Independents
SJX's report on the 2009 Tour of Independence in Singapore offers a valuable historical snapshot of independent watchmaking. This event, organized by The Hour Glass, brought together esteemed watchmakers like Kari Voutilainen and Romain Gauthier, showcasing their unique creations. The article provides insight into the bespoke nature of independent horology and the vibrant collector community surrounding it.
Each year retailer The Hour Glass organises a Tour of Independence event in Singapore attended by various independent watchmakers. This year Kari Voutilainen and Romain Gauthier were in town.
Both also created piece unique watches for L'Atelier, the high horology store opened by The Hour Glass earlier this year. Kari presented an Observatoire and a Chronometer 27 while Romain made two open-dial versions of his watch in rose and white gold. More photos of the watches in the follow-up posts.
Click here to see more photos of L'Atelier.
- SJX
This message has been edited by SJX on 2009-10-11 00:53:53Prior to dinner guests met the watchmakers inside L'Atelier. Many saw the piece unique watches for the first time during the cocktails and reactions were diverse. But what matters was that all four of the piece unique watches were already sold by that time. A variety of collectors were present, ranging from the well dressed... To the extremely well dressed.
Dinner followed one level up at Taste Paradise. Coincidentally I attended another dinner at the same restaurant a week earlier and I was seated in the same spot at the same table.
A plethora of watches were seen on the wrists of guests. Naturally many independent watchmakers were represented including De Bethune and even the new Urwerk CC1.
This Observatoire is in rose gold with a copper dial. The movement has been engraved but is still finished to the usual high standard. This is a stunning watch. Kari Voutilainen manages to create watches that are different, yet aesthetically pleasing. Both his Chronometer 27 and Observatoire actually possess a mishmash of design cues from different eras, yet all the elements work.
When I first saw this watch my immediate thought was that this would make a perfect ladies' watch. The engraved centre portion and colour combination of the rose gold case and ivory dial give this a very different look and feel from other Chronometer 27 watches. Even on a small female wrist it will make a statement without being ostentatious. In fact, the wife of the buyer of this watch just may end up wearing it.
Romain delivered two piece unique watches to L'Atelier, one in rose gold and the other in white gold. Both are identical save for the case metal. The watch pictured below is incomplete, additional movement decoration and finishing remains to be done. This watch is not my cup of tea, but the buyer of this watch has better taste than I do. Aesthetics aside, Romain does wonderful movement finishing and the layout of his movement is pleasing, though I can't appreciate the crown in the caseback.
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