Friday, May 15, 2009

Ratpack Watches of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. up for Auction

Antiquorum’s summer sale of “ Important Collectors’ Wristwatches Pocket Watch & Clocks” on June 11th auction will include timepieces from twentieth century icons President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Steve McQueen in addition to an exceptional selection of wristwatches from every major brand. The auction will be held at Antiquorum’s US headquarters on Madison Avenue. Clients will have the opportunity to view these exquisite, and in some cases unique, timepieces all over the world including Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Los Angeles and New York.

Amongst the items being auctioned are:

Of interest for the Frank Sinatra fan is the legendary crooner’s Gruen watch and gold chain necklace. This timepiece is a fine and very thin14K pink gold wristwatch with a pink gold-plated brick link bracelet and is accompanied by a 49 cm gold-plated necklace with 12 letter-links spelling “Frank Sinatra.”

The watch was sold by the estate of Al Silvani who received it as a gift from Frank Sinatra, his close personal friend. Silvani spent a lot of time with Sinatra's Rat Pack and appeared in a number of his movies.Estimate: $ 10,000 - $ 15,000

Sammy Davis Jr.’s Cartier Pasha in the June sale. It was given to him by his best friend Frank Sinatra in the late 1980’s, and is inscribed, “Sammy I Luv Ya F.A.S.” The Cartier, "Pasha Quartz - Two-Time-Zone," Ref. 0321 will be offered along with a 1990 People magazine celebrating the life of Sammy Davis and featuring him on the cover wearing the watch and a scrap book of Sammy Davis related news clippings from 1970 to 1973. The timepiece is a fine and rare, two-time-zone, water-resistant, 18K yellow gold quartz wristwatch with moon phases, day and date, produced in 1987. Estimate: $10,000 - $ 20,000

The 14K gold Movado watch retailed by Tiffany and Co. that was given to President Roosevelt on the occasion of his 63rd and last birthday by his son-in-law, Col. John Boettiger on January 30, 1945 will most certainly be of interest to FDR fans and Movado aficionados alike. This timepiece is a unique and historically important Movado Ref. 44776 with triple date calendar, produced in 1944 accompanied by correspondence authenticating FDR’s memorabilia.

President Roosevelt, known as FDR, was the celebrated 32nd President of the US and the only President in US history to serve four terms (1933-1945). Recognized as one of the greatest American Presidents of all time, his Presidency spanned the Depression of the 1930’s and World War II. The watch was worn by FDR during the last two months of his life, including perhaps to the Yalta Conference in February, 1945 and he may have been wearing this watch when he died on April 12, 1945 at Warm Springs, Georgia. In 2008, the Movado-Tiffany watch was part of a Presidential display for the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors timepiece collection. Antiquorum experts estimate this fine and historically important timepiece at $ 50,000 - $ 60,000.

Fans of the legendary actor, Steve McQueen and race car enthusiasts will also be very interested in the upcoming June sale as it will include the iconic Heuer “Monaco” wristwatch previously owned by Steve McQueen and worn by him during the filming of the 1971 movie “Le Mans”. Steve presented the watch to his financial advisor upon his return home from filming in appreciation for financially restructuring both himself personally and his company, Solar Productions Inc.

The Monaco watch was originally launched by Heuer in 1969 in honor of the Monaco Grand Prix. The watch is a fine and unusual, square convex, water-resistant, stainless steel self-winding wristwatch with chronograph and date. Antiquorum Experts have placed a pre-sale estimate of $ 10,000 - $ 20,000.

View the entire Antiquorum Catalog for this auction.

Related Famous Watch Posts at The Watchismo Times;

Thursday, May 14, 2009

The Pita Windmills (Molinos) Prototype from AHCI Watchmaker Aniceto Jiménez Pita of Barcelona

I'm honored to be the first watch blog to share the brand new prototype from Pita Barcelona. The Pita Molinos (Windmills) project presents a watch with no hands and no crown. Floating hour and minute gear wheels rotate around the dial to indicate the time. Shown above, the time is 12:15. The finished models should be ready by September-October 2009 and they are already taking reservations at www.pita.es

I'm already a fan of Pita's undeniably original and minimal one-handed and carousel automatic ball-bearing movement watches. See the rest of his collection here.

Technical Specs:

Pita Molinos (Pita Windmills) - prototype status - by AHCI watchmaker Aniceto Jiménez Pita

No hands timepiece. Floating hour and minute wheels telling directly the time, without hands. Wheels and cannon pinion elegantly maximized with embedded precious stones (laquered finish in shown prototype) to indicate the time, in an unprecedented and ethereal manner.

Symmetric case, no crown. Pita-005 movement featuring patented Pita-TSM System (Time Setting Mechanism), replacing remontoire and winding systems developed by Pita.

Designed and handmade in Barcelona Spain. Short and numbered series.

Fully customizable. Unlimited assortment of dials, hands, straps and buckles to choose from.

Available in 18 ct. yellow / white / rose Gold, or Platinum 950.

Dimensions: 42mm, height 9,4mm. Strap 20mm.

CAD rendering of Pita Windmill

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Time in Six Parts - Che-Wei Wang's 3.16 Billion Cycles, In a Lifetime, Cinematic Timepiece, One Hour Sprocket, Thermal Clock and Counting to a Billion

Time in Six Parts

Time in Six Parts is a series of attempts to unravel and re-present time through alternative perspectives. The hope is to demystify scales of time that are out of our immediate reach and explore new approaches to marking time.

Six timekeeping devices were built as part of Che-Wei Wang's thesis project at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at TISCH, NYU.

3.16 Billion Cycles video

3.16 Billion Cycles is a clock that unravels a century through a series of pulleys.

3.16 BILLION CYCLES CLOCK

Can we watch decay? Can we see glass as a fluid slowly slumping and deforming over time?

Everything is in constant flux, yet we consider many things around us static and fixed. 3.16 Billion Cycles is an attempt to unravel a seemingly unchanging 100 years into a set of relationships in digestible increments.

A 60 rpm (revolutions per minute) motor drives the entire mechanism. It rotates once every second. The following pulley rotates once every 5 seconds (1:5 ratio). The next rotates once every 60 seconds or 1 minute. Then 5 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, 1 month, 1 year, and 1 decade. The decade wheel carries the load of the large arc. The large arc rotates once every century. The final ratio between the 60 rpm motor and the large arc is approximately 1:31.6 billion.

Each wheel is marked with a black nut to highlight a position that could be tracked over time. Along the arc, 100 lines mark the divisions of each passing year. When the clock finally reaches the end of a 100 year cycle, the arc falls off its track onto the floor.

ONE HOUR SPROCKET CLOCK

How accurate does a clock need to be? Most household clocks display time with 3 mechanical movements; the hour, on a 12 hour cycle; minutes past the hour; and seconds past the minute. How crucial is it for us to know how many seconds are past the minute? Do we need to know the exact number of minutes past the hour?

One Hour Sprocket is a wall-mounted 12 hour clock with a 60 tooth sprocket attached to a motor, completing one revolution every hour. From the sprocket hangs a chain that consists of 720 links. Each link accounts for every minute of a 12 hour cycle. Among the black chain links is one polished stainless steel link to identify the position of the hour past 12 o’clock. To tell time one can estimate the position of the “hour hand” or count the number of links from the polished link to the top of the clock for a more accurate reading.

Between two 1/4” steel plates, sits a stepper motor, which ticks every 18 seconds. The hanging chain juggles with each tick reassuring the clock’s functionality.

Sprocket Clock

Thermal Clock video

THERMAL CLOCK

We rely heavily on our vision to identify change. We see sand accumulating at the bottom of the hourglass. We see the minute hand rotate clockwise. How would our sense of time change if we cast time to another sense?

Thermal Clock is a timepiece that positions heat along a bar over a 24 hour cycle to tell time.

Using an array of peltier junctions, heat is emitted from a focused area moving from left to right along the bar over the course of a day.

Thermal Clock

Counting to a Billion video

COUNTING TO A BILLION

As a child, I remember challenging myself to count to 1000, 1 million, or 1 billion. I don’t think I ever made it.
Why do we aimlessly count? How long would it take to count to a billion?

Counting to a Billion is a device created to fulfill the desire to count. The electronics consists of a microcontroller, a speech module, and a speaker powered by a rechargeable battery. There is no/off switch. The voice begins counting at one, two, three and continues counting up until it reaches one billion at which point in time it will stop.

Counting to a Billion Clock

If it took a second to utter each string of numbers, it would take 1 billion seconds or 31.7 years for the device to reach its end. But since it takes more than a second to vocalize many of the numbers in the sequence, it may take upwards of 60 years to complete.

The unit is housed in a solid block of aluminum, cnc milled into a vessel that was designed to withstand substantial abuse over many years.

Cinematic Timepiece video

CINEMATIC TIMEPIECE

Time is our measure of a constant beat. We use seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, etc. But what if we measured time against rituals, chores, tasks, stories, and narratives? How can we use our memory, prediction, familiar and unfamiliar narratives to tell time?

As a child, I remember using the length of songs as a way to measure how much time was left during a trip. A song was an appropriate period to easily multiply to get a grasp of any larger measure like the time left until we arrived to our grandmother’s place. The length of a song was also a measure I could digest and understand in an instant.

The first iteration of Cinematic Timepiece consists of 5 video loops playing at 5 different speeds on a single screen. The video is of a person coloring in a large circle on a wall.

The frame furthest to the right is a video loop that completes a cycle in one minute. The video to the left of the minute loop completes its cycle in one hour. The next completes in a day, then a month, then a year.

Through various iterations, we intend to experiment with various narratives and rituals captured in a video loop to be read as measures of time.

The software was written in OpenFrameworks for a single screen to be expanded in the future for multiple screens as a piece of hardware.

IN A LIFETIME

click image to view "In A Lifetime"

We often compare ourselves to friends, colleagues, relatives, idols, etc. on a scale of time that’s beyond our comprehension. Full of hope and objectives that are far into the future, we strive to achieve as much as our parents, friends, and heroes.
What do you plan to achieve in the next 5 years? 10 years? 20? How long will you live?

Though there are many unknowns, we share one lifetime as a common measure.

In a Lifetime is a website that visualizes individual achievements and milestones along the scale of one lifetime. Each point along the arc represents a milestone where the top (12th hour) is their moment of birth, the right quadrant (3rd hour) is a quarter through their life, the bottom (6th hour) is half way through their life, and so on. The mapping strips age as a parameter from individuals and scales lifespans to compare achievements of one life with another.

The website collects information about each individual through a publicly accessible interface. Input parameters are, author, date of birth, lifespan, milestone or note, and significance (0-100). Anyone who visits the site can enter information about an individual to be mapped. If one so desires, you can enter your predicted lifespan to compare personal milestones to others.

Some patterns emerge. Significant achievements are made between the half way point and the 3/4 point of their lives. Beyond the 3/4 point, nearly all individuals stop accruing achievements .
Around the half way point in their individual lives, Albert Einstein wrote the General Theory of Relativity, Constantin Brancusi completed the Kiss, Le Corbusier completed Villa Savoye, Leonardo Da Vinci drew the proportions of human figure after Vitruvious.

Visit Che-Wei Wang's website

Thursday, May 7, 2009

A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk - Mechanical Digital Jump Hour

The Lange Zeitwerk watch 140.029 A. Lange & Söhne - White gold

Often, it is a new face that ushers in new times. That was the case after the rift in Europe had healed and the LANGE 1 paved the way for the comeback of A. Lange & Söhne. Fifteen years ago, it enriched the realm of horology with a fundamentally new concept and unprecedented technical finesse. As a design icon, it has long conquered its place at the pinnacle of timelessness. Now, with a mechanical, precisely jumping hour and minute indication of singular clarity, Lange presents another milestone. So yet again, a new face ushers in the next era in timekeeping. Its name: Lange Zeitwerk.

The Lange Zeitwerk watch 140.032 A. Lange & Söhne - Pink gold

“I shut my eyes in order to see” – the creative maxim of famous French painter Paul Gauguin was adopted by Lange’s calibre engineers and designers as they resolved to explore uncharted territory and, from an unbiased viewpoint, devise a watch that would be evolutionary and progressive in every respect. Ultimately, progress is always a result of curiosity. The question at Lange was: “Can the principles of a mechanical watch and a modern time indication format be persuasively combined?” The answer is the first mechanical wristwatch with a truly eloquent jumping numeral display. It is a watch that reinterprets time in an era of change. It not only endows time with a new face but also defines a new direction in watchmaking. It is a timepiece that embodies the spirit of time and simultaneously transcends it. Indeed, it is a watch that lets its owner experience a totally new sense of time.

The Lange Zeitwerk watch 140.025 A. Lange & Söhne - Platinum

A fresh design concept underscores the paradigm shift: The German-silver time bridge unfolds its wings across the entire width of the dial to prominently frame the large numerals of the laterally aligned windows that present the hours and minutes. It extends down to encircle the subsidiary seconds dial as well, uniting all three levels of time measurement in a harmonious setting. With its easy-to-grip bevelled flutes, the knurled crown points up and away, predicting an upswing movement. And in the upper third of the dial, the continuous power-reserve indicator reliably tells the owner when it is time to re-energise the movement.

With its emblematic name, the Lange Zeitwerk is a watch that stands for uncompromising clarity. Thanks to the unparalleled size of its numerals, it tells the current time at even a cursory glance. With a whispered click and within fractions of a second, the minute display advances step by step until the watch initiates the big jump at the top of the hour. At this point, all three numeral discs switch forward simultaneously and instantaneously by exactly one unit. Here, timekeeping is elevated to the status of an event. The perfect moment for the showdown is at 11:59 – “high noon” in a widescreen format. The seconds hand embarks on its leisurely trajectory along the periphery of the subsidiary dial. Time seems to slow down as its course is deliberately observed. Thirty seconds to go. Mounting suspense. Then: ten… three, two, one – click – 12:00. One small step for a watch, but a giant leap for horology.

Beneath the extraordinary face, an equally revolutionary movement with a diameter of 33.6 millimeters fully occupies the space inside the 41.9-millimeter gold or platinum case.

The significant amount of energy required to simultaneously advance all three numeral discs once every hour is delivered by a newly developed barrel with an extra-strong mainspring. Its patented design literally turns the venerable wind/unwind principle upside down. Thus, the mainspring barrel bearing with the higher friction rating is involved when the watch is being wound, but the barrel wheel always turns in the minimized-friction bearing as the mainspring gradually relaxes. This makes more torque available for powering the watch as well as the ensemble of discs with the hour and minute numerals.

A constant-force escapement between the barrel wheel and the balance

A constant-force escapement, also patented, between the barrel wheel and the balance acts as a pacemaker for the jumping advance of the hours and minutes – in its compactness, the mechanism is quite likely unprecedented. The forces that occur when the numeral discs are accelerated and braked are far beyond the magnitude normally encountered in a movement. To absorb them, a fly governor was integrated in the mechanism. As it rotates, its vanes must displace air like a fan; it is this resistance that dissipates much of the energy and assures gentle switching.

At the same time, the constant-force escapement makes an important contribution to stabilizing the rate of the movement: across the entire 36-hour autonomy period, it drives the balance with nearly uniform power, regardless of the state of wind of the mainspring and unaffected by the energy-consuming switching cycles that take place in one-minute intervals. Incidentally, a balance wheel with eccentric poising weights and a hairspring manufactured in-house constitute the high-precision beat controller.

As progressive as this watch with the “A. Lange & Söhne” signature may be, it remains a staunch advocate of classic horological values. A glance through the sapphire-crystal caseback reveals the lavishly decorated L043.1 manufacture calibre that in addition to all its technical novelties of course also features a three-quarter plate, a hand-engraved balance cock, and screwed gold chatons – each element is an endearingly familiar and regal asset of every Lange watch.

With its graceful appearance and intrinsic values, the Lange Zeitwerk is not only a seminal timepiece, it also makes a strong statement about the personality and the style of its owner. It delivers a new experience in time – whether with eyes wide open or shut.

Film from the A. Lange & Söhne factory

It's The '60s Gentlemen, Synchronize - Watchismo Vintage Watches featured in The New York Times

CREATIVE TICKS Clockwise from top left: Vacheron Constantin Quai de I’lle in rose gold, $31,500; Hamilton Ventura Chrono, $695; Glashütte Senator Sixties in rose gold, $12,800; 1968 Wittnauer Sector Futurama Double Retrograde with original box, $2,500 at watchismo.com; 1961 Hamilton Electric Vega, $2,800 at watchismo.com.

By DAVID COLMAN
The New York Times

Published: May 6, 2009

OUR grasp of time is tenuous at best, from trying to really “get” relativity to fretting over those lost years when we never managed to write that novel. Is it any wonder we want time to comfort instead of alarm?

Perhaps this explains the happy solace so many men find in the AMC drama “Mad Men,” that window into the crazily optimistic postwar world, when cigarettes, steak and three-martini lunches were the fuel an adman needed to dream up such sterling slogans as “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking” (coined for Timex in 1956).

That spirit is there in the period’s watches, too. In the late ’50s, the playfulness at work in car and furniture design hit the gentlemanly watch world. In 1957, Hamilton introduced asymmetrical electric watches, and the line — especially the triangular Ventura — was an instant hit.

Now, luckily for those of us who don’t smoke or get lit at lunch but who think of the “Mad Men” lifestyle with fondness, the look is a hit again. Crazily inventive ’60s timepieces are among the best sellers at watchismo.com, a vintage-watch site. And Hamilton’s president, Matthias Breschan, reports that the company’s new take on the Ventura is selling better than its most high-tech models.

The look can also be found at the top of the Swiss-watch heap. Glashütte’s Senator Sixties model recalls President Kennedy’s stylish merger of stateliness and modernity. Vacheron Constantin’s latest release, the amazing Quai de I’lle, works a host of features, like a calendar dial, into a face worthy of Sean Connery’s James Bond.

Even better, these clever watches betray their value to only the most discerning eye — no diamond bezels here. But say: maybe in 2059, those will make a comeback, too.

Original Story link at The New York Times

Related Posts on The Watchismo Times;
All Vintage Watch Features

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Friday, May 1, 2009

Digimech (Digital Mechanical) Clock by Designer Duncan Shotton

Video Link

Young British designer Duncan Shotten has created this inventive mechanical digital prototype clock. For those of you that appreciate Harry Winston Opus 9 reinterpretation of a digital watch as a mechanical timepiece, then you gotta dig this kid's clock.

Numbers are printed on vertical sliders and only reveal themselves when shifted into perfect alignment with the 'display box'. when not aligned they look like random, alien forms and represent the negative of the number that is required.

The sliders are gradually cranked up using motors coupled to intricate mechanics in accurate time. upon reaching the last number (e.g. the 9th minute) the same motor disengages the ratchet’s 'stopper' and the slider then falls to the first number again.’

To see it in action, view the video above.

Duncan Shott Website

via Dark Roasted Blend

Related posts at The Watchismo Times;
Opus 9 Mechanical Digital Watch
All Watchismo Times Clock Posts
History of LED Calculator Watches
History of Dynamic Scattering LCD
History of Solar LED Watches
LED-LCD Watch Combos
Zenith Analog/Digital Hybrid
Other Analog-Digital Posts
Alternative Displays
All Digital Watch Posts
All LED Watch Related Posts

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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Denis Guidone Concept Timepieces - Ora Unica Scribble Watch Ora il Legale Daylight Savings Tilt clock & Other Prototype Designs

via Yanko Design;

Save yourself from the arduous task of setting time forwards or backwards at daylight savings with the concept clock "Ora ilLegale" designed by Denis Guidone.

It will eventually be produced by NAVA, and will be displayed at the upcoming Milan Design Week. The designer, Denis Guidone, has had one other concept posted on Yanko, a clock too, how about that!

"Denis Guidone was just selected as the winner of the international design competition Adamo Eva. His whimsical scribble watch design called “Ora Unica”, meaning One Hour, is a wonderful contrast of chaos and order mixed together. In their words, “The hour and minute hands are represented by a single line drawn on two circular faces, which turn one inside the other. Both faces together resemble a graphical gesture, a doodle that changes as time passes.”

Below, some new minimalist watch designs by Denis Guidone

Friday, April 10, 2009

Jaquet Droz Automaton 'La Machine à Ecrire le Temps' (The Machine that Writes the Time)

video link

Jaquet Droz 'La Machine à Ecrire le Temps' (The Machine that Writes the Time)

by Maximilian Büsser via MB&F's Parallel World

"Baselworld 2009 has just finished and, amongst the flurry of new horological creations, the timepiece that really impressed and amazed me wasn't a wristwatch at all, but an incredible horological machine in its own right.

Jaquet Droz's 'La Machine à Ecrire le Temps' - The Machine that Writes the Time.

Manuel Emch, president and head of artistic creation at Montres Jaquet Droz, has done a superb job in reinventing the brand over the last 8 years.

18th century automates from Jaquet Droz: the Draftsman, the Musician and the Writer

Jaquet Droz was one of the most celebrated creators of automatons in the past and in developing this modern time writing machine, they have created one of the most amazing "horological sculptures" to date, as well as added to the brand's rich heritage.

The project was the brainchild of Manuel Emch who had, amongst other objectives, the idea to create an automaton that relates to the 21st century. The result is as impressive as it is poetic. La Machine à Ecrire le Temps is an incredible blend of tradition, kinetic art, high-tech horology . . . and magic.

The development and construction of La Machine à Ecrire le Temps took the best part of a decade. It contains more than 1,200 components, including 84 ball bearings, 50 cams and 9 belts, and took thousands of hours to construct and regulate.

The masterpiece is housed in an unusual cage, whose aluminium frame is fitted with a liquid crystal glass, allowing the owner to mask or unveil the whole movement at will. A light touch activates the mechanism and a stylus writes the time in hours and minutes."

Some antique Jaquet Droz Automaton videos "The Writer" & "The Artist";

video link

Monday, April 6, 2009

Stepan Sarpaneva Presents Redesigned Gold Korona K3 Moonphase at Baselworld

SARPANEVA KORONA RG (rose gold) AND KORONA WG (white gold)

It was quite a while since the first Stepan Sarpaneva watch, the TIME TRAMP was created, using a pinion gear from a Harley Davidson motorcycle. At that time no one knew what the future would hold for watches created in Finland, certainly not for mechanical watches created with a different vision and such a distinctive Finnish design pedigree. Now, some 10 years later, Sarpaneva Watches has started to establish itself as the renegade alternative to the ‘Swiss-only’ mentality, offering collectors and watch lovers something new and different from the rest whilst keeping all the best qualities of watchmaking tradition. For Stepan this is definately something worth celebrating in an exclusive manner.

2009: THE FIRST SARPANEVA WATCHES IN 18-CARAT RED OR WHITE GOLD

For the past 10 years, the Sarpaneva workshop has been creating a name for itself producing unusual, limited series of watches – exclusively in different types of steel. There were a number of reasons behind this concept.

Stepan Sarpaneva: “I have always liked, even preferred the ‘essence’ of steel cased watches, as it fits with my desire for simplicity and the beauty you can find in essential and basic materials and designs – whether inspired by man made or natural elements. With my hobby and passion for motorcycles from an early age, steel is also a material I know and love intimately. So I never felt that steel was less interesting or less valuable to me than any other metal.

So what was behind this new development for the workshop?

Stepan Sarpaneva: “One reason was that I made my first watch exactly 10 years ago: the TIME TRAMP – and back then I never thought it might mark the beginning of where I am today. In addition a number of clients have been asking me regularly for a gold watch, so all this meant that the time was ripe for it now. Another reason was a more emotional one for me. My father designed jewelry, and in the back of my mind I still have plans to also create some jewelry, either stand alone items or combined with watches. So that means that the next step has got to be working in precious metals of course.”

A NEW CASE DESIGN

However, this didn’t mean that the new KORONA would simply be the same watchcase, merely in gold. Stepan took the decision to review the design; the case, with its slightly smaller 42 mm diameter compared to the previous KORONA K3 models of 44 mm, is just right for today’s tastes. The evocative scallops that are such a part of the exterior edges visual look are now cut right through the case from front bezel to back bezel, making the case even more distinctive. This, in combination with the skeleton dial has the effect of making the watch appear bolder and more uniquely Finnish in its design imagery, without it being perceived as either too large or too small.

Stepan Sarpaneva: “With this new, fuller case design, the lugs have also undergone some slight changes that allow me to use a shaped strap. This means the case and strap form a fluid line, giving a real visual and physical continuity between the watchcase and strap design, resulting in a truly relaxed fit. You can almost forget you have it on.”

A WORLD WITH THREE MOONS

The Moonphase indicator of the KORONA RG and WG, with its eternally somber face has become a hallmark of the entire series of KORONA watches, and perhaps Finland itself.

Stepan Sarpaneva: “You know, here in Finland, we are not a very extrovert kind of people. Maybe it has to do with our past history, as well as the cold combined with the extremely long winter nights and the extremely long summer days. You have to learn to remain in balance. So everyone here floats around with an aura of slight melancholy – I don’t know how else to describe it. So for me a smiling moon was out of the question, also because a Moonphase smiling all the time is too much like those yellow smiley faces they put in emails. This Moon has an aura of aristocratic melancholy; with a bit of indecision as to whether he is basically happy or sad in nature. The expression of the Moon on my watches just ‘is’ – same as the Finnish people here.”

Creating these Moonphase discs is as complex as the realization of the watch’s Moonphase mechanism. The first dilemma concerns the dimensions, as the face is only 0,4 mm thick yet contains four levels of elevation. The first step requires creating a drawing six times actual size, followed by cutting a rough model from plate stock, one piece corresponding to each level of elevation of the oversized model. These parts are then fixed together to form the model plate for the pantograph, which will mill the various shapes into a small piece of copper the actual size of the Moonphase. This copper version, which will serve later as an electrode, is then cleaned up and ‘fine-tuned’ by a master engraver before the contours are electro etched into a steel-pressing block, thus creating a negative image of the face. Last but not least, the eyes are modeled by hand into the negative image and the whole is finished by a master engraver and diamond polished before undergoing hardening, followed by yet another polishing.

The Moonphase of the watch requires two of these Moon faces to be created, but the winding rotor, responsible for helping automatically wind the watch with each movement of the wearer’s arm, also needed special treatment in order to be in harmony with the dial side view.

Stepan Sarpaneva: “Since the KORONA RG and WG are such special Moonphase watches, I felt that the rotor also had to be part of this special atmosphere. So I added another Moonphase on the rotor. It has the added effect of providing additional weight for the rotor, and it is always trapped in orbit around the watch’s center. Here again you sense my custom motorcycle building background – I see no reason why even the more functional parts can’t be attractive and nice to look at. So in total this is a Moon phase watch that has actually has three Moons on it, all in the same 18-carat gold as the case of the watch, either red or white”.

DIAL & ROTOR

The skeletonized dial and rotor in every KORONA RG and WG look so simple that one can easily forget the amount of work involved in producing them. Once the dial and rotor have been correctly sized in all dimensions, 260 individual holes need to be cut out of the dial, whose thickness measures a mere 0.3 mm. After this, each individual hole must be filed and finished, from both sides, therefore even the side that you will never see.

Stepan Sarpaneva: “This seems like a small thing, but if you don’t do it this way there is chance that light will catch in some holes and not in others, producing an uneven visual effect.”

The production of a completely assembled skeletonized dial and rotor, with all the additional parts and Moon faces installed takes a total of about a week of work to complete.

MOVEMENT

The watch’s base caliber is a new independent movement from the well-known and highly regarded Swiss manufactory Soprod S.A., who also provide movements and watches to several haute horlogerie brands today.

The base caliber is then further modified at the Sarpaneva workshop and fitted with new parts, all of which are manufactured in Finland. The entire movement is also re-finished, starting from the main plate, which receives gilding after hand finishing. The entire Moonphase mechanism
gearing and parts are all designed and made in Helsinki as well. It includes quite a few parts with very small tolerances to insure perfect functioning, the smallest of which being only
0.15 mm thickness.

Different from other Moonphase calibers, the Sarpaneva design features correction via the crown, thus eliminating the need for any pushers on the case, greatly simplifying any correction if necessary. However, it should be noted that if the watch is regularly wound, the next correction for the Moonphase would only be in another 122 years!

Although the workshop is small and independent, the philosophy is for long-term results. For this reason a well-tested caliber was chosen for which there are always spare parts available, or parts that can be manufactured right in the Helsinki atelier.

SCOPE OF DELIVERY

For the new gold watches a special presentation box was designed and created by Stepan Sarpaneva, and is also manufactured in Finland. This wood and aluminum creation, embodying all the stylistic directness and raw energy of the timepieces, are also made by hand in small numbers that follow the limited production of the KORONA. An instruction booklet and guarantee certificate is included with each timepiece, covering a guarantee period of two years from the date of purchase.

SARPANEVA WATCHES

Sarpaneva Watches is Finland’s only mechanical watchmaking company, solely dedicated to the design and production of mechanical wristwatches. Located in the country’s capital Helsinki, the workshop was started in 2003 by Stepan Sarpaneva after years of training in both Finland and Switzerland that covered watchmaking in all its varieties, including hands on experience at several of Switzerland’s major houses with highly specialized work on complications. The Sarpaneva workshop’s philosophy towards watchmaking is firmly anchored within Stepan Sarpaneva’s deep desire to express himself in more ways then solely through the purely mechanical side of watchmaking. For this reason his firm’s foundation is to unite a long-term and timeless visual design concept together with that of high quality mechanical watchmaking. Unlike the majority of brands on the market today, this is a fundamental aspect that sets Sarpaneva Watches apart from the rest; here is one man with the ability to create novel wristwatch designs as well as unite them with the mechanical know-how of a master watchmaker.

Photos by Ian Skellern at 2009 Baselworld for Horomundi

For more information about Stepan Sarpaneva
Sarpaneva - Finland, Family & Design

Sarpaneva Watches Website

Related Sarpaneva Posts at The Watchismo Times;
Korona K3 Black Moon
Korona K3 Red Moon
Korona K2 & K3 Moonphase
Korona K1
Blue Steel Supernova
Stainless Steel Supernova
Sarpaneva Loiste II
Eero Aarnio Prototype

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Saturday, April 4, 2009

Ikepod Solaris Collection by Marc Newson + Interview

Solaris by Ikepod & Marc Newson

Showcasing a new dimension from his Ikepod brand, Australian designer Marc Newson introduces the Solaris. Having designed watches since 1986, the expert watchmaker takes a unique approach with his latest creation. Named after an Andrei Tarkovsky film, the Solaris features a duality factor rarely seen on timepieces. Following the concept of an symmetrical two-faced object, this new Ikepod watch combines sleek hand crafted design with two fully reversible faces and German metal-mesh bracelets. Another neat feature is the ability to display two different time zones recto-verso with each face comprised of separate independent movements.

via Hypebeast

“With the Solaris, however, I wanted to design a very simple, elegant dress watch” - Marc Newson

Interview via The Watch Quote & Louise Neri

Louise Neri: When did you make your first watch?

Marc Newson: At the age of twelve, in my grandfather’s garage in Sydney. I found a piece of blue Plexiglas, carved it into a funny, massive rectangular shape and bored a big, perfect, cylindrical hole through it with a power tool. Then I inserted a movement that my uncle had given me; or rather he had given me a watch that I promptly took to pieces! I screwed the thick Plexiglas face down with four big woodscrews. They were unique technical experiments, but I remained interested in watches, clipping pages from magazines, learning about all the Swiss brands, and so on.

Louise Neri: What was it about them that interested you so much?

Marc Newson: I was always fascinated by the idea of the watch as a little universe, a container, a time machine that held an enormously complex mechanism with many moving parts, each one perfectly made. It was practically impossible to see what was really going on inside, so they seemed like wonderful, mysterious objects to me.

Louise Neri: Are all watches analog?

Marc Newson: Yes, to some degree. My watches are very handmade and there are very few of them, which is partly why they are inherently valuable. There is no other way to make them, especially not with robots. Watches illustrate a skill set that has neither significantly evolved nor significantly atrophied over the last century, unlike most other artisanal practices.

What I also love is the idea that a clock could be miniaturized to the point where it could be put on the wrist…

Louise Neri: When did that happen?

Marc Newson: Pocket watches appeared in the 16th century, and then wristwatches were invented around the turn of the 20th century. Clocks were being miniaturized to the point where they could not get much smaller. Although many other things are being reduced to nano-dimensions, watches reached their limits, having to remain robust, useable and able to be read.

Louise Neri: What else is there for you beyond the practical concerns?

Marc Newson: The idea that you can have time with you wherever you are—that you can literally “take your time”! For me it always seemed like a sort of alchemy, like traveling with a bit of fire in prehistoric times!

Louise Neri: How, over the years, have you chosen which mechanisms to use, given all the available options?

Marc Newson: I’d love to say that on a technical level I make rigorous or considered choices but in reality it’s about what is actually available. The industry has become so consolidated—most of the watch companies are now owned by a handful of big groups—it depends on what you can get your hands on. As Ikepod is one of the few remaining independent companies, it has to wait in line for movements—which is all the more reason for our company to distinguish itself via design.

The Ikepod Solaris watch in yellow gold by Marc Newson

Louise Neri: So, would you agree that Ikepod watches are design-driven?

Marc Newson: Absolutely. In fact, most watches are. It’s an interesting parallel with Apple: in the computer industry, the inherent technology is available widely but what differentiates Apple is the design. Of course Apple’s success is due to a lot more than its packaging but what you see and its related functionality is key.

Louise Neri: A lot of your earlier watch designs were more self-consciously concerned with technical function.

Marc Newson: The first Megapode, which is still in production, had an analog flight calculator. It’s my favorite because of its slightly ‘over-technical’ appearance.

Louise Neri: This kind of technical complexity was really fashionable at the time, wasn’t it?

Marc Newson: Yes, I designed the Megapode in the mid-nineties and the huge POD before it, in the mid-eighties. I think that they anticipated the trend of big watches.

In general, I like all the extra things watches can be equipped to “do,” very few of which we actually use or need. A tiny watch movement can be tricked up to the point where it can do half a dozen extra things; it’s like hotting up a car! It’s no wonder that in the industry these extra features are called “complications.” I have been progressively simplifying my watches, but I could easily and happily make them complicated once more.

With the Solaris, however, I wanted to design a very simple, elegant dress watch.

Louise Neri: Why did you call it “Solaris”?

Marc Newson: After Andrei Tarkovsky’s unforgettable film based on the novel by Stanislaw Lem. Solaris suits this watch because it’s all about duality, about being double. I loved the idea of making a symmetrical two-faced object, where one face is visible and the other hidden. It’s always simultaneously up the right way and upside-down. The connection is quite abstract; the original story concerns the relationship between reality and dreams. My Solaris contains two time zones relating to two different places…

The Ikepod Solaris watch in ceramic by Marc Newson

Louise Neri: Can the wearer choose the time zones?

Marc Newson: Yes, in fact, it’s not just a watch that displays two different time zones recto-verso; it actually comprises two separate movements that are utterly independent of each other.

Louise Neri: How difficult would be to synchronize them perfectly? Or is that part of it, that they will never be completely synchronized?

Marc Newson: Yes, somewhat. I love the idea that there is always that element of slippage.

Louise Neri: It makes me think of Felix Gonzales-Torres’ work Untitled (Perfect Lovers), 1991: Two identical, battery-driven wall clocks were initially set to the same time, but they eventually move slightly out of sync. Thus Gonzales-Torres transformed neutral, readymade timepieces into a personal and poetic meditation on human relationships, mortality, and time’s inevitable flow.

Marc Newson: In theory, the two movements in the Solaris will keep time because they are highly accurate quartz movements, rather than mechanical movements. But of course they will probably move slightly out of sync over time.

Louise Neri: But given that the watch faces have no second hand, any discrepancy will probably go unnoticed. Can they be reset at will?

Marc Newson: Absolutely, although this is probably at odds with the industry. But given that so many of our clients travel or live between two places, they might well appreciate the idea.

Louise Neri: Is the Solaris a unisex watch?

Marc Newson: Yes, I’ve never really designed for men or women but most of my watches tend to appeal to men because of their scale and weight. Perhaps this is the first of my watches that will appeal as much, if not more, to women.

Louise Neri: The size of the face also relates more to a woman’s watch, although the case is larger.

Marc Newson: However the gold and white gold watches have a masculine presence simply because gold is ultra-dense and heavy.

Louise Neri: Is the same true of the ceramic version?

Marc Newson: Not at all: ceramic is, in order of magnitude, much lighter than gold. Weight is an interesting quality to play with. The weight of a watch is a particular and esoteric thing.

Louise Neri: The flexible mesh watchstrap is also a more “feminine” touch.

Marc Newson: I also love the fact that mesh is a bit old-fashioned. Mesh is very difficult to find these days and we had to develop this particular variation to make it strong enough yet flexible.

Louise Neri: It makes me think of jewelry trends in the twenties and thirties; also of Elsa Peretti’s mesh chains for Tiffany…

Marc Newson: Sure, but in this case there are some technical limitations and real structural issues to deal with, such as the fact that the strap has to be strong enough to hold the watch in place on the wrist.

Louise Neri: How is the mesh produced?

Marc Newson: The production of metal mesh is another complex and specialized micro-industry. Much of it requires hand finishing. We work with a German company that makes mesh and chains for many different industries and a host of industrial applications, as well as for the textile industry. Companies such as this one use metals and industrial materials in such a forgiving and seductive way. So I was determined to work with them for the Solaris.

Prices: 6700 €, 16750 €, 24000 €

Ikepod website