Independents

Visit to Aaron Becsei, Budapest

 

Hi all

I was fortunate enough to meet Aaron last week for the first time, in his own surroundings in the suburbs of Budapest. I want to thank Aaron and his wonderful wife Eszter for their generous hospitality and time to show us the watches and clocks, workshops and to let us in and share their story and family history.

A big safe!

One of Aaron's table clocks

  The tiny Zappler clock, movement just 20mm high. Incredible to see it in the flesh, as it is difficult to see the details without magnification. See the brochure photo below for an enlarged view, without the glass dome.

I think this is the Tourbillon No. 2 Table Clock, sitting on a base that doesn't say that (in the brochure/press shots the base has the name written on it). It is a marvel, great proportions and has real presence. The styling is that of an 'older' clock, and indeed aaron told me that a lot of people that see it tell him "wow what an old clock" (this amuses Aaron I think?!).

The quality of the workmanship is excellent -  a LOT of hours (months and months) have gone into each piece he produces

The Primus 3 - the world's unique tri-axial Tourbillon wristwatch with jewel bearings only. It was great to hold!

The dial engraving is quite 3-dimensional.. it has real depth and is produced by a friend of Aaron's grandfather (I hope I got that right) who is 'getting on a bit' but being a family friend is happy to keep on with it...

You can see the small scale of the Zappler here to the right, vs the Primus

So after a welcome cup of tea and a short introductory 'chat' with Aaron and Eszter we made our way through to look at the workbenches and tools and special pieces of equipment, each required for a specific job, including equipment to make tools to do a particular job or to make a specific piece!

A  Dignitas movement in process on the workbench

The customer of this watch has requested a black dial with silver chapter ring (apologies for the photo quality... but you can make out the guilloche in the left portion... )

 
Stunning finish to the plates and bridges.. it absolutely gleamed at us! Extraordinarily beautiful.

Aaron showed us tiny screws before and after his work, and to think he makes and finishes every single piece himself is miraculous

He explained that the cases come to him slightly larger than the final product, so that he can himself finish it to his exacting standards and requirements. they arrive about 1mm larger in all dimensions, and Aaron works them to the finished article.

The saphire crystals are the only part he does not 'touch' in the whole watch
Where you will find Mr Becsei most hours!

Nice wall chart to remind him how to put it all together (just in case... literally :-o)

We were shown each piece of equipment... and had a live demonstration of this one (sorry I forget the name of it) but essentially it throws up on the circular screen there a magnified profile of any piece you place on the viewing platform underneath. Iin this way Aaron can assess if each piece meets the drawign specification, and if not make the necessary adjustments to the piece so that all angles, edges and profiles are as they should be.

I felt a 'mug shot' was required.... and graciously he agreed.

Some photos and images of Budapest, taken on the journey from my hotel in the castle district of Buda to meet with Aaron. The roof of this church is tiled with multicoloured tiles and looks great

One of the more imposing buildings en route

Aaron provided me with a great brochure of his watches and clocks, and I add some of the images from it here for your interest as some of the images are not anywhere else I've looked and might be appreciated:-

I didn't take a real life photo of the back of the Primus... so here it is in the little book

The man himself

That workbench

Finishing is exemplary

I love the butterfly piece!

The magnified Zappler with glass removed

Here is the Tourbillon No. 1

And the No. 2, but note the stand here vs in my live shot at the top of the post..

The patented bit! Apparently, and as you might expect, Aaron likes people to understand a lot about what he is creating, and why it is different  - or special even. One of the people that he gets on with very well is his Patent Lawyer, as when they discuss thenovel engineering designs and ideas he doesn't have to overly explain things to him, he 'gets it'... well we all know how useful that is.

Even the enamel Aaron puts in to colour the name Bexei on the side of the case is done in house by him, in the small furnace/kiln he has there... a very nice touch

For further reading beyond Pursits, Bexei has been covered in QP Magazine in 2008 (edition 32 pages 88 - 92) and also in Michael Clerizo's Masters of Contemporary Watchmaking - 2009 for which I acknowledge and took the below photo

And on our departure after an hour and a half - a small gift to bring home... "a polishing cloth, but only to be used on a Bexei watch !!"... he added just in time as we said our farewells.

Well, that might not be a problem!

I want to thank Eszter for her help with the logistics and for demonstrable support and energetic enthusiasm for/to the Bexei enterprise. Thank you!

And to Aaron for sacrificing the time out of his tireless schedule to fit in a visit at all..... it was superb and I will be in touch!

Best
Gary