Once Again - A Few Minutes With Peter Speake-Marin

This originally went out back in 2011, but given this weekend's news, it seemed appropriate to re-heat it -

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.

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

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.

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

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 through to delivering the first watches approx 3 years

JH - Any future SM calibers in the future?

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

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

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.

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

                                       

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.

Elvis Has Left (or is leaving) The Building

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

News has begun to filter out through the mainstream and although some of us had heard whispers for the past few months, it is now, apparently, official.  

As first reported by 24heures.ch it would seem that Peter Speake-Marin is now moving on from the brand that he started and still bears his name.  

As with any enterprise, you start out, you work hard, and if you are talented (which Mr. Speake-Marin certainly is) and have a bit of luck (which he also had) you will get to a point with your brand where you have to decide to either "go big" or "stay home" (yes, I have co-opted and modified that one a bit).  And the decision for Speake-Marin was to bring in some financial help and grow.  And that is a choice that he made and which I respect. 

I have read a few of my colleagues in the fourth and fifth estate, some who poo-pooed the move from "down-home, single-malt" horology to a more mass product.  And I guess we will agree to disagree for a few reasons.

1.  Fantasy vs. Reality
I am sorry to pee in anyone's cornflakes, but there was one George Daniels, and even the man who is often most closely considered to be the heir to his mantle works with A LOT of help.  Ludwig Oechslin with ochs und junior is really more about scalability (movements are now based on a UN base movement but previously on an ETA) than it is about one guy, bent over the bench making unique creations one at a time.  Yes, it is a unique adjustment and embellishment to the movement to add that Oechslin flair, but be under no illusion that he is personally crafting, adjusting and casing that watch for you, cause he ain't ; ) 

I find it funny to read some people's accounts of angst and anguish to learn that Speake-Marin would be using a mass produced movement for some models to make them more accessible.  We have, I feel more and more, an unrealistic expectation about "the craft" and "artisanal" and if we are being REALLY honest about this stuff, there is NO WAY that more than a handful of watches could be crafted, by hand, assembled one by one in a given year.  Yes, there are a few guys (and I suspect gals) out there doing it this way (several who we may never hear of) but that is not always a sure-fire way to pay the rent, feed the family and keep shoes on the kids' feet.

2.  Investors Are Seldom Partners
The watchmaking battlefield is strewn with the bodies of presumed partnerships that, in fact, were never intended to be partnerships at all, but rather investments.  I am not privy to the agreement that Mr. Speake-Marin had with the investors, but I suspect that it was probably always understood that sooner or later, he would be stepping away from involvement with the brand.

3.  You Don't Live In The Past
Having been involved in the transfer of ownership and CONTROL from one entity to the other, it is more often than not the case that the people investing the money have bought into the brand because they feel that it is just that, a brand.  Coco Chanel, to the best of my knowledge, is no longer running that business.   Peter Speake-Marin did more than simply build beautiful watches.  

He built a brand.  

And it is the brand that the investors were interested in.  Now the brand still bears his name, and I have no doubt that the PR arm that is tasked with communicating about the brand from here on out will wax poetic about the brand DNA and Peter Speake-Marin's undeniable contribution to it.  But if the brand survives and moves forward and evolves?  Well, there will be other contributors and innovators as well.  And I suspect that is what Mr. Speake-Marin would want, to see the brand live on and grow and thrive beyond his involvement.

4.  Nostalgia And Business Don't Always Mix
A brand must be more than a reliance on the past.  It took Cartier years to figure this out. 

5.  Life Moves Forward
It is entirely possible that Mr. Speake-Marin was looking for a way to ease away from the business that he founded and focus more on the transmission of his knowledge and passion to the next Speake-Marins out there.


So God's Speed Peter Speake-Marin as you transition to the next chapter of your career.

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.

A Chronograph!

From Speake-Marin -

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

It was only a matter of time, and it appears that it has been worth the wait!  Speake-Marin's latest, the Blue & White Spirit Seafire.

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

The movement's is Valjoux's self-winding 7750.  Most of the chronograph sub dials seem pretty straight forward with the minutes counter at 12 o'clock, and the hours counter at 6 o'clock.  Then there is the constant seconds hand which bears more than a passing resemblance to the Speake-Marin logo.

The case is the Piccadilly, crafted in titanium.  It measures 42 mm in diameter with anti-reflective sapphire crystal on the front.  Available with either a rubber or leather strap.  Limited to 28 pieces.

Doing Good - Speake Marin

and ONLY Watch

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

Magister Vertical Double Tourbillon

From Speake-Marin

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

MOVEMENT: SM/CDH Calibre SM6, manual wound vertical double tourbillon movement 

INDICATIONS: Off set hours, minutes with power reserve and day/night indicators POWER 

RESERVE: ~ 70 hours


CASE: Piccadilly case in 18K white gold.
Front and back sapphire crystals treated with antireflective coating DIAMETER: 46 mm


WATER RESISTANCE: 3 bar (30 meters)


DIAL: White enamel dial

HANDS: Speake-Marin signature “Foundation” style hands in heat blued steel STRAP: Alligator. Pin buckle in 18K white gold 

Speake-Marin supports the Only Watch Association

As I personally feel that Only Watch speaks volumes for itself, I will simply be posting the press releases from the brands kind enough, charitable enough, with hearts big enough to support this -

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

Speake-Marin has the immense honour of announcing its participation in the sixth edition of the Only Watch charity auction to be held on November 7th in Geneva buy contributing a one-of-a-kind model: Resilience “One Art”.

Speake-Martin is extremely proud to be joining the Only Watch adventure and taking part in the charity auction for the first time by donating a unique timepiece for the event, Resilience “One Art”.
The entire proceeds raised from this sale will benefit the Monaco Association against Muscular Dystrophy to help finance research into the neuromuscular disease known as Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

For this sixth edition, Only Watch is bringing together 40 watchmaking manufactures, each of which is offering a unique watch model specially created for the event. Speake-Marin has decided to contribute a Resilience timepiece from the J-Class collection, vividly reflecting the brand DNA. Easily recognisable with its clean, crisp lines and characteristic design elements, this 38mm timepiece in red gold will be distinguished by a red gold seconds hand, a crown set with a sapphire and a unique personalised engraving adorning the Piccadilly case chosen to house the watch mechanism. 

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

The entire Maison Speake-Marin has been actively involved in ensuring that this project – a perfectly finished unique watch unique of its kind – is a success. The piece will be handed over to the Association and will accompany the international exhibition scheduled to travel the world this autumn: Monaco, Hong Kong, Beijing, New York, London and finally Geneva for the sale that will take place on November 7th. 

The Velsheda from Speake-Marin

In red gold!

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

Here are the details -

The new Velsheda features in red gold, blued hand to indicate time, while two continually changing superimposed ‘topping tool’ motifs create eye-catching patterns in the centre of the dial.
Named after the iconic British “J Class” yacht built in the 1930s and still racing today, Velsheda offers a minimalist display of time using a single polished steel, blued hand. While the single hand extends across the diameter of the dial, its central hub is in the form of the Speake-Marin topping tool logo, as is the central seconds wheel sitting above it. The rotation of the seconds wheel on top of the slower moving hub of the hand creates ever-changing, eye- catching patterns, drawing the eye to the centre of Velsheda’s dial.

The blued hand and topping tool motifs contrast beautifully against the elegant white lacquer, multi-level dial. The sides of the highly legible Roman numerals taper towards the centre, a subtle but significant detail endowing the dial with a dynamic, contemporary feel.
The sumptuously sculpted hand is neatly counter balanced by a pointer at one end and an arc at the other; coupled with the fine 5-minute graduations around the peripheral chapter ring they create an overall aesthetic echoing that of a compass. This seafaring visual aspect is fitting since Velsheda’s name is inspired by the marine world: The yacht Velsheda was designed for racing and in the 1930s was one of the most technically advanced sloops of her day.

This nautical feel is strengthened by the Piccadilly case in red golf featuring a fluted, two- position crown (manual winding and time-setting with hacking seconds). Peter Speake-Marin says: “The shape of the Speake-Marin Piccadilly case is inspired by early marine chronometers. For me, the case is primarily a means of clothing the movement, as was the case with early marine chronometers.”

Velsheda’s Vaucher calibre is an automatic winding movement. The movement dominates the view through the display-back and provides a technical backdrop for the beautifully finished rotor. Like the central hub of the hand and the seconds wheel, the rotor is in the shape of the Speake-Marin topping tool logo, a motif permeating the whole timepiece.

The Velsheda was a super yacht, part of the J Class, designed by Charles Ernest Nicholson and built in 1933 by Camper and Nicholsons in Gosport, England for businessman William Lawrence Stephenson. Its name came from the first syllable of each of Stephenson’s three daughters: Velma, Sheila and Daphne. At the time, she incorporated some of the most sophisticated technical designs for sails, deck gear, ropes, spars and rigging. Between 1933 and 1936 she was a regular race-winner, competing with the likes of Britannia, Shamrock V and Endeavour.

Velsheda is part of Speake-Marin’s “J Class” collection. 

When Hours Jump

Introducing the new Jumping Hours from Speake-Marin.

Courtesy of Speake-Marin

Because they were nice enough to send such a comprehensive press release, here it is!  Straight, no chaser:

Past, present and future: Symbolic concepts of time continually passing. Time is valuable but also fleeting, and although we can define it, we cannot control it. Jumping Hours, part of Speake-Marin’s Cabinet des Mystères collection, highlights the transient nature of this most intangible commodity. Four separate jump hour indications, each controlled by its own gilded star wheel, are a constant reminder of the ceaseless passing of time.

As we age, the hours, minutes and seconds that make up the days appear to grow shorter and shorter, and time seems to speed up. As a child, time is endless but as an adult, it slips quickly through the cracks.

Peter Speake-Marin found inspiration in the past to show this relentless march of time. Based on the jump hour star system invented over 150 years ago, the British watchmaker deconstructed this vintage complication four times to display the inescapable passing of time, where hours literally “jump,” advancing from one to the next in the apparent blink of an eye.

The Speake-Marin Jumping Hours contains four small, Foundation-style, blued–steel hour hands. Each of these exquisitely crafted hands is placed in a separate quadrant of a beautifully finished silver dial – at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock respectively. The individual hands are set atop their own brilliant, gilded star wheel, which “jumps” every 15 minutes when a tiny pin – located at each wheel’s centre – sequentially pushes one star wheel after the other as the blued-steel central minute and second hands perpetually march forward.

In a neat touch, synchronised with this changing of the hours is the appearance of a tiny red dot on the centre plate at each quarter hour mark. Every 15 minutes, a small circular hole near the base of the minute hand lines up with the red dot, indicating that the hour has “jumped”. 

"On the Speake-Marin Jumping Hours, you have this continual animation as the minute hand goes around so that there is always something moving," says Peter Speake-Marin. “The idea is to show the speed at which time passes.” 

The Jumping Hours "dial" is actually the top of the movement mainplate. The movement, crafted from traditional German silver, features circular-grained bridges and plates with hand polished bevels. The distinct curvature of the bridges gives the illusion that the dial is moving in step with the hour hands as time strides forward.

So as not to distract from the action of each passing hour, there are no numerals on the dial. Instead, subtly drilled minute markers are neatly arranged around the perimeter of the mainplate. The silver dial contrasts beautifully with the 18k red gold bezel. A matching red gold fluted crown and caseback adds an extra touch of classic Speake-Marin style. Serif style text in capital letters is hand-engraved inside the minute markers – an elegant touch and reminiscent of another era.

Visible through the display back is Jumping Hours’ Eros automatic-winding movement with long five-day power reserve and Speake-Marin’s signature ‘topping tool’ mystery winding rotor. Hand engraved around the caseback are “Unique Piece” and “Mechanical Art No. 2”.

Jumping Hours’ evolution of time is all housed in the iconic, 42mm red gold and stainless steel Piccadilly case. The entire piece was constructed, machined, hand- finished, assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker.

The Speake-Marin Jumping Hours is a unique piece. 

Features and Indications:
Central minutes and seconds
4 sequential jump hour mechanisms
Automatic-winding movement with 5-day power reserve

Dial and Hands:
Speake-Marin signature Foundation-style hands in heat blued steel, indicating hours, minutes and seconds

Movement:
Automatic-winding Eros movement Dimensions: 30.40mm x 4.35mm Power reserve: 120 hoursJewels: 35
Twin barrels
Frequency: 28,800vph / 4Hz
Speake-Marin signature ‘topping tool’ mystery winding rotor Hand-finished bridges and rotor

Case and strap:
Iconic Piccadilly case in red gold and stainless steel
Three-piece case construction
Two-position crown: 
Manual winding and stop-second time setting Dimensions: 42mm x 13 mmFront and display–back: sapphire crystals treated with anti-reflective coating 
Case-back circumference engraving: “Speake-Marin – The Piccadilly” 
Water resistance: 3atm/30m/100ft
Hand-made, natural alligator leather strap
Pin buckle in stainless steel 

A New Brand Partner for Speake-Marin

I have grown a bit weary and somewhat dubious about brand partners, but this one I can get behind -

© Marco Grob for Speake-Marin 

Here are the details straight from Speake-Marin   -

Pierce Brosnan is probably one of the best-known Irish actors worldwide. From his first scenes in Remington Steele to the famous Thomas Crown, and including his iconic role as James Bond, Pierce Brosnan has played many roles, embracing classical repertoires, comedies and thrillers. In 2015, the actor will appear on cinema screens in The Moon and the Sun, It, Last Man Out and Survivor.

The relationship began when Peter Speake-Marin met the actor on the set of one of his latest films for which he had been selected by Director James McTeigue (V for Vendetta, The Raven...).
This meeting of two artistic worlds, films and watches, developed into a genuine friendship.
Sharing the same roots as Peter Speake-Marin and his passion for watchmaking combined with an admiration for the Swiss brand's timepieces, Pierce Brosnan was a natural choice as the ideal ambassador for the brand. 

'I met Peter on the set of a film in which he was a consultant for a character who was a watchmaker. We spoke briefly; we both love what we do, and myself as a lover of watches I appreciated his genuine passion and subsequent designs. I acquired one of his time pieces and a dialogue ensued. When Peter asked me to be an ambassador for his work it was a simple answer.`

                                                                                                           Pierce Brosnan

 

 

The renowned Swiss photographer Marco Grob shot the campaign in his New York studio. Elegance, simplicity, independence and courage are the values shared by the watchmaking brand and the actor, and he has succeeded in capturing all of these. Pierce Brosnan will embody Speake-Marin.