October 6th, 2012, Passion has the great pleasure of hosting Martin Braun, the Master Watchmaker previously of the eponymous company Martin Braun. Like many of his colleagues in the Independent Watchmaking world, they lose the ability to make watches under their own name once attaching themselves to a large corporate brand. With the help of a Swiss businessman by the name of Antoine Meier, hence the new company name, and the ever resourceful and energetic Bruno Jufer, who as CEO, runs the business side of things, Martin is once again free to design and create his vision of a mechanical watch.
Gearing up for Basel 2011
As watch lovers the world over mentally, fiscally and physically prepare themselves for April's bonanza of the Basel Watch & Jewelry Fair, I am most interested in seeing a couple of new developments from the two sibling Independent Watchmaking teams, the Grönefelds and the McGonigles, neither of whom interestingly enough are Swiss, rather Dutch and Irish!
Firstly John & Stephen have been creating their project, the Tuscar for a couple of years now and are on the brink of revealing to the word their version of a time only watch. The initial McGonigle watch was a sublime Tourbillon, which I was fortunate enough to be at it's first delivery in Dublin in 2006. It was well received by collectors and many have asked for something less technical and a bit more simple. Well here we go, and I'm very excited to see it. The Tuscar beckons...
This image is courtesy of McGonigle watches:
Meanwhile Tim & Bart have been hard at work over in Oldenzaal, Holland creating their second watch also. This time an amazing technical tour de force, the One Hertz. Sporting an independent gear-train to drive the dead beat seconds mechanism, this watch is wholly conceived by the lads, and has a fascinating finish on the bridges which happen to be made of steel! Unusual material for movements, but promises to be rather neat to look at. They combine a frosted and high polish/black polish finish. The One Hertz has a power reserve under the Jumping seconds hand and tells time over at 2 o'clock.
Video courtesy of Bart Grönefeld:
Additionally, there will be the usual supects to visit to see what they have been up to. One of my big plans is to have these guys come out to CA to visit this year and meet with collectors over a meal and get to spend some time with the people that make their chosen lifes work possible. I think it is key for these artisan watchmakers to meet with the collectors in order for them to gain an understanding and a greater appreciation of why they create these stunning pieces of horological art.
Continuing to build upon years of relationship, gives me pause to think how fortunate I feel to have my passion be a big part of my professional life. The relationships developed doing what I do are one of the main reasons why I do this.
Anyone looking for anything in particular, a wristshot a certain watch or just a real life picture of a watch, just let me know and I'll work at fitting it into my schedule.
Keep the Independent spirit alive, support these watchmakers, as I believe they represent true innovation and artistry in an all too homogenised field of mechanical watchmaking.
Cheers,
Tim