TimeTexas

I have to say the format left a little be desired. For the length of the symposium, there were too many watchmakers. It would have been better to have maybe 3 watchmakers and then let them each address the questions as opposed to asking a question and getting a single answer then moving on. Seemed a little disjointed, imo. I thought the answers were good, but it would have been good to hear different perspectives to each question. I also think I would have passed on the question about people who have helped the watchmakers. The answers were general and I would have been more interested in hearing about the watchmaking process or building a brand. Overall, still enjoyable, but not as informative as I thought it could have been.

And then a plug for Rolex at the end giving them credit for everything in watchmaking.

And is Wei Koh wearing a gold Daytona at a symposium for small independent, international watchmakers?

Incredibly good point by Benoit about the financial backing and short term versus long term thinking. It is very hard to truly develop long term success and enact a vision for an entire brand if you are solely focused on the short term and creating a watch. The other issue, that I've heard specifically from Anders/James with Arcanaut is you have to be very careful with getting financial backing from people who are interested in having input into the watches and direction of the brand. Investors should provide financial backing only, not look at it as an opportunity to meddle or try to provide their input. That's a recipe for disaster.

Links to watch tomorrow morning. 6:30AM Central https://www.instagram.com/revolution.watch/ https://www.youtube.com/@RevolutionWatch

Placeholder for anyone interested in watching/discussing this.

Around Wei Koh, Founder of Revolution and Grail Watch, experts from the watch industry will share their vision on different topics. Join at the Geneva Watch Days Pavilion Links to watch live https://www.instagram.com/revolution.watch/ https://www.youtube.com/@RevolutionWatch

Arnold & Son Dial Side True Beat DSTB 42 Laurent Ferrier Sport Auto 40 Armin Strom One Week

DeBethune DB28XP Kind of Blue

If I miss any of the releases please feel free to add any you come across. I'm sure there are quite a few.

Lederer Watches Central Impulse Chronometer. One of the most beautiful watches I've ever seen. Photo from Lederer IG

Trilobe Nuit Fantastique Brume. Mesmerizing Photo from Trilobe IG

So I've finally figured out how to shoot with the Fuji 33mm 1.4. What an incredible lens. Thanks too Scaramanga on IG for the recommendation. One of the biggest learning curves for me has been composing shots. I'm still terrible at flatlays. So getting a much wider field of view with the 33mm compared to my macro lens was a big challenge. The composition changes completely due to the FoV. But I'm getting the hang of it and really enjoying the added flexibility. I still get warnings saying I'm too close to the subject from time to time because I'm so used to setting up the camera close to the watch. One thing I'm trying to do with the wider field of view is set up secondary lighting to add depth to the shots. It's still a work in progress as I'm still not great at setting up the main lighting. But I do think those are the kinds of things that make a big difference in making the shots more interesting. Here's a shot I took this weekend. I like how I'm able to highlight the rocks in the background some. Work in progress, but improving. The other thing the new lens has let me start learning is how to take proper wrist shots, pocket shots, and other shots with me interacting with the watch. The Laowa macro lens is a manual focus, which makes taking those shots nearly impossible, especially considering the Fuji app on Android is pretty janky. The quality on this is pretty great even though I'm still practicing to get the lighting right. Finally, I learned something about my camera during this process. No matter what I was doing, the quality of my shots with the new lens looked pretty bad once I got the photo in Lightroom. I couldn't figure it out. But after doing a little research, I found out that Fuji defaults to sending a lower resolution image to your phone when you export. I was not aware of this so basically every photo I've done over the past 8 months has basically been a highly compressed file. Seriously 1MB vs about 24MB. It's amazing they weren't just one big pixel. Anyways, I changed that setting and magically all of my photos with the new lens started looking amazing. I didn't notice when I used my macro lens because I was already so close to the watch that it really wasn't an issue. But with the further distance, the compression just killed the resolution on the 33mm. So now that I have identified that particular user error, I'm good to go...and my storage space fills up MUCH faster. Finally, while I'm practicing all of this, I'm about to launch into some videography. With a manual focus, that was nearly impossible. But with the new lens it shouldn't be an issue. That will take a lot of research and practice to improve but I'm excited to learn.

New MB&F, the HM9-SV. Max and team never disappoint.

Ok, this is pretty badass, the Hautulence Sphere Series 1. Spherical Jumping Hours!

Artya announced the Tiny Purity Tourbillon. Photo from Artya IG I live what Artya does, such a unique and refreshing perspective.

Greubel Forsey Double Balancier Convexed in carbon. Limited Edition is 22 pieces. Photo from GF IG.

Whoa, the new Czapek Place Vendôme Complicité Double Escapement. Photo from Czapek IG. This is pretty amazing!

Horage with a new release to be announced soon. Clearly a dive watch based on the email/signup page. Sign up for release new here: https://www.shop.horage.com//fall-launch-subscribe?utm_campaign=647e1e14-2724-4868-a8b1-764097928f61&utm_source=so&utm_medium=mail&cid=a5703302-a9ef-4111-b1ec-7156dda34224

Moser with two new releases in Vantablack, the Endeavour Centre Seconds and the Endeavour Tourbillon Concept. Moser continues to impress with the Vantablack paired with rose gold. My preference is the Centre Seconds. Maybe. Photos from the Moser website.

About Timepieces has also released a YouTube review, click the link below.

Love the new lume colors. Maintains the clean aesthetics but with a touch of flair. I think these will be a big hit. The Fordite isn't for everyone, but these aren't as "out there" and more accessible for the majority of collectors.

If you haven't checked it out, Arcanaut has a new website and its SLICK! And with the new digs comes some new D'Arc Matter models. Now with new lume colors that look fantastic! All photo credit to @watchbud on IG Hornet Yellow Pongo Orange Gamma Green Badger Blue

For August, Hermann is donating 20% of all sales, including watches, merchandise, and accessories, to support Maui relief efforts. Check out the shop at the link. https://www.treibertimepieces.com/shop

Geneva Watch Days 2023 is coming up in less than 2 weeks. I know Holthinrichs is going to be there and I'm hoping to get some behind the scenes photos and videos of the action. Michiel will also be part of the symposium on International Stars of Independent Watchmaking. Quite an honor and well deserved. He'll be joined by Benoit Mintiens of Ressence, Christine Hutter of Moritz Grossman, Robin Tallendier of Atelier Wen, Naoya Hide and Konstantin Chaykin. Should be a great session. I don't know if it will be available online yet, but if not I'll see if Damiaen can record it for us, or at least some portions of it. Also excited to see what other big announcements and releases there will be. If anyone here's of any news or information, post it here and I'll update this thread as we get closer and into the event.