TimeTexas

Something new, something blue.

I've been working on wrist shots. Today's watch.

Some behind the scenes photos of the upcoming Statera release, currently slated for June. These are still underway but an early look at the exciting new timepiece. These were shared with confidence so please don't post outside the forum. They are working on some additional photos and renders of the upcoming watch.

Have the Sphaera on today. And a look at one of my 3 pups. Her name is Dewey. She was a rescue that was found left behind in a crate covered in morning dew. And she has dew claws, which are weird things.

3 years ago, Dan Spitz embarked on a journey to recreate an open source detent escapement for a wristwatch made entire from titanium components and based on a mechanical ships' chronometer escapement dating back to 1748. He did all of this in the US. Dan recently completed this process, which required him to actually locate and import historical machinery from Switzerland and then spend years restoring these pieces of equipment in order to create these timepieces. It's an amazing accomplishment and the Libre Excentrique is now available. Dan is currently sharing this journey on his instagram @danspitzofficial and has information on his website: https://danspitz.com/ He also sat down recently with Ariel Adams on the Superlative Podcast that is definitely worth a listen. In any event, I'm still a complete beginner when it comes to this level of watchmaking but it is incredibly interesting to me to read and learn about this process.

So recently my first light died on me. It was a 60W Godox. It worked well while it lasted but I decided to upgrade to 150W. I also decided to take the diffusing shade off and just use a single hand held diffuser. Most of my shots used to be relatively moody, partially because I like that look, but also because I didn't have enough light. With the diffuser shade and a handheld diffuser, I was diffusing 60W 3x and there just wasn't much light With the new setup, I have a lot more light and my shots are much less moody and much more crisp. It only took me as little over a year to figure that out.

One feature of the forums are Clubs for each of the watchmakers who have agreed to be a part of the community. The Clubs are a place devoted to each watchmaker where they can interact with members, share information about their watches, and promote their brand. Is also a place people can go to get information about the brand, find reviews, videos, photos, etc. To access specific Clubs from a mobile device, click on the 3 lines at the top right an be select Clubs and you'll see a list of the participating Watchmakers. One note, you will have to join the club, and the information in the clubs is not necessarily for the public. There may be information shared within the community that isn't intended to be broadcast to everyone, including early looks at works in progress, etc. Please respect the information provided within each of these clubs and keep it private unless the Watchmaker specifically gives permission to share with the community at large or on other platforms.

When I saw the Nicholas Hacko Mark II, I felt it was made specifically for me. When I learned the orange was going to be released in very limited quantities, I was disappointed I couldn't pull the trigger on one of the first ten. Not wanting to miss out on next year's release of 9, I contacted Gemma with Hacko in January and requested to be put on the list for the next release. Gemma informed me that one of the allocated watches had been reserved but not paid for. After checking with Nicholas, she told me it was available if I wanted it. And I did. And here it is.

It is quite spectacular to see the amazing improvements made by Sergey in his first year. The 1st Anniversary Edition.

Hey all, I'm incredibly excited to announce a new feature for the Chutov Club. Sergey is working on a new series of watches. These will include guilloche dials and a new manufacturer movement. Sergey is outstanding with Fleurier Manufacture to create the movements. I am creating this thread to follow his journey. I hope you all will participate, and ask questions and offer comments. Cheers! VID_95000423_130703_411.mp4

Returning to the roots of watchmaking, before the days of specialized machining and advanced manufacturing processes. James handmakes everything from the case itself out of Argentium Silver hallmarked by the London Assay office, to the lugs, and the crown. All of the work is done by hand - no modern CNC equipment. Because of this every piece is essentially a unique piece with characteristics specific watch. The watch itself is 39mm and just over 9.5mm tall. At Jake's had continued to work on his Origin Series, he had been and to incorporate additional improvements as well including a new etched crown and double spring bar hits for straight or curved lugs, as well as other more subtle changes. The Solstice and Equinox Series was made in collaboration with Lennox Jewelers. And I would be remiss not to mention @onlybuyingtime, who is a fantastic supporter is small independent watchmakers and also collaborated to make this series possible. But in the end, it's the incredible skill and craftsmanship by James Lamb that makes these wonderful creations possible. Here's two of photos from @onlybuyingtime showing the pieces.

Huge news for Sergey as he's just been featured in an article from Worn & Wound. This is fantastic exposure and I'm excited to see his progress and the recognition. He has didn't several years joining his craft and even bigger things are in the horizon. Excited that W&W felt my photographs worthy of the article as well. Go check it out. https://wornandwound.com/independent-watchmaker-sergey-chutov-and-his-fortress-collection/

I'll pay on the NWA thread as well, but this is the @Treiber Timepieces T57BA in Larkspur Blue. And yes, I'm working in non-phone wrist shots. Slowly improving.

Finally got some rubber straps to fit my Ochs.

Good article from Ariel Adams of ABTW on the winner. https://www.ablogtowatch.com/raul-pages-selected-as-winner-of-the-first-louis-vuitton-watch-prize-as-industry-celebrates-jean-arnault/ Bulgari has obviously been very successful at transitioning from "fashion" to high-end watchmaking. Although a different approach, there is no doubt LVMH is increasing awareness of high-end watchmaking from watchmakers that have only previously been known by true enthusiasts. I think the major hurdle will be ensuring the collaboration over the next year with Raul Pagés is successful in benefitting both LVMH, but more importantly, providing a platform for Pagés to not only increase awareness of his watches, but to also provide resources to create even more exceptional timepieces. And while it appears that LVMH leaned heavily on the watch industry for this initial award, I imagine they will continue to use their massive presence in the fashion world to continue to build interest in independent watchmaking.

Here's a review from Ariel Adams with Albert. Really good interview! https://www.ablogtowatch.com/superlative-albert-edelmann-of-zeitwinkel-watches/

Raúl Pagès wins https://monochrome-watches.com/raul-pages-wins-the-2024-louis-vuitton-watch-prize-for-independent-creatives/ About the watch https://monochrome-watches.com/raul-pages-regulateur-a-detente-rp1-and-detent-escapement-explained-review-price/

https://www.lvmh.com/news-documents/news/louis-vuitton-announces-jury-and-finalists-for-first-louis-vuitton-watch-prize-for-independent-creatives/ The finalists are: Petermann Bédat, Gaël Petermann and Florian Bédat, independent watchmakers since 2017 Chronographe Rattrapante Simon Brette, Simon Brette, independent watchmaker since 2022. Chronométre Artisans John-Mikaël Flaux, John-Mikaël Flaux, independent watchmaker since 2018. L’Abeille Mécanique Andreas Strehler, Andreas Strehler and Enrico Santoni, independent watchmakers since 1995. Tischkalender Sympathique Pagès, Raúl Pagès, independent watchmaker since 2012. RP1- Régulateur à détente This is a hell of a list of finalists. You can read more about each of the entries here: https://www.louisvuittonwatchprize.com/finalists The winner will be announced Tuesday, February 6th.

And here's Part II of the SB08 series from Revolution. https://revolutionwatch.com/sartory-billard-sb06-flying-tourbillon/ This is highly technical, but it is a remarkable movement. Armand is working with movement developer Mathieu Cleguer to design this fascinating complication. I'm honestly going to have to read back through this article slowly to better understand it. This is a great look at the iterative process of movement development and definitely worth the read. I'm in awe of developing a new movement, especially something as complicated as this. But I have a cursory level understanding at best. Any movement hounds out there have thoughts on this?

As part of the story of the SB08, the SBO6, which many of you have seen released by @cronotempvs and posted on IG by numerous great collectors. Here's an article about the SB06, which was one stage in the process. https://revolutionwatch.com/sartory-billard-sb06-flying-tourbillon/

FYI, received an email yesterday this offer has been extended a few days...not sure exactly when its going to end.

Well, its 2024 and I'm finally back. Way too much excitement in my life the last few months. Changed jobs and was hoping to have a couple months off before starting the new position. Unfortunately the timing didn't work out and I left the previous position on a Friday and started Monday. Then I spent 3 straight weeks in an arbitration. But its a new year and looking forward to getting back into spending time on the forum and being MUCH better about updating it with the latest news and topics. I think Independents are poised for a big year in 2024 and interest will continue to grow. I'm hopeful the forum will continue to grow and encourage everyone to participate in discussions and post photos. I've been meaning to look at how to better organize galleries, so that's something I'll be working on in the near term. I also want to begin providing some unique content with interviews of some of the watchmakers, behind the scenes looks at their work, and hopefully some online member meetups in the coming months. More soon.

So Albert Villa just announced the Art in Time series, specifically the Casablanca will be returning. This was in response to one of my posts, so not sure if it is specific to the Fountain Blue or a new series. This is such a fantastic watch and I'm excited he's opening it back up.