An Amazing Nite... the Luxury of Independence

Jun 27, 2008,23:39 PM
 

this was a magical evening for me as i got to meet, to communicate with someone i consider a true artist and great watchmaker... but before i go on (and on and on) about that, i'll share about my wonderful experience at this great event... with a lot of pictures of course smile do step through the looking glass with me...

the boys... a fine bunch of horology enthusiasts here in Singapore
i am always happy to catch up with them on watches and other stuff wink
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George (a top guy all around) Linda (a wonderful lady showing
us her lovely voutilainen piece) and me
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to the watches then... voutilainen. to be honest before today i did not have a deep appreciation of his wonderful creations... i had heard of (and heard) the decimal repeater and i remember articles on the net about longines movements refinished but that was it. having had a chance to see many examples in the metal, i can now say i find them to be truly beautiful and amazing time pieces
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vianney halters watches up next...
the trio... much nicer in the metal than in pics
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the goldpfeil... one of the watches i almost pulled
the trigger on

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the classic... one of the watches i was also targetting to acquire...
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but i think my destiny lies with the antiqua...
more to be said about this soon...
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more pics of the chronometer 27... resplendant indeed
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trio from another angle.. the beauty of vianneys art is that
it looks different from different angles... its like different
interpretations but one understanding
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ooohhh i like this... the color of this dial is just amazing...
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max busser and friends... mbf horological machines 1 & 2
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better in the metal than in most pics i have seen of em
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lovely metal machines...
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urwerk 103s... i like these better than the 201 series...
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satellites calling ...
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the figure 8
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a dinner companion's 103...
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such a beautiful watch...
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a nice ulysee nardin was spotted too...
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the blue dial version is not as striking as the orange dial piece above but
is still gorgeous
and looks great against the gold...
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the movement is breathtaking...
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this was just so very nice...
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my respect for kari has shot to maximum levels...
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a happy moment between a genius and his muse perhaps? smile
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Rosemarie.. if you look up 'effervescent' in the dictionary, you may find
her picture right there smile top gal who got this gig together...
thanks so much for the nite Rosemarie

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next up is me and pal George again... exchanging notes
about our next targets wink addicts the 2 of us...
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but of course we have different tastes...
and this would be my
drug of choice...
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my grail...
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i had a good catchup with Bernard as well whom I highly respect
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and he was wearing this 'not so little' number...
in his words... its a real man's watch smile

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and there were beautiful ladies present too... ching wyin, a great gal and irin,
looking as stunning as ever... there were doing a pretty good job at
distracting me while another staff member took my credit card
out to pay for one of the above pieces... *kidding yuh* smile
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luvly denise modelling 'her' new daniel roth...
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hmm... i believe she was sweeter than these desserts even smile
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another gorgeous independent was on a mates wrist...
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the finishing is beyond reproach
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to me this is more lovely than the dial side of the watch for this model...
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simply beautiful
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roger smith was around to tell us a bit about his lovely creations
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rogers finger in the shot... pointing out to us all the
fine intricacies of the movement...

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a friends watch... this is simplicity... no words for this...
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... except that i need a better camera ...
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a final closer look at the 27 as me and George spent some time
chatting with Kari...
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and a not so good shot of the back but just thought i'd share it anyways
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and finally, the highlight of the night for me... it is this man whose hands, whose mind and heart applied to watches creates new realities... if ever you were looking for a watch that was alive... with music, with poetry, with soul... it would be,
it should be one of this artist's work. it was such a profound pleasure
spending 15 to 20 minutes talking to him... the sounds of the room was drowned
out and all i could hear, feel was his expression, his language and it was transcendental...
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i hope to own this some day... i can be patient...
not 'love in the time of cholera' patient
... but patient...
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and finally, sincere thanks to Michael, Rosemarie, Alan, Irin, Ching Wyin and all other hour glass folks involved in making this such a memorable event for me and i am sure for many that were there too. keep up the great work smile signing off now...

cheers
raph


More posts: Daniel RothMax Busser and FriendsRoger SmithUrwerkVoutilainen

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Comments: view entire thread

 

Wow, Raph, it was like in a dream

 
 By: amanico : June 28th, 2008-00:03
I had the chance to see the KV yesterday on the wrist of one of our purist friends... This is now a watch I consider a lot. I was hitten by the shape of the case, the extraordinary finish of the dial and of the movement... Yep, this one will certainly be ... 

It was indeed a dream-like evening with the stars!

 
 By: LCDW : July 1st, 2008-16:07
Nicolas , to be in the room with the presence of one independent watchmaker is an overwhelming contentment for me but to be with three of them? I was seeing stars... KV is a very humble master, simple, sweet and humorous too if one manage to spend time wi... 

Yep, LCDW, I really have to pay some more interest to KV watches

 
 By: amanico : July 1st, 2008-22:49
You're absolutely right. I have to confess that I don't know a lot of things about Indepedants, and this is a Pity! Thanks for your answer. Best. Nicolas

Beautiful watches

 
 By: Geo : June 28th, 2008-00:21

Some additional casual shots

 
 By: Jokoh : June 28th, 2008-00:37
Last but not least....The pose Yes, thanks to Kari, Vianney, Roger and the people from Hour Glass. It was indeed a night to remember ;-) cheers joe...  

Note that the Antiqua has remained unchanged for over 10 years

 
 By: bernard cheong : June 28th, 2008-17:28
And for such a heavily over the horizon watch, not over the top, but way off the GPS system......the design has stood the test of age, The Antiqia continues to have a wait list, and Vianney has recently designed into the perpetual a new leverage system th... 

no need to change...

 
 By: raphmeister : June 28th, 2008-20:03

Thanks for sharing. [nt]

 
 By: Davo : April 9th, 2009-13:41
No message body

That is HEAVY artillery....

 
 By: pplater : June 28th, 2008-04:04
...Singapore is clearly becoming the second spiritual home of the Independents. Thanks for the vicarious thrill Raph. Cheers, pplater.

thanks all and ...

 
 By: raphmeister : June 28th, 2008-11:09

What a great evening

 
 By: DonCorson : June 28th, 2008-14:17

Wow...Thank you so much

 
 By: CL : June 28th, 2008-19:23
for the wonderful report and beautiful images. The Kari 27 is OMG gorgeous, so are his Obsevatoire. Simply stunning...Wow!!! Lovesss*CL

you're most welcome...

 
 By: raphmeister : June 28th, 2008-20:29

To : Ralph

 
 By: phil30 : June 29th, 2008-23:54
Sadly no appreciation to the photographer who took that photo of the lovely ladies and you.

uhh... errrmmmm...

 
 By: raphmeister : June 30th, 2008-06:18