Marc Brogsitter is no watchmaker, so you might well ask what he is doing featured on Independent in Time? Well my friend Don Corson mentioned him as someone who has very interesting watches and that they are worth a look. So I thought, yes that rings a bell, I must investigate for myself. Having a small stand alone tall cubic display downstairs from the AHCI in Hall 5.1, Marc was sort of 'Off the beaten path", apparently Richard & Maria Habring were in a similar space last year, but boy was it worth getting to.
The 18k RG "Force Constant" escapement
And this, the WG Tourbillon
But wait a minute what do we have here...the lovely huge balance of the "Force Constant" escapement!
And this too...subtley hidden in the back, a huge Tourbillon escapement.
Marc is a long time watch collector who appreciates great classical watches. He is an imposing figure, and I suspect part of his motivation for creating this watch was the diminutive size of the vintage watches from the 40's & 50's. Marc collaborated with the geniuses at FDMN headed by Karsten Frässdorf, to have him develop the 2 calibres, a "Force Constant" escapement and the Tourbillon. At first the watches remind one of wonderful old Patek's or Vacheron's from the 40's & 50's, but on closer inspection, and although much larger, they are lovely classical designs, executed with style and really rather special and interesting movements.
Here is the 18k RG Tourbillon, love that faceted Sapphire crystal and those lugs are superb.
OK, here it is straight on!
And the movement...
The Tourbillon is visible only from the back, subtle and exquisite, having a huge diameter balance wheel and cage, slowly beating at 18,000vph. The "Force Constant" piece is too quite subtle, and again only revealing it's horological charm when removed from the wrist and examined. I don't know a huge amount about Karsten Frässdorf, at this point, but that hopefully change soon. Obviously his talent is clear, and so much so, that the venerable house in Munich, Chronoswiss, chose these guys (FDMN) to develop their new inhouse caliber shown to great fanfare in Basel.
An obligatory wrist shot, the 18k WG Tourbillon!
And now sideways, so one can see the stepped case
It has been a long road for Marc, four years in the making to get to now, with the several working prototypes he has. The finish in the production pieces will be better obviously, so don't rush to judgement on these pictures of mine! I think these are quite something horologically, I very much enjoy the mesmerizing slow beat of the huge screwed balance wheels.
So to the back of the WG Tourbillon one more time!
Pictures are worth a thousand words, I rest my case m'lud.