The Grönefeld 1941 Remontoire, introduced at Baselworld 2016, is the next step in the ongoing evolution of the Grönefeld brothers’ burgeoning dynasty. The watch’s concept revolves around a key feature, the remontoire, which also references the church clock. Read on to find out why.
Contemporary watchmaking has been making waves in the generally calm waters of traditional watchmaking for nearly two decades and has radically changed perceptions as to what haute horlogerie might be. But watching the superb Netflix series ‘Chef’s Table ‘ and contemporary haute cuisine, I can’t help but wonder if the pioneers and leaders of contemporary watchmaking are doing enough.
Like every other Akrivia timepiece the Tourbillon Chiming Jump Hour includes a beautifully delicate tourbillon whirling away at 6 o’clock. Akrivia tourbillons are already becoming known for their fine cages and slender profiles, and the balance wheels inside share these characteristics. I love complicated mechanisms that require multiple views to fully grasp all of the detail, but sometimes it’s just so delightful to gaze upon something simply aesthetically pleasing.
When we published ‘Inspired Interstellar Exploration: Miki Eleta BY 21Dez12ME Starship Clock’ a couple of weeks ago, quite a few readers requested video to better appreciate how Miki Eleta’s horological sci-fi fantasy worked. We heard you! So here by popular demand is a video of BY 21Dez12ME having just landed with a bang on earth.
What you are about to read is a work of fantasy directly inspired by the incredible horological work and details of Miki Eleta’s BY 21Dez12ME clock. “The chief navigator paused and checked the coordinates against the holographic star chart surrounding the cabin, suddenly realizing that the starship called ‘BY 21Dez12ME’ was, to put it delicately, astonishingly lost.”
Believe it or not, this Rube Goldberg/Jean Tinguely-style contraption is actually an astronomical clock by A.H.C.I. member Miki Eleta that displays retrograde minutes, jumping hours, day of the week, a three-dimensional moon phase, and world time. And it’s all regulated by Eleta’s own constant force gravity tourbillon with chronometer escapement.
But the question I’m asking here is: what might this assembly of gears be and/or be doing if it wasn’t a clock? Please leave your ideas (fun or funny also welcome) in the comments.
It is with a bit of trepidation that I turn my attention to independent watches from Baselworld 2016 that are now on my “desire” list; we’ll see whether any of these watches from Sarpaneva, Grönefeld, Voutilainen, Akriva or even Renaud & Papi make it onto my wrist as a result! In the meantime, enjoy these gorgeous timepieces.
Kim Djapri, a watchmaker with Lang & Heyne and boutique manager at Tempus Arte in Dresden, exhibited at the A.H.C.I.’s Baselworld 2016 booth a micro-brand and a timepiece all his own. His new brand Bélier is the banner under which his new watch, christened Reverse, has been built. This watch is perfect allegory for reflection in a timepiece.
Thrash metal rocker Dan Spitz has had an interesting life that has seen him go from being the co-founder of Grammy-nominated band Anthrax to becoming a noteworthy watchmaker. This three-minute video by Great Big Story really tells his story in a cool, compact way.
Meet 38-year-old Dilip Sivaraman from India, who entered the 2016 Young Talent Competition sponsored by the AHCI, F.P. Journe, and Horotec, where he was a finalist. Sivaraman had started out wanting to fix an antique clock he had bought, but ended up making his own clock, called Gato, escapement and all.