the frictions to the most.



When the push-piece button, which is dedicated to the singing bird, is activated, the cam at 5h moves the piston, which crosses the watch from 3h to 9h. The pump fills the air reservoir, which supplies the melody to the whistle. The complication barrel feeds the automaton bird as much as the whistle: the mechanical ballet impresses while the ballet of the bird dancing to the rhythm of the whistling bewitches.

The bird, rather impressive, is arranged in a dome, which outsteps the surface of the sapphire glass. Such a procedure, destined to reduce the thickness of the case (thus from 22.80mm to 15.65mm), has already been seen in the case of escapement complications but never for a whistling automaton.

To facilitate the sound diffusion, the case has been pierced on the side. This opening was indispensable because contrary to a minute-repetition, there is no resonance phenomenon in the absence of a hammer indirectly hitting the structure of the watch.
The opening is equipped with a musical instrument membrane to prevent dust and light from entering the case. Careful about sudden dives in a pool, the not water-resistant case renders the watch’s mechanism vulnerable to water projections!



Aside from this specificity, the case is relatively classical, manufactured in white gold, it measures 47mm in diameter. The same concave form is found on the Bird Repeater (link), but where the Bird Repeater was ultra-coloured and more than vintage, the Charming Bird is very sober with its ruthenium finish, which gives the bridges an ultra-contemporary blackened look. Even the finish of the clock dial (at 12h) is very up-to-date.
The numbers seem to levitate upon the dial but contrarily to what could have been seen at Hautlence some years ago, they are not glued on the inside of the glass sapphire. The silver dial is covered with a sapphire plate; the indexes are directly integrated to the latter through a galvanic growth. A novelty? If the bird remains painted to the colours of the **** bird so dear to Jaquet Droz, their lacquered finish is stylistically at the limit of art deco, a mini revolution if we consider that in the great tradition the singing birds are covered with real birds’ feathers.

Between the dome borrowed from the world of independent watchmaking, the blackened finish of the bridges, the indices in levitation and the streamlined **** bird, this watch is a radical aesthetic turn for Jaquet Droz. There had already been somewhat offbeat watches, in particular with ceramic cases, but no product was as futuristic.



Subjectively, the Charming Bird is a beautiful watch. Objectively, if you think of the success of the Lange’s Zeitwerk Luminous (a contemporary watch in a classic range) the latest high-complication coming from the Jaquet Droz workshops is most likely destined to great success.
 
But Jaquet Droz, which celebrates the 275 years of its establishment this year, goes further by signing a completely unique complication, a major watch in the history of musical complications. Its only problem is its price: approximately 400k CHF. Both the going rate and the number of copies (28) reserve it to an elite of collectors. With a similar tariff and number of copies the Bird Repeater is already sold out.

To less fortunate watch passionate, Jaquet Droz proposes other pieces:

Perpetual Calendar Eclipse:

Basic mechanical horology, it is quite outdated, any smartphone gives a more accurate time than the most precise of the mechanical watches.

But we can go further in the hunt for chimeras with a Perpetual Calendar (quantième perpetuel in French = QP). This indeed requires winding and constant settings (summer / winter time) to be truly perpetual.
The QP, this is one of the dandiest exercises of the mechanical watch, every prestigious horology house has to have its QP.

Today, Jaquet Droz presents a new vision of the QP, teeming with poetry and theatricality: the Perpetual Calendar Eclipse. The watch is slightly concave in red gold, it is 43 by 13.2mm in height, the proportions are almost perfect; it is worth mentioning that with its large dial opening and ivory grand feu enamel dial it seems a little large on the wrist.



There is a black version (made in Onyx), which seems a little more compact, possibly to be preferred for smaller wrists.
The watch is powered by an automatic modular calibre with double barrel providing 68h of power reserve for a frequency of 28 800 a/h ... The module, seen in the Swatch Group, is here slightly modified to provide this exclusive arrangement to this QP Eclipse.

The layout of the dial is very original but very readable: the exercise with so many indications is not so easy in a PC. It is on the left half of the dial that the day of the week is indicated; on the right side, the indication of the date, the month at 12h. Only flaw, the aperture of the leap year, all the indications are made by hands and it is somewhat a shame to disturb the harmony with an indication by aperture. We could have found the leap year on the back for example.



The climax of this piece is indeed on the moon phase at 6 o'clock. As on the original eclipse, the moon levels the dial and a pivoting disc will hide it according to the phases of the lunar orb. The assembly formed by the disk arm and the moon is inevitably reminiscent of a Venetian mask mounted on arms ... With the ballet of retrograde indications and the stars, the universe of classical theater is suggested in a very elegant way.

If we put aside the incongruous leap year aperture, it is one of the finest Perpetual Calendar in the market: readability, size, layout, everything is perfect. The great strength of this watch is that all the space is filled with the intelligence of a French garden, the minute hands run until the flange and despite the large size of the needles, the indications overlap very little, which allows to save one or two millimeters in box height.
The prices, high, are not delusional for this type of complication with this level of finish: 56'200 CHF.



Grande Heure GMT :

If we claim to be a purist, how can we not mention the mono-hands? At the beginning of the pocket watchmaking, in the XVIIIth century, was the mono hand.

Indeed, at that time the mono hand had several advantages. First of all the alloys of balance springs at that time were not very consistent. This conditioned the levels of accuracy of about a quarter of an hour. The large cases, allowed in addition to have a precise enough railway. Finally, a mono hand barrel avoided friction, which was not superfluous given that the levels of tolerance were quite high at that time…

Today, the mono hands are one of the most serious tributes to the beginning of portable watchmaking. Jaquet Droz already made a watch of this type. But today, the idea is to produce a double mono hand indicating two timezones !

The Crande Heure GMT is a watch of 43mm for 11mm, animated, as the QP Eclipse, by a Jaquet Droz calibre based on the Piguet 1150. The 1150 is a double barrel calibre of 11” ½ lines for 100 hours of power reserve for 21600 v/h.

At Jaquet Droz the frequency is pushed to 28800 v/h and the power reserve accordingly reduced to 68 hours.
The particularity of its complication is to benefit from a large double time without minutes. Which makes it one of the most precise GMT on the market in the absence of friction of the minute hand.

The two hands of hours form a compass, which is obviously a nod to vintage maritime navigation. This exercise is obviously more a tribute than a re-edition of a piece, which existed, but the atmosphere is here. We believe, we have fun with this watch!
To take the exercise even further Jaquet Droz could enlarge the size of the case to enlarge the railway and facilitate the reading of the hour, to the nearest minute.
The watch will be charged CHF 27,150 for the gold version.

Watchmaking is anachronism transformed into art.
It is the art of utilizing plenty of inventiveness, of technique, of savoir-faire; it is extracting the quintessence of the engineers and watchmakers' work to compose odes to uselessness.


 
When one writes that a watch is paradoxical, it is always flattering, as paradox is one of the pillars of uchronisme.
Yet, the Breguet 7047 is probably the most uchronic piece in watchmaking.



Stylistically, it is an anachronism, because it pays tribute (I insist on this word, which is not sullied in this context) to a style which disappeared with French watchmaking, the style of the Breguet subscription watches, a style which in certain ways was already very urban and super-modern based on the 19th century criteria, opposite to a certain Helvetian bucolism.



But it is also horologically uchronic; it is the overlapping of Middle Ages with Cyberpunk:
In 1490, Leonardo Da Vinci invents the concept of the Fusee-chain (at this time made with gut cord).
 -Around 1790, A.L Breguet invents the Tourbillon and patents it on June 26, 1801, namely Messidor 7th, Year IX of the French revolution calendar.
 -In 2000, the watchmaking industry starts to put silicon in the movements (Nivarox, Ulysse Nardin, and De Bethune).



During the Renaissance, springs are prehistoric, the periodic table has not even been thought of, the modern steel industry is in its infancy and alchemy is considered a science. The Fusee-chain allows for the regulation of the "home- made" springs broad variations, akin to the derailleur of a bike: the increasing fusee diameter (the "3D" wheel) compensates for the chain loss of tension, keeping it steady. But with the renewal brought by the Enlightenment, the metal industry improves dramatically and springs become far more reliable... In 1770, Jean-Antoine Lepine notices that they are of a quality good enough to get rid of the Fusee-chain; hence, he creates the modern layout caliber, with a plate and bridges.



During the turmoil of the French Revolution, Abraham-Louis Breguet patents the Tourbillon. There may be doubts regarding his motives: was he trying to find a better way to lubricate the mechanism? Did he want to improve chronometric performances by allowing the escapement to be mobile? This is the most commonly accepted hypothesis, as at this time, watches were carried vertically and gravity weighed on the escapement.
Like the Fusee-chain, the tourbillon became somewhat outdated. On the one hand because of the advent of the wristwatch, allowing for multiple positions, and on the other hand because of industrialization, which replaced the work of the best setters by assembly lines of standardized movements.




At the turn of the 2000's came the advent of silicon; neither metal nor plastic, this synthetic material is designed to push the envelope of the laws of physics, which had been limited at the start of watchmaking due to the lack of consistency and the weight of the alloys employed.
 A revolutionary technology to some, the death knell of traditional watchmaking to others, in any event, silicon is an endless source of polemics...


 
This Breguet Tradition 7047 is thus at the apex of the watchmaking paradox: indeed, it synthesizes medieval technology, the Fine watchmaking tradition and the mechanical horology post-modernism.
 But it is also an uncomplicated watch featuring a grand complication!
Except for the power reserve...Indeed, only the extra functionalities or displays are considered as complications by watchmaking orthodoxy. But the improvements of the power chain, regarding the escapement (in this case the tourbillon) as well as the barrel torque (thus the Fusee-chain) are not complications stricto sensu. Yet, the development of the caliber with its hundreds (?) of parts, its 43 jewels and its machining relying on state-of-the-art technologies (especially the hairspring) reach a level of complexity never seen until now. Therefore, this watch is "complex" but not "complicated".



The 7047 is super-demonstrative, the path of the chain is fascinating and the rotation of its One-minute tourbillon is mesmerizing. For that matter, the chain is far bigger than the competitors' and perfectly resonates with the large silicon balance (13mm) and the very large (17mm) titanium tourbillon carriage. The overall color in gray tones is in good taste, and perfectly matches the very clean and very rough sand-blasted finish. It is the opposite of a first communion watch. One can even go further by saying that it is different from the dominant style in the high-end market. When it takes a magnifier to appreciate the bevelings of a Dufour, here, one has to look at the watch from a distance, as the design is so brutal. While it is not "showy", it nonetheless impresses at first sight, it is impossible not to notice it.



The specificity of this version is that, akin to the Breguet Tradition 7057 without tourbillon, its bridges are red gold coated. In my opinion, it is the most suitable for this model, because the white gold version is too cold, the ruthenium version is too modern and the yellow gold version is too vintage. The red gold finish combines the vintage look of yellow gold and the dynamism of ruthenium. The warmth of red gold creates a contrast with the sharp bridges. The caseback is the most beautiful of the "Tradition" collection. And it is probably the most successful watch of the series: the 7027 was very nice, but a little too sober; the 7057 was funkier, but this 7047 is totally a beast! Here, Breguet did not try to do something cute. They tried to do something in the style of Abraham-Louis Breguet: everything is off centered, asymmetrical, the tourbillon uses as much room as the hour-dial, it is functionality before its time.



When he got rid of the Fusee-chain, Lepine wanted to make slim watches, and super-slim had been the pinnacle of good taste in watchmaking for a long time. This trend culminated in the 60's, before the quartz crisis.
Thanks to quartz, super-thin has become common, therefore less sexy. The years 2000 marked the consecration of 3D watchmaking. The watch became an art piece, and as such had to get out of a simple painting to become a sculpture.
This 7047 with the fusee-chain goes back to the roots of 3D, where torque regularity justifies thickness.
The watch is of course thicker. But the brand utilized quite a legitimate trick: the domed sapphire crystal allows for a moderate thickness as compared to the diameter.
Moreover, it allows us to admire the One-minute tourbillon from a lateral axis, which is difficult with a flat crystal. This configuration, which combines fine build, curved glass and thin bezel (like the pocket watches of XVIII) has another advantage by allowing more light into the movement. The domed glass makes the thickness of the mechanism acceptable, without having to rely on a XXL watchcase...
In fact, one should not mix the real thickness with the crystal, 16.6mm, and how it looks when worn on the wrist, about 13mm.



Beyond the radical design which totally matches watch-lovers' expectations (proposing a sand-blasted finish is daring!), there is the technical side.
With a classic barrel, the optimal torque is available in the first half of the power-reserve. But right after the watch has been fully winded, as well as in the second half of the power-reserve, the energy flow is less consistent. With this 7047, the torque is almost constant, whatever the level of the power reserve might be.



Therefore, the torque transmitted to the regulating organ is stable. The latter is set at 18,000v/h and the tourbillon completes a revolution in one minute, as watchmaking orthodoxy recommends.
 This constant energy supply is regulated by a silicon hairspring with a Breguet terminal curve. The initial function of this shape was to reduce the hairspring moment of inertia. But thanks to silicon lightness, this inertia has been drastically reduced. The Breguet terminal curve is less necessary than with a steel hairspring and a brass balance.
But isn't the full optimization of the existing mechanism the goal of this somewhat redundant device? Is it not totally legitimate to provide such a piece sold at this price, with spaceship technology?



The term "aerospace technology" is not inappropriate at all: because of the Breguet curve, the 3D hairspring is most probably very difficult to machine, as silicon can neither be twisted nor bent, or modified. The hairspring must get out of the DRIE in its final shape, with one end overlapping the rest.



The most surprising parts are the tourbillon screws. Indeed, the components are so fundamentally optimized, between the constant torque and the theoretically perfect silicon assembly balance/hairspring, that the gold fine-tuning screws of the titanium tourbillon look a bit superfluous... Maybe it is not possible to get same level of precision in machining with titanium... The last question aroused by such a particular escapement device, is that of legitimacy:  what would have been the comments if there was no Breguet curve. Let's go even further: wouldn't it have been heresy not to put a Breguet curve on the hairspring, even if made of silicon, on a watch from the firm created by the inventor of the Breguet hairspring and of the tourbillon?
 


The debate on silicon and the role of the tourbillon will not have a conclusion today, because this watch was designed as a product of synthesis from any point of view, between state-of-the-art technology from the 16th, the 19th and the 21st centuries.

A few days ago, Geoffrey Ader knocked-down the George Daniels Space-Dweller at Sotheby's for the astronomical price of 1.6 million CHF. This pocket watch which displays the solar time as well as the sidereal time features a double escapement device, a specialty of George Daniels, directly inspired from the works of Abraham-Louis Breguet, especially the "natural" escapement. The late George Daniels was one of the most legitimate guardians of Abraham-Louis Breguet's legacy, but his natural escapement is the less known among the three devices developed at this time:

-The classic "lever escapement": 99% of the contemporary watches are fitted with this device. It offers the double advantage of being relatively accurate but also sturdy. Its drawback is that it demands abundant lubrication, as it is an indirect escapement device.

-the uncommon "detent escapement": It is mainly utilized in marine chronometers and in some vintage pocket chronometers. It is very difficult to set and very sensitive to shocks, as it only shifts every two movements of the balance. This type of escapement could potentially make a comeback, with the advent of high frequencies and of new shockproof systems.

-Finally, the double wheel "natural escapement": If it combines the qualities of both the detent escapement and the lever escapement (direct escapement + shifts phased with the oscillations of the balance), it also has the drawbacks of both, namely a relative fragility as well a premature wear due to its mechanical complexity, which generates more friction.

If the "natural" is very uncommon, it has not totally been forgotten. It is periodically utilized by talented watchmakers such as Ulysse Nardin, Karsten Fraesdorf, Laurent Ferrier, Kari Voutilainen and now by Francois Paul Journe, with the first natural escapement device working without lubrication as well as the only one to start by itself.

After many surprising pieces, FP Journe goes back to his roots with the "Chronometre Optimum", which is a continuation of Abraham Louis Breguet's work.




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The name "optimum" implies very high standards. If a chronometer is all about quality, here "optimum" implies the absolute optimization of the energy chain, achieved through a mix of classic and innovative devices.

Among the classic solutions utilized, there is not only a Breguet hairspring (here called "Philips" which, except for a few details, is almost the same system), but also a double barrel.





Breguet used double barrels for two reasons: making the torque more consistent and limiting the wear generated by the automatic winding. For the same reasons, FP Journe was among the first watchmakers to systematically use this device in his creations. Today, this excellent system is becoming a standard in the watchmaking industry: From Panerai to Omega and Technotime, an increasing number of new manufacture calibers feature the double barrel.

The true technical added value of this chronometer comes from two uncommon solutions (described hereafter) whose pairing is new in this context.

The first device is patented and is the most spectacular: It is of course the double escapement wheel, better known as "natural escapement". The particularities of this mechanism are that the escapement wheels have similar sizes and that the pallet that sits between them has been modified to meet the modern operating criteria. The system has been optimized to work within a range of 260° to 280°, when 270° is conventionally the best figure.





The second device is even more visual, although Journe already utilized it: The "Remontoir d'egalite". It is designed to regulate the torque delivered to the mechanism. As you know, the power provided by one or multiple barrels is variable, independently from their quality or from their location.
The first 5% and the last 25% of the power reserve are not constant. The Remontoir d'egalite is a small wheel fitted with a spring that periodically stores energy and delivers a constant torque to the escapement device. Actually, it is a torque buffering system.
In this "Chronometre Optimum", the Remontoir d'egalite is patented and features multiple specificities that make it unique. The main feature is that its periodicity is extremely short, one second, which further reduces the torque discrepancies in the internal spring.
Furthermore, it is made of titanium to cut down its weight, thus reducing the mechanical energy wastes.


 
Finally, it has multiple aesthetic particularities:
On the one hand, the dial was designed with a wide aperture to showcase the path of the Remontoir d'egalite.                  I personally like this feature; it reminds me of the first Journe from the beginning of the 90's; but certain purists of "small dial apertures" won't appreciate.
On the other hand, another characteristic will trigger contrasted reactions:  A Dead-beat second wheel is attached to the Remontoir d'egalite, on the movement side. Again, to me this choice is relevant, because the spasmodic movement of a dead-beat seconds hand makes me hysterical. Furthermore, it rotates opposite to the main hands, which could be a visual disturbance if you wear the watch every day.
 However, some people could appreciate a certain form of dandyism conveyed by this dead-beat second hand.



A brilliant technical feat means nothing without the appropriate look and the main interest of this piece is its very fine design. I undoubtedly tried on the most beautiful and the most "Journe among the Journe" presented in recent years.
 The watch is impressive because of its perfect proportions (40 or 42mm depending on the model, for 10 millimeters in thickness). The model displayed on the wristshots is a 42mm. It will be a bit too large for the smallest wrists, but on mine it looks even thinner because of its width. Here I have to make a point: it is imperative to try on a FP Journe, as it is so difficult to capture all its aesthetic subtleties with a camera.
The large dial is a relevant choice, as it makes room for large sub-dials and thus preserves the legibility. It also emphasizes the diverse finishes, notably the relief painted numerals or the magnificent powdery dial.
 The watch is available in platinum or in red gold. I prefer the latter as it features a magnificent rose gold dial, which creates a very consistent look with the movement made of the same metal.
As you will probably have guessed, this piece is really appealing and I had trouble giving it back.
The price, 85k CHF, prevented me from leaving with it... At least for the moment.

Indeed, this "Chronometre Optimum" is a great work from Journe. In my opinion, it summarizes these basics: a chronometric watch, therefore a regressive work of absolute optimization of an outdated technology.

The watchmaking web did not remain indifferent when Bvlgari integrate the manufactures Genta & Roth; some observers were skeptical about models like the Octo finding a place and legitimacy in Bvlgari's horologic department.
But one has to admit that the Octo not only remains in the catalog, but more importantly that its design has been revamped and even exalted.

The challenge Bvlgari undertook with the new Octo, was to streamline a range whose multiple variants did not allow for its essence to be extracted.


 
What was drawing our attention in the previous design was that contrary to the Nautilus or to the Royal Oak, the dial was rather complex and sometimes overly ornate in the most colored versions.
And that finally the overabundance of details hid the essence of this watch, namely the contrast between its geometric shapes: circles, squares and octagons. Cleaning the dial of its retrograde sub-dials and getting rid of the bezel's useless screws gave birth to a high-end streamlined piece. The strenght of the brushed bezel is surprising for a dressy watch. This power lies in the octagonal ring sitting between the case and the bezel; its mirror finish is quite discreet and it takes a few minutes to understand from where the impact it conveys comes, when one slips the watch on one's wrist.



On youtube, the making of:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXgUopQsiWs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihOCrNn-fKI&feature=youtu.be

In fact, I experienced the same sensation as when I wore a Panerai for the first time, many years ago: a mix of brutality and of refinement quite unique and typically Transalpine. Undoubtedly this Bulgari Octo has been "Italianized". But one has to understand that, contrary to a Luminor Betarini, the Octo is more refined than brutal. But whereas in many cultures (notably in France) one very often starts from a rough piece that undergoes multiple transformations before it is refined, in Italy one starts from a rough piece and directly refines it. These products have the particularity of keeping the nature's bestiality with a luxury finish which only the best craftsmen can achieve. Therefore, it is an intense piece which is not a classic dressy watch, but a sports-chic watch. From this point of view, the partnership with Maserati is quite coherent. But contrary to a Maserati car, it is a relatively discreet watch in daily life, without polished metal and no showy colors or finishes, a piece whose elegance is intended for connoisseurs; for that matter, your relatives (non watch-lovers) will more readily recognize the "Bvlgari" written on the dial, than they will be able to discern the wonderful contrast between the bezel, the polished ring and the watchcase. Therefore, it is a product which will offer several levels of interpretation, depending on its public. It will also bring advantages to the new watch-lover who acquires an Octo Bvlgari: with his increasing level of watchmaking knowledge, he will progressively discover the multiple aspects of his watch.



The dial is undoubtedly the most paradoxical part of this piece. In spite of a medium diameter (41.5mm) and a relatively thick bezel, its aperture looks extremely wide; this effect is probably due to the lacquered finish, providing a very pure and shiny black which stands in sharp contrast with the almost white steel of the case. But if visually it is a success, I hope that the dial's wide surface will be utilized in future versions as a showcase for materials or textures, for example Lapis-Lazuli or finishes such as a Vasarely-style geometric engine-turning...





The hands amplify the watch's sporty look. By choosing hands with a classic design but sporty dimensions, Bvlgari opted for a consensus which pays off. They are not luminescent and while it obviously improves the look, it is inevitably a hindrance at night...
Yet, the watch remains quite legible in the dark, as the large polished hands catch the faintest glint of light.
Bvlgari kept the date functionality, a practical choice. In real life, its aperture is matte enough to remain unnoticeable between the shiny dial and the brushed bezel.


 
On the wrist, the watch looks far more sizable than one could assume with its 41.5mm; this effect comes from the dial's aperture and from the seemingly square case, which is actually octagonal. The watch is even more imposing as the alligator wristband is very well made and provides a bit of  "power wrist strap" look to the whole.
Personally, I prefer the stainless steel case, which contrasts better with the black dial.
This color does not captivate me as much on the gold version; I would prefer a dark chocolate dial with matching leather. But as mentioned earlier, the range just started, and fashionable versions are probably being prepared.



Finally, the last noticeable feature and the most important relative to the continuous level of quality is the caliber. Certainly this Octo is not yet fitted with an “In-House” manufactory movement. It is fitted with the BLV193, based on the Vaucher VMF3000, personalized by Bulgari. The specifications of this 11.5 lignes movement are quite common: 28.800v/h, with less or more a 50-hour power reserve delivered by two barrels for optimal torque. It is only 3.7mm thick, which allows for a thin watch.
But its real interest also lies elsewhere: one has to be conscious that Vaucher's quality level begins where ETA's stops and that even the basic productions reach quality levels bordering on Fine Watchmaking.
And where it becomes exciting, is when one can afford a movement with a level of finishes almost as high as Fine watchmaking, in a piece whose price is much lower.



With this nice caliber and at last a streamlined design, this Bulgari Octo is better than a successful hybrid. More than ever, it is part of the prestigious lineage of offbeat sports-chic watches from the 70's, created by a certain Mr. G.