Thomas has been beavering away in Twann creating his next pieces inspired by the Art Nouveau era, the steampunk movement and also his love of nautical lore having been an officer in the former West German Navy as a young man. Probably best known for his foray into multiple axis tourbillons and being the first fellow to design and make a Triple Axis flying Tourbillon with constant force on the escape wheel, he has gone in a bit if a different direction, certainly style wise!
His intitial designs were quite classical in terms of design, utilizing the golden ratio and a stunning trigonal guilloche on the dials and movements. These new watches in the Nemo series are an altogether different animal. Elements of his past watches are to be found in the more complicated pieces of the triptychron, whilst taking inspiration from nautical elements found in his past as a sailor.
The Nemo Sailor pictured above, which I had the pleasure of handling as a prototype last year, is cased in staybrite steel with copper bronze front & back bezels, lugs, crown & buckle. I then saw it about 5 months later at the end of the year with a patina that had developed quite distinctly, and again this weekend. Here it is from this past weekend, note the name plaques on the dial are copper and they have darkened up a bit since new...
And I attempted to capture the styling from differing angles on the wrist:
These hands are fantastic, combining the lovely blued steel with the copper edged tips:
Her some other shots I was able to capture whilst Thomas worked away on his lap top creating another piece for a lucky client, a unique & highly complicated Nemo watch...
While I was delivering a new Nemo Sailor to a client, another of Thomas' babies was present in the house, the stunning 18K WG Single Axis Tourbillon delivered last year, but making a guest appearance courtesy of a good friend! These flying tourbillons that Thomas creates, are simply mesmerizing, and those that see one for the first time typically say "Wow" or words to that effect. The "stick" as I refer to the element that holds the flying tourbillon escapement in place and has a drive shaft to the escapement incorporated, allows for unimpeded viewing of the tourbillon. As one can see through the caliber due to the design, I think this has to be one of the most fascinating tourbillon watches made.
Here we see the amazing trigonal guilloche movement back together with the shock protection for the tourbillon mechanism. This piece is cased in 18K WG and is the first Single Axis Tourbillon in white gold sold outside of a Trilogy set.
I am eager to see what Thomas comes up with in the future within this Nemo series. If the pictures of the first Captain delivered in Palladium and copper bronze are anything to go by, we are in for a treat with the future offerings!
As always, I am honored to have Thomas as a friend and his brief stay with us was hugely inspiring. One mans journey is impactful, the horological world is better off for the likes of Independent Watchmakers such as Thomas.
Until the next chapter in the journey...
Cheers,
Tim