Truth About Watchmaking
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This is great
Thank you for this great post. I had no idea people would know this much about this movement.
I used to work there for a few years and I was there with all the Richemont / Montblanc story.
Demetrio Cabiddu (it's one "b" and two "d", I wont hold that against you :p ) is such an amazing human being. It was an honor to work with him, and I learned so much by his side. He was the best manager you could have, both extremely competent and very kind, always finding the best part in everyone. People like him are definitely missing nowadays in the watch industry. Some are still here, but it's just a few of them.
For you Minerva lovers, a little bonus :
You're absolutely right about the hand finish on your Pythagore, but some parts are hand finished. Feel free to ask if you want to know.
Greetings from Switzerland, with about 50cm of snow in my garden !
PS: Sorry for my english, but this ain't my mother tongue... 
1.61803398875 - Review of the Minerva Pythagore A481 watch
The mathematical phenomenon always develops out of simple arithmetic, so useful in everyday life, out of numbers, those weapons of the gods: the gods are there, behind the wall, at play with numbers. Le Corbusier 1.61803398875 - the Golden Ratio. The numb...
That Minerva Pythagore is a jewel. No, 34 mm is not that small!
I would love to see more watches in the 34 / 37 mm range. WITH manual winding movements! Thanks for this superb article, K. All the best, Nicolas
I fully agree :)
The size range is very appealing to me, although I have to say it does require some thought, as not all the watches from that size range look right on the average wrist. But that is not a question of size per se but of proportions and how well the watch s...
It also shows another interesting ratio
I have sometimes wondered about the relative lengths of watch hands and hour markers. If the minute and hour hands are in the ratio 10:7, then the minute hand sweeps a circle which has twice the area of the circle swept by the hour hand. If a watch has ha...
Thanks a lot or this!
I have not heard or read about it so far but it seems spot on - at least the watches you mention seem to work well that way.
Fine article! Thank you.
Quite frankly, I never would have guessed the size based on the wrist shots. It definitely looks larger. Very nice timepiece.
Thank you, Michael!
Glad you liked it As you say the size looks perfectly adequate. I guess that we aren\'t only made for 40mm plus watches - both above and below can work well, if properly proportioned.
Thanks Alkiro!
Few watches of this kind exist today at a comparable price level. And I fully agree - the dial is amazing
I'm sure you're right :)
Thanks for the kind words! It is a cool watch for sure. Not showy or \'collectible\' in the classical sense but something I could definitely see being passed on to the next generation in time
+1 :)
Long time to go yet, so we will see if I manage to successfully pass on the interest...
Many of you know...
Thanks for this nice post! My late-Frey era Pythagore, with rose/copper dial, is very dear to my heart - a gift from my parents and which embodies a sense of honesty that I value in life. She has been with an ex-Minerva watchmaker friend for a bit of TLC ...
...I am too!!!
Can\'t wait...she\'s ready but in a different city...actually, I am travelling and we are currently in the same city but the watchmaker is away for SIHH. So I will have to war patiently. I probably do have photos - somewhere. Will look when I get home tom...
Looking forward to seeing it!
And to you getting it back Also of the 34mm variety or a 38mm model?
34, of course!
38 is unnecessary and intellectually less \'honest\' than the 34. As you know, the smaller one also wears very well - and on my wrist, at least, the design of the case and lugs fits perfectly. Plus the seconds subdial isn\'t quite right on the 38 - a pet ...
"In the 1996 Test ...the movement was where the watch lost. .."
But does an in-house balance spring not count??? Or did Minerva do in-house springs at a later point? Thank you for the great post and the references to your sources for your post: a very good new style! Herzlich Moritz
Maybe in-house counted for less in 1996? :)
Glad you liked the article. As I am far from the stage where I speak from own knowledge first and foremost I thought that adding the sources was sensible. Maybe I am just subconsciously missing the time when I was regularly publishing papers In the end th...
Dear Kristjan,
what an ARTICLE! Now it is crytal clear for me, why do you have a Ph.D degree: the german old school of " Fussnoten, Fussnoten, Fussnoten " is very, very familiar to me, as well as the watch itself... The original cal. 48 from the 40\'ies doesn\'t have - ...
Thanks Ádám!
Both for the watch, the literature and the kind comments Ship captain or not - it does not look like the watch ever left the shore You are of course completely right about the thin bezel - it makes a big difference. Finally to the Cal. 49 - not many model...
Thank you for a great post, KM!
And again, congrats on this beautiful Minerva! Best Blomman
Thanks Blomman!
The GTGs and hanging around you guys online then did teach me something Glad you liked it - from you this is high praise indeed!
Great review!
I've always been fascinated by the movement architecture. It does seem a little austere but still very cool. I noticed you mentioned it has no anglage in the 1996 tests but it appears to have some beveling on the bridges. Was it because the anglage wasn't...
Thanks for the heads up :)
The test does not mention the reason. There is a table for the movement assessment and the achieved and maximum points per category - in this one it was 0 out of 2 possible. A fellow Minerva owner then?
I wish I were but I don't have that privilege!
Thanks for the info on the test - that's interesting to know.
Thanks MJ23!
Glad you liked it A different Villeret product compared to yours of course
Avery nice review, KMII.
Thorough. And excellent photos to help make your points. I think you could still consider introducing pterodactyl to the equation. Not necessarily soon; but at some point.
Not sure this is the watch for it...
But a pterodactyl or two will definitely enter the fray in 2016 - promise Glad you liked the review!
I know...
Soon it will scream (not sure what the English expression for the noises they make is ) on my wrist.
Hurray!
I have to say: I am so glad you became a moderator. You are taking this "job" so seriously and keeping us all interested. I hope you can sustain this enthusiasm. It has to be hard to post so often and across so many subjects. I'm rooting for you.
Now I'm blushing :)
Thanks for the encouragement - really happy you feel that way! Will of course endeavour my best. More to come soon
Great review on the Pythagore!
I bought my Minerva 16 years ago. It's still my favourite watch, slow ticking, but keeps perfect time. The golden section on the calibre 48: The Minerva history told by Jean-Jacques Frey in 1993: Best Regards Livius ...
You've been one of the people instrumental to my journey, Livius...
With your spectacular Minerva shots Thank you so much for the additional reading material and for adding the Golden Ratio Cal. 48 drawing. And glad you liked the review! Feel free to post yours as often as possible
So ref. 1408 is something to look for next :)
Great to be able to read the original catalogue - thank you so much for this!
This is great
Thank you for this great post. I had no idea people would know this much about this movement. I used to work there for a few years and I was there with all the Richemont / Montblanc story. Demetrio Cabiddu (it's one "b" and two "d", I wont hold that again...
Thank you so much Truth About Watchmaking!
Both for your appreciation and for your input (will of course correct the spelling). We would love it if you were to share more here - feel free anytime! A pleasure having you with us and welcome to PuristSPro! As for your English, it\'s not an issue at a...
