Twelve member of the Club will visit on January one of the most important Horology events in the world, the SIHH. In more than twenty Shows, The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie has confirmed it is a landmark event for the fine Watch sector.
The brands (and also sponsor of the club) that will present the novelties to the members will be; Audemars Piguet, A.Lange & Söhne, Cartier, IWC, Jaeger LeCoultre, Montblanc and Piaget.
With these words I would like to thank all the members for the effort in coming and sharing this very special moment with us in Hamburg. After two and a half year I believe that it was worth the wait.
Thanks to all!
Last 13th of November several club members had the chance to visit the Cartier manufacture as well as the headquarters in Geneva. Le visit and presentation was lead by Carole Forestier, head of development at Cartier.
This past October the club visited Audemars Piguet at their workshops at le Brassus. Few times one can have the chance to really grasp what lies behind the term “Haute Horlogerie” in other places than here. Without a doubt one of the most surprising, impressive and gratifying to any manufacture is that of Audemars Piguet. Three days that will undoubtedly leave a deep impact upon those fortunate enough to visit one of the three “princes” of watchmaking. A visit without equal, simply extraordinary.
The process of conceiving the piece was an absolute joy. Absolutely NO impediments, NO problems and NO difficulties of any kind. The idea is based on the original “Spirit Pioneer” but with the new “EROS 1” calibre and incorporating that stunning blue rotor. The indexes have been pushed outward to make them coincide with the date opening. In turn the date opening was placed at 2 o’clock mimicking an index in order to disturb as least as possible the balance of the dial design. The second day of the month is in Roman numeral “II” like the indexes on the dial. (This is a homage to the CronotempVs II.) The date format for all other days is displayed in traditional Arabic numerals. The rear is engraved CronotempVs II and CW meaning “Club Watch”. The hands and round/dot-indexes are made out of the same Super LumiNova and flush in the dial. Unlike the roman numerals and minutes that stick out. This was done so to minimise the hight/level difference between the round/dot- indexes and the date display.
There is no doubt that the bar was initially set very hi with the CronotempVs I by L.U.Chopard, with the CronotempVs 2 by Speake-Marin has raised the bar to a whole new level. A tough act to follow…
This is the first time a dial has be fabricated in such a manner. The multiple layered dial construction is complex and had to be developed specifically in order to be able to manufacture this dial. The Super LumiNova indexes are filled inside a unique mould method in order to be able to obtain such dramatic results. The performance of the Super LumiNova is quite astounding. A unique feature is the luminescent date disk. Although the date is unreadable at night, there is an explanation as to this feature. The reason for the luminescent date disk is to keep the balance of the dial design in complete darkness. A standard non-luminescent disk would show a “gap” at the 2 o’clock index.
As homage to this being the “CronotempVs II” the date has been placed in the 2 o’clock position mimicking an index to keep the original Spirit design. The second day of the month has been spelled in roman numerals like the dial while all other days of the month are in classic arabic numerals.
The back has been labeled “CW” meaning “Club Watch” and personalised with each club member’s number. We have taken advantage of the finishings and design of already present models inside the Speake-Marin collection. The blue rotor with its stunning outward angles is one of the most outstanding features of this piece.
The “pin” of the ardillon buckle has been PVDed in blue to match the rotor. From a distance it is a regular Spirit. The differences should only be apparent upon closer inspection.
The standard box has been replaced with a wallet/traveling pouch that serves the owner beyond a classic box that collects dust in a closet.
