In this final round table discussion of the 2017 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, the Quill & Pad team discusses the amazing evening of November 8, 2017 and what we thought of the big night’s winners (and losers).
Artistic Crafts is a Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève category for beauty; it’s as simple as that. Mastery of techniques is the only requirement, and the results are always stunning. It is also a great place to see some unique applications of skills rarely seen, allowing us to view just what artists can imagine when given such a small canvas.
Anyone who visits online watch forums with any frequency very likely comes across at least a few heated discussions of “finishing,” a topic that seems to fascinate, and divide, enthusiasts. What is it and why are opinions divided?
I had the pleasure of curating a special exhibition on métiers d’art at SalonQP 2016, comprising specialist brands in their fields demonstrating the arts and crafts that they have become famous for. But what else did I particularly enjoy there? Read on to find out.
At SalonQP 2016, London’s premier watch show, Quill & Pad will have a bigger presence than ever before with both myself and Ian actively taking part in the exhibition. Ian will be hosting the seminar “In conversation: Kari Voutilainen” while I have curated the exhibition, “Métiers d’Art: Art of Time.”
Like many people, my starting point for serious watches was with a well-priced brand long known for its expertise in developing movements, justly viewed as offering good value for money – but not necessarily for the refinement of its movement finishing, at least on its less expensive pieces. What have I learned since then?
Date: late February 2010. Place: a small San Francisco restaurant. Players: an informal group of Northern California watch collectors, all owners of at least one Kari Voutilainen watch. One of the members of the group nonchalantly mentioned, “I’ve been talking with Kari about something . . ..” It was a set of bespoke Kari Voutilainen Masterpiece Chronograph II models. Time: two seconds later. Response: “I’m in!”
Recently, GaryG presented his take on the Kari Voutilainen Masterpiece 8 while Elizabeth wrote about the A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater.
Here Gary, Elizabeth, and Ian compare and discuss six areas of these two rare and very technical timepieces: design, innovation, operation, finishing, sound, and overall impression.
And there’s a video so you can see and hear both decimal repeaters to make your own comparison.
One of the big introductions of 2015 in the collector’s world was A. Lange & Söhne’s Zeitwerk Minute Repeater: a watch that both shows and chimes off the time using a “decimal” format of hours, tens of minutes, and minutes rather than the more traditional hours, quarters (15 minutes), and minutes. But the first decimal repeating wristwatch to reach the market wasn’t the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater. It was by independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen.
“Työ puhuu puolestaan.” This Finnish proverb means, “A man is valued by his work, not his words.” And it most definitely characterizes the introverted, Finnish master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen to the proverbial tee. ‘Kari Voutilainen Horlogerie d’Art’ is an epic book written by Theodore Diehl that would make a perfect gift for the horophile in your life!