Please follow the links for Part I and Part II of this journey.
I am now over halfway through the wait for the KV I ordered back in 2021, and expect that I will begin the design process imminently! After putting this out of my head for nearly a year... the game is (nearly) on!
I have increasingly been mulling over my watch - which is based on KV's GMT-6. Ordering a "bespoke" piece is liberating - but the nigh-endless choices can also be debilitating. And, as a person who orders bespoke suits, I have learned one lesson the hard way - it is very, very, very easy to get carried away on any order. Interesting fabric, interesting buttons, overly roped shoulder, etc. - very easy to include one too many details.
So, without further adieu, here is where I am:
Overall, I am using the following watch as an inspiration - I think it is nothing short of stunning:
I enjoy the tonal color palette, but am leaning towards an icy platinum case - although tantalum is a tantalizing option that could fit well for my theme - and I am also leaning towards downsizing the typical 39mm case to 37.5 mm, to make it somewhat more discrete.
However, I want to modernize the inspiration. Right now, I am leaning towards an engraving of the following (although, to be frank, this is still something I am thinking about):
This is an interpretation / reinterpretation of my rosebud - the mountains where I grew up skiing and spending my summers, back when times were much simpler. I think this is something that could be executed well in an engraving. And whenever I think about my youth in the mountains, to be quite frank it makes me emotional.
My biggest hurdle right now is the GMT disk. I believe that the GMT disk in the original is a little too ornate given the simplicity of the proposed engraving. I found the below GMT disks online and I think these - or something even more pared down - would be more appropriate with my vision:
I want to reduce the number of numerals from the inspiration I posted - leaning towards arabic numerals at 12-3-9 and then baton indices. I want hand made removed from the dial. Undecided on the cabochon that is often used, but leaning towards removing the cabochon. I am also contemplating seeing if the name plate could be moved to the chapter ring like some of KV's other watches to leave room for the engraving.
Look forward to actually getting renders - have considered engaging a graphic artist to help with renders beforehand.
In any event, exciting times ahead! I will be sure to keep the thread updated.