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An unbelievable day . A Minerva - Villeret manufacture visit

 


Just back home from a magnificent day in Switserland
This morning we went to Wevelgem where a private jet was waiting for us





This was a jet owned by Richemont and we feel very privileged  that we got the chance th fly with it. I'm sure this is something not many clients will ever experience. 

as you can see, the Cartier plane  smile




Inside the private jet, enough space for 10 of us  …. and yes it were the usual suspects  .. The Belgian gang  LOL
We all know each other for several years



just a picture taken above the clouds




almost 1000 km/h



let's take a look in the cockpit








 arriving ….




and that was what we wanted to see








A wonderful lady 'Gaëlle'  showed us the entire manufacture
we started upstairs for some drinks an a little talk

great furniture with tons of vintage watch parts  















old Minerva pocket watches





old enamel dials






a room with a view  …







and now, to the workshops
first of all , this really looks like the did it 50 or 100 years ago
I saw several other  manufactures but these were always  BIG factories, some of them look more like a hospital than a
watch manufacture. At minerva  it  just ha much more charm





ofcourse they also need big machines , it's not all  hand finishing of tiny parts. These  make the parts before we start finishing them to a superior level












raw material  smile







and ofcourse they also need some CNC machines. But most manufactures have  rooms full of these CNC
machines where at Minerva I think I saw only 3









the tiny pieces ;-)
ready to go to the 'finishing' department






one of their symbols



the room where the did the finishing ( bevelling  etc)










calculations  smile









Hand polishing   … and one of the best I have EVER seen


but unfortunately my iPhone does not do any justice to this amazing craftsmanship
Believe me, even with e watchmakers loupe this was beyond my expectations !









some boxes and bottles , but just look  don't they look great  … vintage !!






and what is this machine for ?

ohhh, wait a minute …. Minerva is one of the VERY FEW that makes the hairspring in-house









more hand finishing








2 top chrono movements









making the balance










once again, sorry for the iPhone crap pictures
the finishing is PERFECTION








Ready for dinner  …




but first let's have another look into these freak OLD books





after dinner   … the Montblanc watches
As we know Minerva works for the MOB brand and  indeed they did some things for Panerai too


know 2 things
1 the iPhone does not do justice to these watches
2 these are prototypes so some of them are not finished to the level they are finished  when they are sold to clients


the most affordable







but now  …. the TOP selection

being a chronograph fan myself, these watches and movements are among the most beautiful I have ever seen








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more sporty





mysterieuse




















that was about it

so we had to go back home

with the Cartier Champagne on the Richemont Jet  smile






before I forgot  … there are goodies and goodies

This was the best goodie ever  LOL

We got a Montblanc pen   .. with our name engraved in the pen smile




a friend can post a picture from the pen,  I forgot to take a pic lol



last but not least

THANK YOU to Mr Ronny Haessevoet , owner of the magnificent shop in Waregem who sells  MB and other interesting watches, The 2 men from MB and Richemont



What a day  ……..



a final note
MB is really much more than pens smile 
Some of these watches are thanks to Minerva on par with the big VC, Patek and others  …. but for a much better price !!

















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