Jochen Benzinger's GAP 1 represents a significant collaboration in independent watchmaking, blending German artistry with Austrian precision. Author jlux provides an exclusive look at his 'Ocean' variant, highlighting the meticulous handcraftsmanship that defines Benzinger's work. This article delves into the unique techniques and design philosophy that make the GAP 1 a standout piece for collectors.
Being a big admirer of the art of Jochen Benzinger I naturally had to make sure to also add his latest creation,the GAP 1 into my collection.
GAP 1 stands for "German-Austrian Partnership" and relates to the movement which is exclusively provided by Habring2 in a limited run of 50 pieces.
Jochen is offering the watch in various dial colours and combinations with different guilloche styles and fonts ...and is open to any reasonable kind of requests from his customers.
My version is called "Ocean" and certainly less than a handful of these have been produced.
Jochen is a big fan of the work from George Daniels,and the dial design is certainly inspired by his work.
The watch comes in a 39mm steel case with the typical Benzinger design and a pusher for the date adjustment.
One of the highlights is of course the guilloche dial which is made entirely manually on century old rose engines.
Jochen told me that for such a dial he needs a full day to finish it.
The specialty is the Breguet frosting which gives the silvery-white surface : a process that is used to remove the remaining impurities from typical 925 silver.
With Breguet's traditional method,the silver is first heated up,causing the impurities to rise to the surface,and turning the metal black.The dial is then treated with acid,which burns off the impurities,and after a few rounds of burning and applying acid,only a dial of pure silver remains.This delicate process is executed entirely by hand and to my knowledge,Jochen is the only remaining watch maker to use this technique.
The next highlight is the movement which is entirely skeletonized and decorated by hand,requiring up to 80 hours of work.
And here a wristshot in natural light.
The GAP 1 : a truly handmade watch from a real artist!!
Finally I would like to show a picture of the man himself at work which I made during my visit to his workshop a couple of months ago : fascinating to look over his shoulder !
Best,
Gerard
