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Xhevdet Rexhepi's Minute Inerte
Xhevdet Rexhepi's Minute Inerte was announced two years ago and the watches are now close to delivery.
Thanks to some collectors who have visited Xhevdet Rexhepi and, more recently, to Mark Kauzlarich on Hodinkee, we now have enough live photos of this watch and its background to attempt a proper presentation.
Best, Emmanuel
A/ THE COMPLICATION
The idea of the "minute inerte" (dead minute) complication is to replicate in a wristwatch the function of a Swiss railway clock that completes a revolution of the seconds hand in 58 seconds and pauses at 60 for 2 seconds at each lap before rocking forward in synchronization with the minute hand.
This first video shows a genuine Swiss railway clock in action:
Swiss railway station clock
And in this video, you can see the watch in action right at the beginning and then again from 9:45 to 10:00 and from 10:50 to 11:00:
Xhevdet Rexhepi: From Cabinetmaker To Master Watchmaker
Finally, here's the railway clock which Xhevdet Rexhepi keeps in his workshop:
credit: Tien Tan aka @tellingthetime
B/ THE CASE & LUGS
The design of the case is inspired by a vintage Ebel pocket watch that Xhevdet Rexhepi picked up from Joël LaPlace.
credit: hodinkee
As you can see, the 38 x 8.5 mm platinum case of the watch has a shape and structure which is very close:
credit: hodinkee & @positaque (last photo)
And, as you can observe here, the stepped lugs are quite long, characterful and curved:
credit: @theydid
C/ THE DIAL & HANDS
The dial is stepped with a matte grainy finishing: 50 pieces will be made in a pastel blue color, plus 10 more in green and 10 last pieces in a yet-to-be-announced color.
The 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock hour indexes (6-o'clock doubling as a bridge for the seconds hand) are designed like the keystone that can be found at the top of archways. The other indexes follow the round shape of the inner part of the dial.
The single "1" at 1 o'clock symbolizes the fact that it's Xhevdet Rexhepi's first watch in a series of 12 he plans to make.
The aperture at 6 o'clock displays an essentiel part of the Minute Inerte mechanism and the front side of the mainplate is finished with a brick pattern.
Lastly, the minutes hand has a red tip, whereas the hour hand has a large dot on the end, reminiscent of the red seconds hand of the Swiss railway clock (which itself took inspiration from the batons that train dispatch staff use).
Here's an early drawing of the dial and a sketch of what a keystone is:
credit: hodinkee courtesy of Xhevdet Rexhepi & mayo clinic
D/ THE MOVEMENT
The top plate is decorated with Geneva stripes, whereas the mainplate underneath features a frosted finishing.
The black polished bridges have a keystone shape already found on the dial side.
And, the wonderful and very unique design of the spring click takes its inspiration from the segmental pediments of a room of the Palazzo Grimani in Venice. I absolutely love this detail as well as the general design of the movement.
Here's the spring click (which can clearly be seen above) shot separately, with some photos of the four segmental pediments which inspired it, found in the Tribuna room of the Palazzo Grimani di Santa Maria Formosa (a testament to Xhevdet Rexhepi's deep taste for architecture):
credit: @Xhevdet Rexhepi (1), artsupp (2-5) & wikimedia (6)
E/ THE WATCH ON THE WRIST & IN THE HAND
credit: hodinkee (1-2), @tellingthetime (3-10), @theydid (11-12) & @watchoosy (13-14)
F/ THE WATCHMAKER, HIS DRAWINGS, AN ENLARGED CARPET REPLICA OF THE DIAL(!) & HIS PATEK PHILIPPE PIÈCE ÉCOLE POCKET WATCH
credit: @tellingthetime (1, 3 & 5), hodinkee (2 & 4) & @xhevdet.rexhepi (6)
Xhevdet Rexhepi's Minute Inerte
Xhevdet Rexhepi 's Minute Inerte was announced two years ago and the watches are now close to delivery. Thanks to some collectors who have visited Xhevdet Rexhepi and, more recently, to Mark Kauzlarich on Hodinkee , we now have enough live photos of this ...
Great review and photos of a really beautiful watch.
Personally I have never been aware of this function so it's nice to learn something new and I think this watch whilst quite simple is really quite beautiful too. My favourite is the gorgeous looking blue dial version on the grey strap. Marc
Thank you, Marc.
There's something about this watch that I like very much. Given my taste for classic design, I should feel more attracted to his brother Rexhep's Chronomètre Contemporain, and I definitely like this watch very much. But I don't fully respond to the design...
A little more than that, for me.
I really find many elements of this watch really well done. Thanks for looking. Best, Emmanuel
Thank you!
I also find this watch very interesting, as well as its watchmaker! Thanks for chiming in and have a great Sunday. Best, Emmanuel
Oh, fantastic! Very lucky you!
Please, share with us this dial when you have it: it would be such a pleasure! I dare not ask what color it is, because I imagine you prefer to keep it for your presentation post. Anyway, as you've understood from my thread, it's a watch I really like. Be...