Memories of BaselWorld past

As we are now in the Summer vacation period for the watch industry, it seemed like a good time to visit some old friends.  This is the SWATCH Zurich Canton watch.  Sort of ironic that on my first visit to BaselWorld with all of the beautiful, expensive, high end complications - this is what called to me.  Hope you're all having a great Sunday.

Beautifully strong - the Soleure bracelet

I can now safely say in the past year I have worn a LOT of different watches!

Contrary to popular marketing beliefs, the bracelet or strap is probably the single 

most influential item in terms of whether the love affair with a new watch will last 

past the honeymoon phase.

With their new bracelet for the Soleure, Eterna has hit the mark!

It is an easy measure for a watch company to simply make a bunch of bracelets that are, in essence, all the same.  Same size, same style, same weight, etc.  Chronograph, sport watch, dress watch - it doesn't matter - just sick on the bracelet!


This can often leave the watch appearing to be  somewhat "slapped together" with a "stock" bracelet solution.  The Soleure is not just an average "diver" or "sport" watch.  It is truly a combination of some very desirable aspects - a beautiful face with applied gold markers, a moon phase, and a single-button chronograph.  Just as you wouldn't wear your flip-flops and trucker's hat to the Oscars, your watch should be properly "accessorized" as well.

And the clasp is truly a wonderful feature!  It uses the twin button, butterfly style that my two previous KonTikis had.  It is secure, reliable, and a joy to use.

So with my (borrowed) Soleure on my wrist, I am off to enjoy my Saturday. 

I'm already starting to save my pennies for one of my own... yes, we are still 

in the honeymoon phase, but it has been a good one!

Summer reruns - A few minutes with Thomas Prescher

A Few Minutes With Thomas Prescher

Thomas Prescher was good enough to spare me a few minutes this week - 

James Henderson - What was your first watch?

TP - My first watch was a hand wound wristwatch with digital time indication in two little windows. That was in the early seventies.

JH - What REALLY got you started in the watch industry?

TP - My passion for horology was born from a childhood obsession with collecting crystals and minerals. As a teenager on a visit to a local jewellery shop, my eye drifted to the watchmaker working at his bench and I was smitten. I began working part-time at the store and became familiar with the mechanics of watches and clocks. While it seemed my path to becoming a watchmaker was clear, there was a detour. At 19 I joined the German Navy, leaving six years later as a Captain.

JH - Six years is a long time in the Navy! Was there a point during your service that you thought this might become your career?

TP - After around three years in the Navy, I gradually changed my mind about my future and decided to do something else with my life after my service. My passion had been watches and watch making and ultimately I felt that my passion would become my profession. After I left the navy, I decided to study watch making and I won the single apprenticeship position offered that year by IWC.

Courtesy of Thomas Presher

JH - When did you really know that this was your calling?

TP - I realized that I had a special talent when I jumped from the mid-point of the first apprenticeship year to the mid-point of the second year. And if I had any self-doubts, it definitely came to the surface when I received the permission to make a half flying tourbillon as a school watch and presented the finished watch at the end of the apprentice ship period.

JH - Before you launched your own company, where were you working?

TP - After my apprenticeship, I stayed a short while at IWC and then I moved to Audemars Piguet in Frankfurt, where I also obtained my Master Watchmaker certificate. Then I came back to Switzerland to work in the restoration department of Gübelin where I had the opportunity to restore some of the world’s most iconic and complicated timepieces and to create bespoke watches for special clients. Four years at Gübelin was followed by a brief spell at Progress Watch, then a position as Production Manager for Blancpain.

JH - What are some of the bigger challenges you have faced in starting your own company?

TP - Being independent is a daily challenge. Especially the beginning when I developed the Tempusvivendi and the three Trilogy Tourbillons at the same time, it was a hard time, with a lot of work day and night. It is a big challenge as well to continue developing and producing high quality, technically extraordinary watches.

Courtesy of Thomas Prescher

JH - And now besides the design and assembly, you are in a sense also doing marketing and public relations. How has the transition been to these new roles?

TP - Public Relations has always been a part of my profession. There is no way to be in a responsible position without having contact with others. The individual life is inseparably connected with all kinds of public relations. The watch is independent and independence is embodied within the watch.

JH - Having worked for a direct company myself (DOXA), do you see this as a growing trend in the watch business? With the SWATCH group jumping in with Longines, Tissot and RADO all selling direct via the internet, do you see this as a positive or negative?

TP - I have a relatively neutral view of these direct shops. I am 100% sure that new media, especially all of the possibilities to be found through the internet will fundamentally change the method of trade in the near future. That means that the work of the watchmaker whether as an independent or a big brand will change a lot too.

JH - In what ways do you see this happening?

TP - The relationship between final client and the watchmaker will become closer. Ultimately the work of intermediates will change.

JH - You have made a very unusual offer - to let complete strangers into your workshop and actually work on watch parts. Where on earth did you come up with such an idea?

TP - It was always our philosophy to have an open workshop and to show it to interested people what we do and how we do. There is no better proof than to let people in so that they can experience the work of a watchmaker. All of these people have been the best ambassadors of our brand and transferred our philosophy to a larger public. By the way, by far the most interesting visit we ever had was a group of 15 children from a nearby kinder garden. These six year-old children were already able to disassemble and assemble a simple movement without damaging anything!

Courtesy of Thomas Prescher

JH - Apart from the watches you have made yourself, do you have any other type of watch collection?

TP - Before I started my career as a watchmaker I was collecting everything I could get my hands on. These days I buy a mechanical gadget from time to time, but only if it is well made/crafted. I am also interested in very old watches, of course. But I don’t collect them.

JH - Who else out there is making watches that you admire?

TP - There are a lot of colleagues who make fantastic watches. Each one has his specialty and so these watches are quite different and unique. It is impossible for me to pick out one, or even several!

JH - If you were not doing what you are doing now – what would you do for a living?

TP - It is quite difficult to answer that because my passion is already my profession. I think I would make big mechanical sculptures but I could imagine a job in nature too.


You can visit Thomas Prescher's website for more details about his fantastic time machines, as well as find out about a possible visit to his workshop.

http://www.prescher.ch/

Christopher Ward's new C11 Pilot

Courtesy of Christopher Ward

Inspired by modern altimeters, Christopher Ward’s new C11 Pilot, takes the fashion for aviation watches to new heights. When you are flying at more than 700 knots in the middle of a storm, clarity is everything and the C11 is the only watch to use non-reflective museum quality glass made from polished sapphire crystal. 

Courtesy of Christopher Ward

The bold contemporary design, incorporating oversize numerals, broad luminescent hands and a 42mm face, guarantees maximum visibility whatever the weather conditions – blinding sunlight or pitch darkness.

Courtesy of Christopher Ward

Both the C11 Automatic (£399) and the C11 Chronograph (£350) share the same rugged design – using the finest quality materials, hand assembled in Switzerland. High fliers can snap up a Christopher Ward C11 Pilot from late August 2011.      

Eterna Soleure - single button goodness

Okay, not quite one full day in - but so far, so very good!

Although the first things that you notice about the Eterna Soleure are the complications - moon phase,
month, day, date.  But the one thing that I really, really like is the single button chronograph.

In all honesty, it is not something that I have had the opportunity to use on a daily basis, so I am
really looking forward to it.

More to come - stay tuned!

Eterna Soleure - soft opening

And once again, one of the super-stars of watch PR has come through to save my bacon and provide me with something to write about!  Thank you Manon!

Ladies and gentleman, the Eterna Soleure

15 days starts now

Summer reruns - a few minutes with Maximilian Busser

A Few Minutes with Maximilian Busser

JH - What was your first watch? Was it a gift? Is there a story behind it?

MB - I was 8 years old. It was a hand - winding Jean Perret and every evening I would religiously wind it up in front of my father when he would come to say good night to me. I remember the winding would hurt, because the crown was so small…

JH - A bit about yourself please - you started out with Jaeger-LeCoultre and stayed for 7 years. But then you left - why?

MB - I had no intention of leaving! And then one day one of the top headhunters in the world (who only hunt top executives), called me up. I was intrigued… “Why would he call a small fry like me ?”, so I went down to Geneva for an interview with them. It turned out the job position was Managing Director of Harry Winston Timepieces! I laughed out loud, but the headhunter convinced me of trying the interview. I thought anyway I did not have a chance to get the job, but it could be fun. Then four months later, to my dismay… they told me I was the “chosen one”!

JH - So then after Jaeger-LeCoultre you went on to Harry Winston - this was a very large jump in terms of the types of company "profile" - from a world-class horology based type of company, to a jeweler turned watch maker - why such a jump?

MB - Because when you have never expected or dreamt of such an amazing job (head of a watch brand), the day someone gives it to you on a platter, you just cannot turn it down without having regrets all your life. Clearly I had my reservations on leaving such a beautiful company as JLC, a real Manufacture which devotes all its energy to creating fantastic mechanical calibers, to join a jeweler! But Ronald Winston (son of Harry, and then owner of the company) found the right words to convince me to join. He basically told me he would give me the freedom and support necessary to turn the brand into one of the most admired watch creators, when it was already one of the most prestigious jewelers in the world. He kept his word and let me follow my own path to develop Harry Winston Timepieces. 

JH - When you were a boy - what did you want to be when you "grew up"?

MB - A car designer. I was obsessed with this idea - doodling cars from the age of 4 to 18 ! And then my 5 years of studying engineering at university sort of killed that. I suspect that maybe I was kind of depressed during those years, and really did not connect with what I was studying. 



JH - Where did you go to school - what did you study exactly?

MB - I did a Masters in micro technology engineering. Not my most inspired choice, but it introduced me to watch making (5 hours of courses amongst 5 years of studies!) which became my passion and my life. In my life, the brightest light has always followed the darkest moments. 

JH - Who else is making watches that excite you?

MB - A few real creators/watchmakers who create not to please clients but to follow their calling. For example Felix Baumgartner (Urwerk), Denis Flageollet & David Zanetta (DeBethune) or François Paul Journe (F.P.Journe)


JH - MB&F is Maximilian Busser & Friends - where did this idea come from?

MB – It was really a matter of simply stating the obvious. Without all those amazing people around me, my ideas would just remain ideas. And I have chosen the “Friends” as much for their fantastic competence and ability as for their/our shared human values. I discovered early in life that by being totally transparent, one had nothing to lose - on the contrary you have everything to gain. 

JH - What do you like to do in your "down-time"?

MB - What “down time” ??? In the last 5 years, since the beginning of MB&F, the little time I have not been working I have devoted to my family, loved ones and friends. There was no way I could build my dream company without sacrificing hobbies, sports and social life. 

JH - How does MB&F work on a daily basis?

MB - Fast! All joking aside, MB&F is a very small, adrenaline - addicted beehive! There are only 7 of us in the company (including the two Master watchmakers who assemble every movement). It is the type of place where everyone works as if it were their own company. That is also one of the most important reasons of our success. 

JH - It appears that you spend a good amount of time meeting your fans and customers - what is your favorite spot to visit so far?

MB - I love travelling in Asia – it is so vibrant, so energy - driven, so forward-thinking! Everyone looks to the future, contrary to Europe where everyone looks back and tries to hang on to a grandeur which was once theirs. 

JH - Why watches?

MB - Because it is one of the only technical working environments where each human being is important and each person can make a difference (contrary to cars for example, where only massive corporations can hope to exist and where individuals are more or less expendable)

JH - If you weren't doing this - what would you be doing?

MB - I don’t know. I already have issues grasping the fact that I am so lucky! This is my life. This is my calling. 


JH- Who was/is your "horological hero"?

MB - Günther Bluemlein, the man who recreated Lange & Söhne, and the ex-CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre and IWC. Visionary, charismatic, engaging, knowledgeable and caring for the individuals he respected.

Visit Maximilian and read about him and all of his friends at -

www.mbandf.com

A new manufacturer - from France!

This is not "new" news - but it is news that didn't really make it around the first time.  Joining the growing number of companies producing their own movements is Yonger & Bresson.

Courtesy of Yonger & Bresson

And in their own words -

The French watch brand, Yonger & Bresson, presents at Baselworld 2011 its first in-house movement entirely designed, developed and assembled in Morteau, main city of Doubs and homeland to the national watch-making industry. Designed in three versions in the year of its launch, it offers a new collection made up of 6 lines where each one carries the name of a castle in France. This automatic movement has been mounted on a timepiece called “Versailles”  where the technical know-how and aesthetic blends together in perfect harmony.

Courtesy of Yonger & Bresson

Case:    316L polished stainless steel

                case-back with 4 screws, engraved with multi-strikenY&B crown’s logo

                mineral glass and case-back  with inner/outer anti-glare treatment

                3 positions crown with rapid date corrector and stop seconds

                43 mm diameter

                50 meters water resistant

Dial:       black

                pyramidal shaped chromed index

                luminous hands 

                power reserve indicator at 12 o’clock

                small seconds at 6 o’clock

                date window at 3 o’clock

Functions:    hour, minute, small second, date, power reserve indicator           

Strap:             black croco pattern leather with butterfly buckle                        

Movement:         automatic mechanical movement, Caliber Ambre 1033 

                              frequency 28 800 p/hour (4 Hz)

                              31 jewels

                               jewels on dial and bridge side

                               45 hrs power reserve

                               bidirectional winding up system

                               Skeleton oscillating weight with black PVD treatment, 

                               engraved with multi-striken Y&B crown’s logo and caliber’s reference

Beauty Is A Rare Thing

Or so the classic jazz album would tell us.  My summer reading at the moment is somewhat

eclectic, but the Girard-Perregaux book is still on the top of the heap.  So for those of you who have not had a chance to see it, here is a little bijou for you.

Summer reruns - Peter Speake-Marin

A Few Minutes with Peter Speake-Marin

Peter Speake-Marin was kind enough to share some time with me this past week - and now - A Few Minutes with Peter Speake-Marin

James  Henderson -   What was your first watch – is there a the story behind it?

Peter Speake-Marin - My first watch was a “Steve Austin Bionic Man” watch, back in the seventies with an led push button display.  I can’t say this fired my desire to become a watchmaker but it will always hold a place in my heart.  If I remember correctly, my Uncle bought a small quantity of them from a dubious source and then proceeded to given them away to the children in the area. The first ‘real’ watch I owned was a Longines military watch from 1948 that I acquired in London, when I was working in the Piccadilly arcade.  I then (probably very wrongly) opened the case back up to view the movement, and redesigned the dial in a slightly more gothic fashion. I wore that watch religiously for around 5 years before giving it to a friend who had always coveted it.  He continues to wear it today. He now lives and works for Apple in California.

JH - Where were you born?

PSM  - St Margarets hospital, Epping, Essex in 1968

JH - When you were a boy, what did you "want to be when you grew up?”

PSM - Initially as a child, perhaps a bus driver like my father.  Following that I never had a clear view except that it had to be what I perceived to be practical and creative.  As an adolescent I had aspirations of going into architectural engineering.

JH -  It seems fair to say that perhaps you were an "accidental watch maker"?  Your first interest was jewelry, yes?

PSM - I left school half way through my A levels and initially tried for the engineering division of the RAF.  I was under-qualified for this, and began searching for something else, which I thought would suit my skill set.  Jewelry seemed to fit, however the lack of a foundation degree in art meant I was immediately rejected from this avenue. A careers teacher in Loughton Essex dug up an old prospectus on Horology (a word that at 17 years of age I had no understanding of).  After my first visit to the school in Hackney I started the course 2 weeks after it had begun. At 17 I found something that I was good at and held the promise of travel. My Brother and Father had traveled extensively and I had always wanted to do the same. I was told that watchmaking meant that I could find work in any city in the world.

JH - Are you more artistic, or more mechanical?

PSM - Both sides of my brain are fairly balanced which is a strength and enables me to advance projects very quickly, designing things which both are beautiful and work and can be made.

J H -  There is a real history of notably famous English watchmakers - Graham, Harrison, and others.  Do you see yourself ever returning to the UK to set-up shop there?

PSM - Some times I play with the idea but it is already very complex producing the components I design in Switzerland, where I currently live and work. Switzerland is highly specialized in this domain. To make these types of components in the UK would be difficult. Returning to the UK to live for periods of time is a strong possibility, to set up a company making the type of watches I make today virtually impossible.

JH -  Who else is making watches that interest you?

PSM - Nobody specifically but I am drawn to the independent world more than the larger companies because these guys feel far more authentic to me in their motivation.


JH - If you weren't doing this, what would you be doing?

PSM - Probably driving a bus.

JH -  Living and working in Switzerland - did you have any challenges/difficulties adapting culturally? How about with the language?

PSM - Language was the toughest element, I am not a natural linguist and although I work like a dog I am lazy at those things which I need but don’t really appreciate, French is one of them.

JH - I have to say, I love the Marin-1 with your SM2 self-winding movement.  How long did it take for you to develop this new caliber?

PSM - From original drawings througto delivering the first watches approx 3 years

JH - Any future SM calibers in the future?

PSM - There are already a number in developement but all based in some way on the SM2

Marin -1

JH -   You seem to spend a lot of time "on the road" meeting your customers and fans - has it always been this way?

PSM - I spend less time than people perceive traveling, but when I do travel I try to make as much noise as possible since this is my way of reminding people that I am there and about my work. Like many independents I spend my cash on the watches and not marketing.  As a result the traveling becomes my marketing and as I meet my clients and visit different countries I share the experience on the internet. It has not always been this way but will increase over the next 2 years as my business grows until a point comes when I can be more conventional in marketing my work. This does allow me to live a childhood dream of travel.  In September I leave for a world tour which will be for at least a month.

JH - You are one of the "Friends" in the MB&F "Friends" - what is that like?

PSM - Max has been a friend for many years and I am happy to have been able to help him start his business as he helped me and many other independents when he was with Harry Winston.

JH - It seems that you might have come into watchmaking at just about the right time with the renaissance of mechanical time pieces following the quartz crisis. What are some of the differences you see between when you started out and where things are now?

PSM - Essentially the increased size of the collectors market and education through social media, had the internet not existed I doubt I would have been able to have the success I have had today.

JH - Where do you see Peter Speake-Marin in three years’ time?

PSM - In a different workshop with a larger team in a constant state of development.

JH - What do you like to do in your "down" time?

PSM - Family, food, wine.

                                       

JH - Was there ever a time when you asked yourself - "what was I thinking?"

PSM - Every other day

JH - Going out on your own was a big decision. Any regrets?

PSM - None

JH -  Finally, any advice to the future aspiring watchmakers/entrepreneurs out there?

PSM - Create a real business plan which will help you to plan every element of your business and work, and assure your self a financial cushion.  Believe actions and results not words.

In addition to be one of the world's leading independent watch makers, Mr. Speake-Marin is also an author and you can purchase his book here:

 watchprint.com

Visit the Peter Speake-Marin website here: 

www.speake-marin.com