The final frontier for this trip, and one quite fitting as Peter and I have known each other for over 5 years. He was one of the initial people to get me to look outside of the big brand watch companies for something slightly more compelling, Vianney being the other one! From that first meeting in Basel 6 years ago, I have been constantly impressed by the quality and execution of Peter's form of horological art. As an owner of two Piccadilly watches, I have many years of enjoyment, so this brief meeting in Rolle with Peter, was long overdue!
I arrived at about 11 o’clock in the morning, and as I had yet another train to catch to Geneva airport, the time spent together was too brief. The local train pulled into Rolle from Bienne/Biel to a light rain, Peter was waiting, smiling with his familiar close cropped hair, on the platform. We exchanged greetings and dashed off to The Workshop. Only 2 minutes by car, I'm glad I didn't have to lug my suitcase through the village!
We spent the first 15 minutes chatting over an ever present espresso. I think if these amazing espresso machines all came to a stop in Switzerland, no watchmaking would ever get done! I have to say, there is something about the coffee they serve over there, that is very difficult to find here in the USA. I wonder if it has something to do with the chemicals in the water here??? Anyway, I reminded Peter I only had 45minutes before my next train to Geneva airport, so we went into the room where his form of magic takes place.
I noticed several desks covered with cloth, I suspect these are future projects; Peter knows my penchant for taking pics, so wants to keep those future endeavours in the future... None the less I was able to snap some pics of the atelier where Peter crafts his lovely timepieces as we hurried about discussing future projects and looking at existing watches in various stages of assembly.
A bench for watch assembly in The Workshop.
A variety of hands for future watches...
Here a unique hand engraved double headed eagle Piccadilly with an engraved case...
Another view
An incredible execution of the 1 in 20 QP struck me as possibly the best version of this superb watch. This watch sports Peter's new movement; arguably the most beautiful automatic caliber ever made, the SM2 caliber!
Peter designed and built the SM2 as a watchmaker’s movement. What do I mean by that statement? Well it initially came from Peter back in 2007 when he first told me about this new project, and it still carries weight. Especially when this is corroborated by both John & Stephen McGonigle, who get to work on some of the finest and most complicated movements today. An Independent Watchmaker’s dream is to create their own caliber, incorporating features that they like to see in a movement; as well as designing the aesthetics and having the timekeeping performance, that they look for.
The SM2 caliber is quite lovely, I had the fortune to see it last year when Peter visited CA on his other whirlwind tour of the planet. It was then a fully working prototype, cased without a dial in a 42mm steel Piccadilly case. Peter told me he had a couple of offers from collectors in Asia, to buy this piece! He insisted the finishing was not as good as the final production pieces, and was hesitant to have this representation of Speake-Marin work floating around.
This is from last year...
As ever, these Independent watchmakers do not want sub par examples of any of their work in the public domain. One only needs to look at various of the online watch collector websites to know how quickly miss-information and rumour can spread. Having the chance of bad press when it comes to this level of mechanical art, is not something they can afford…
The front:
I was able to see two of the series, 1 in 20. I'm happy to say they are going to clients/friends of mine. Both stunning and quite different, one a QP, the other a time only with a killer dial. These lucky guys will each gain an incredible jewel in their collection, with these watches from Peter.
This is the QP...
And Peter's more professional looking pics of this stunner:
And Peter's shot of the back:
18K WG caseback of the 1 in 20 Series, of subscription watches.
A SM2 caliber partially assembled. The German Silver mainplate and bridges glow in the light. Their surface graining, perlage and anglage are a joy to experience!
After I snapped an appropriate picture of Peter on the bench, we packed up the various watches we had out and dashed off back to the station, with a minute to spare. I bid him farewell and boarded what was to be my last train in Switzerland of this tour. Geneva Airport was only 30 minutes away for my flight back to London for the stop-over before heading back home to N. California and some days of clear blue sky and hot sun.
I'm very grateful to all these good people for hosting me over the 3 & 1/2 days, and look forward to coming back with a few friends and collectors, so that they can experience firsthand the excitement and passion found within these Independent Watchmakers.