The Black Magister Vertical Double Tourbillon

From Speake-Marin 

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

Because what's better than a tourbillon?  A double tourbillon!

The Velsheda Deco

From Speake-Marin -

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

This was one of the pieces from Speake-Marin making its debut at this year's BaselWorld.  And to be honest, I was more than a little curious as to just what the name Velsheda was based on.  As it happens, it is named for a British "J Class" yacht constructed in the 1930s that is still being raced these many years later.

The Piccadilly

From XEMEX

Courtesy of XEMEX

As we are rebelling again in all things XEMEX, allow me to reintroduce one of my favorite models - the Piccadilly.  This is the Piccadilly with small date.

A Masterpiece 15 Years in the Making

This is the Magister Tourbillon -

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

Taking several design cues from the Foundation Pocket Watch, the Magister Tourbillon is the latest offering from Speake-Marin.

Utilizing the now iconic Piccadilly case, it is available in titanium or red gold.  The Magister Tourbillon utilizes the SM3 Tourbillon caliber (mechanical automatic) providing hours and minutes.

Here are the rest of the particulars -

Movement

Mechanical automatic, SM3 tourbillon calibre, 950 platinum micro-rotor, rhodium-plated German silver bridges, Glucydur balance, 21,600 vib/h, 25 jewels, over 72-hour power reserve

Functions

Hours, minutes

Case

Piccadilly case in grade 5 polished titanium or red gold, 42 mm

Anti-reflective sapphire crystal, front and back

Water-resistant to 30 metres

Dial

Enamel with tapered Roman numerals

Blued Speake-Marin Foundation-style hands

Tourbillon at 6 o'clock

Strap

Hand-stitched alligator leather

Titanium or red gold buckle

The Spirit Wing Commander from Speake-Marin

This just in from Speake-Marin -

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

The Spirit Wing Commander features high-visibility big date, power reserve indicator and ‘topping tool’ seconds wheel; three-dimensional dial; and titanium case

Speake-Marin Special Edition for CronotempV​s Collectors​' Club

This just in from Speake-Marin

Courtesy of Peter Speake-Marin

Speake-Marin is very proud to have been given the honour of designing and creating CronotempVs II, the second ‘club watch’ for the CronotempVs private collectors’ club.

CronotempVs II features a casual, contemporary style. It has superb legibility thanks to a matte black resin dial with central Super-LumiNova filled hour and minute hands, which are complemented by Super-LumiNova numerals, indices and instantaneous date. CronotempVs II is powered by an automatic winding Eros movement with five-day power reserve, housed in a slim Piccadilly case in stainless steel.

Courtesy of Speake-Marin and CronotempVs

CronotempVs is a private club in Spain formed by watch collectors with the common interest of advancing their knowledge of high-end watchmaking, sharing this knowledge, organising social events and commissioning bespoke timepieces.


Speake-Marin recently had the pleasure of welcoming CronotempVs members in Switzerland to receive their specially commissioned watch in person.

CronotempVs member Dario Fernandez de Villavicencio said: “We chose Speake-Marin to make our second CronotempVs commissioned piece because Speake-Marin has a very distinct DNA and philosophy, and because of the team behind Speake-Marin and their ability to empathise, to share and to be flexible.

“The possibility to receive the watch from the hand of the man that signs the watch was also important. It is possible that 100 years from now our grandchildren will have this watch and what better story behind it than ‘my grandfather bought and took delivery of this watch from Peter Speake-Marin himself’.”

CronotempVs II is a limited edition of 21 pieces especially created for the CronotempVs collectors’ club.

Courtesy of Speake-Marin and CronotempV​s

 CronotempVs II in detail


Dial

CronotempVs II’s pure, black resin dial throws into sharp relief the central hour, minute and second hands, as well as the instantaneous date window at 2 o’clock.

Powerful Roman numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock in white Super-LumiNova and the hour markers – filled with cream Super-LumiNova and flush with the dial – maximise readability by both day and by night. The date disc is also in cream Super-LumiNova.

Three-dimensional Super-LumiNova also provides the hour and minute hands (cream) and minute markers (white) with superlative legibility, while adding more than a touch of masculine vitality.

The 2 o’clock position of the date window and use of Roman Numerals (rather than Arabic numerals) for the second day of the month subtly reminds us that this timepiece is the second limited edition to be made for the CronotempVs collectors’ club.

The dial is completed by the Speake-Marin signature ‘topping tool’ logo and brand name, both in white just below 12 o’clock.


Courtesy of Speake-Marin

Case

The iconic stainless steel Piccadilly case with soldered lugs bears all the hallmarks of Speake-Marin’s meticulous quest to create classical, durable timepieces.

At first glance the three-piece case appears similar to Peter’s original Piccadilly design, but on closer inspection it can be seen that this one is much slimmer – 42mm in diameter and just 12mm in height – an elegant design made possible by the Eros calibre.

Movement and display-back

The Eros calibre is an automatic winding movement and features a long, five-day power reserve and the signature Speake-Marin ‘mystery’ winding rotor. The large-diameter, circular-grained movement dominates the view through the display-back and provides a technical backdrop for the beautifully finished rotor.

The engraved number on left side of case back (CW- -) is the CronotempVs member’s personalised number; the CronotempVs members have pieces 01 to 20. A 21st piece has been retained by Speake-Marin. The “2012” engraved on the right side represents the year of production.

Strap and buckle

CronotempVs II is completed by a brown calf leather strap with white stitching leather on top and blue stitching underneath to match the blued rotor.

CronotempVs member Dario Fernandez de Villavicencio says:

“The main goal of our commissioning bespoke watches for the CronotempVs club is to learn something. The most important is to look for something that nobody in the club has or has not considered buying until now. The process is not only to buy a watch but also to get to know the company and people behind it.

“We first met Peter Speake-Marin at BaselWorld 2010. CronotempVs members all agreed that we loved the recent Spirit Pioneer so we proposed something similar to Speake-Marin for our commissioned piece, but with a diameter of 42mm, a preferable size for our members.”

Peter Speake-Marin's Resilience

And here's the latest from Peter Speake-Marin, the Resilience

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

You might notice the familiar DNA of the Piccadilly case, but one truly beautiful aspect of this new timekeeper from Peter Speake-Marin is the dial.  It is oven fired enamel!  This is one watch whose beauty will not fade away!

Courtesy of  Speake-Marin

My understanding is that this will be available in both stainless steel, or rose gold.  The engine powering the Resilience is Speake-Marin's  automatic winding Eros 2 calibre with five‑day power reserve.


www.speake-marin.com

Speake‑Marin Classic HMS

This just in from Speake-Marin

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

Speake‑Marin goes back to the future with Classic HMS


With Classic HMS – Hours, Minutes and Seconds – Peter Speake‑Marin has reinterpreted his very first ‘Piccadilly’ design to create a contemporary timepiece exuding elegant simplicity.

The multi-layered dial of Classic HMS is either silvered with a fine guilloche in the centre and circular grained outer ring, or white-lacquered, setting off the central, sculptured, blued-steel hands and bold Roman numerals. A refined 38mm or 42mm Piccadilly case in stainless steel or 18K red gold houses the automatic winding Eros 2 calibre with long, five-day power reserve.

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

Peter Speake-Marin had this to say -   “The notions of rediscovery and reinterpretation have been central to Speake‑Marin’s rebirth and these themes were at the forefront of my mind when I designed the Classic HMS.

“I wanted to revisit an early design that was quintessentially Speake‑Marin, a model that was instrumental in developing the Speake‑Marin collection. So I selected a timepiece from the Classic collection that I first presented in 2002, one which takes many of its cues from the first ever piece to bear the Speake‑Marin name, the Foundation Watch.

“Drawing on the design of this early Piccadilly, I started imagining the Classic HMS and I am now delighted to present the finished piece.”
www.speake-marin.com

The Renaissance Tourbillon Minute Repeater by Speake-Marin

Courtesy of Peter Speake-Marin

The Renaissance incorporates an accumulation of knowledge and experience, and takes the classical Speake-Marin elements to another level: another level of elegance, with its slim design; another level of mechanical complexity, with its tourbillon and minute-repeater; and another level of aesthetic sophistication, with its open-dial architecture featuring harmonious bridge design and superlative finishing.

What is more, the back of each Renaissance movement is decorated with a different intricate hand-engraved design making each one a unique piece.

Renaissance means ‘rebirth’ and commonly refers to the era of cultural resurgence in Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries when scholars revisited the intellectual and artistic treasures of Greco-Roman antiquity in an effort to achieve greatness in disciplines such as philosophy, art, architecture and literature.

With this Renaissance timepiece, Peter Speake-Marin has embarked on his own intellectual journey of rediscovery to harness the classical elements of Speake-Marin and reinterpret them to extraordinary effect.

In Renaissance, all of the quintessential Speake-Marin qualities are there to behold, qualities that go right back to the Foundation Watch, the very first timepiece to bear the Speake-Marin name.

Courtesy of Peter Speake-Marin

With this Renaissance timepiece, Peter Speake-Marin has embarked on his own intellectual journey of rediscovery to harness the classical elements of Speake-Marin and reinterpret them to extraordinary effect.

In Renaissance, all of the quintessential Speake-Marin qualities are there to behold, qualities that go right back to the Foundation Watch, the very first timepiece to bear the Speake-Marin name.

Renaissance features the iconic Piccadilly case; characteristic pleated crown; signature Foundation hands; intricate hand-engraving; and, as with the Foundation Watch and many subsequent models, the signature Speake-Marin topping-tool motif, here in the form of the tourbillon cage.

In addition to retracing all that he has worked on and developed since the inception of the eponymous Speake-Marin brand over a decade ago, Peter Speake-Marin has also drawn on his formative years working in antique timepiece restoration in Piccadilly, London where he worked extensively on minute-repeaters.

With its stunningly reinterpreted classical elements, Renaissance launches a bold new era for Speake-Marin.

www.speake-marin.com

Marin 2 Thalassa

This is the Marin 2 Thalassa.   Movement, dial and case all designed by  Peter Speake-Marin

To quote the creator himself:  "Stylistically I wanted this watch to be very recognisably mine. It follows very closely many of the features first seen in my original Foundation pocket watch, e.g. the topping tool inspired wheel (displaying the seconds), bridges in German silver, circular graining and large sweeping curves I am not Swiss, French, or American and my style is very representative of myself especially as I had no constraints imposed by existing movements components or constructions I was able to design this movement exactly as I wanted. This is the great advantage of starting with a blank sheet."

Peter Speake-Marin will be on a world tour starting this month sharing his newest creation.  If you can't make one of his events, follow him on via his Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/SpeakeMarin.

Check out the details at:  www.speake-marin.com

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  -   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.

J - Where were you born?

P - St Margarets hospital, Epping, Essex in 1968

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

P - 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.

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

P - 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.

J - Are you more artistic, or more mechanical?

P - 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 -  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?

P - 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.

J -  Who else is making watches that interest you?

P - 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.


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

P - Probably driving a bus.

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

P - 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.

J - 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?

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

J - Any future SM calibers in the future?

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

Marin -1

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

P - 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.

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

P - 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.

P - 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?

P - 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.

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

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

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

P - Family, food, wine.


                                       

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

P - Every other day

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

P - None

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

P - 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