Independent watchmaker and A.H.C.I. member Andreas Strehler has had a very good 18 months. In the fall of 2013, he won the prestigious Gaïa Award for Artisanal Creation.
Andreas Strehler (right) accepting the 2013 Prix Gaïa for Artisanal Creation from ex-MIH museum curator Ludwig Oechslin (left)
In winning that illustrious trophy, which was created in the early 1990s in memory of one of the first patrons of the Musée d’Horlogere in La Chaux-de-Fonds (MIH), Strehler joins close to two decades’ worth of winners in this category that include other independent watchmakers such as François-Paul Journe, George Daniels, and Beat Haldimann, Swatch’s Jacques Müller and Elmar Mock, Corum’s creative co-founder René Bannwart, automaton maker François Junod, Eric Coudray (of Cabestan and previously Jaeger-LeCoultre) and A.H.C.I. colleagues Vincent Calabrese, Philippe Dufour, Paul Gerber and (last year’s winner) Kari Voutilainen.
Sauterelle à Lune Perpétuelle by Andreas Strehler
But now Strehler has received an honor that is almost bigger – at least in the eyes of the general public. The Swiss watchmaker’s Sauterelle à Lune Perpétuelle has been entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the most precise lunar phase wristwatch with a deviation of only one full day in 2,060,757 years.
Yes, you heard right: more than 2 million years!
The Sauterelle à Lune Perpétuelle by Andreas Strehler, whose moon phase is accurate to more than two million years (give or take a few seconds)
Other watchmakers that have been mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records throughout the years include A.H.C.I. co-founder Svend Andersen with the world’s smallest calendar watch; A.H.C.I. member Paul Gerber with the smallest functioning wooden-wheeled clock in the world; Ulysse Nardin with the world’s most-functional watch in 1989 (the Astrolabium Galileo Galilei); and Armin Strom with the world’s smallest watch to ever be skeletonized by hand.
For detailed information on this exceptional watch, which also includes an exceedingly rare remontoir for constant force, please read Blood Moons, Lunar Tetrads, And The Andreas Strehler Sauterelle À Lune Perpétuelle.
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[…] To read more about this watch, please see Blood Moons, Lunar Tetrads, And The Andreas Strehler Sauterelle A Lune Perpétuelle and Andreas Strehler Entered Into ‘Guinness Book Of World Records.’ […]
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[…] To read more about this watch, please see Blood Moons, Lunar Tetrads, And The Andreas Strehler Sauterelle A Lune Perpétuelle and Andreas Strehler Entered Into ‘Guinness Book Of World Records.’ […]
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[…] BP: I particularly liked the new moon phase timepiece by Andreas Strehler called Sauterelle à Lune Perpétuelle, which has a moon phase function working precisely for two million years. Now in the Guinness Book of World Records, it is a fantastic and amazing masterpiece (See Andreas Strehler Entered Into Guinness Book Of World Records.) […]
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[…] We are thrilled to announce that Andreas Strehler’s “Sauterelle à lune perpétuelle” has entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the most precise lunar phase wristwatch with a deviation of only one full day in 2,060,757 years. We congratulate Andreas on this fantastic achievement and for more information, please click here. […]
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[…] years." I'd never heard of Strehler until today, but I'm definitely a fan of his work. Quill & Pad | Andreas Strehler Entered Into 'Guinness Book Of World Records' ANDREAS STREHLER – Uhrmacher __________________ Current: '12 Toyota Camry SE, '07 Subaru […]
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Congratulations for Andreas; he is a true wizard of watchmaking and he deserves this prize!
And this is only one of many amazing and original mechanisms he has created.
However, perhaps splitting hairs a bit and as an added note: the accuracy mentioned is only theoretical, as the motion of his Moonphase is still driven by his watch’s base movement. And there is no watch, mechanical or quartz that can deliver anything even near the accuracy his mechanism requires – not even an atomic clock can do that – for such an extended period of time.
So in the reality of the wristwatch, his Moonphase is no more accurate in practice than any other I am afraid, where even a regular old Moonphase from almost any brand will be accurate for about 200 years. With 2 seconds a day variation and perfect running, even his Moonphase will be off by one day after 25 years. Nonetheless it is still a beautiful mechanical development in and of itself that has emotional value for connoisseurs.
It would be much more correct for Guinness to prize his engineering and manufacturing skills for creating the most accurate mechanism for calculating the phases of the moon. Rant over!