Independents

aditya
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At first ........

At first I thought this is an elaborate prank. "He has only made 11 posts, is it really him?" I said to myself

On a serious note, Mr. Halter, I would have been happy enough if all you had said was that it is ugly. The fact that you have taken the trouble to look at my watch and give your opinion is very encouraging indeed!

You are right when you assume that I have learnt watchmaking myself. Every skill has been painstakingly developed without any formal watchmaking education. And my equipment so far (apart from the mandatory screwdrivers, movement holder, tweezers, oilers etc. etc.) includes a set of turns, a small staking set and an old 6mm lathe with about 10 collets.

Nevertheless, I am passionate about watches and I shall continue developing my skills and knowledge.

As for the points you raise, please allow me to explain some of the thinking behind this watch-

"1/ Your design is neat and classical, perhaps a little too much academic. However, nothing surprising as it is your first jobs."

I suppose my childish fascination for mechanical watches shows through here . The watches I have made so far are a reaction to the usual skeletons one comes across today. I wanted a watch without distracting floral engravings and flourishes. Perhaps I have gone too far towards the other end.

"2/ Finishing (as far as I can see on the pictures) is very honorable. This of course can be pushed further (I think about the screw heads or the bridge surface finishing) but your job could be shamelessly compared with the one from famous brands."

First of all, thank you for the kind words! This comment above all is most encouraging. I understand that the screw heads & slots can be bevelled & blued. I have experimented with other finishes for the bridges on a previous watch.  In the watch below, the top surfaces are straight grained, inner surfaces have spotting/ perlage and the edges are bevelled.





While the watch in the pictures above is very "bling" I thought all the parts were too shiny and that the hands just got lost in most viewing angles.


This is the reason why I adopted an even & muted frost finish & bevelled edges for the plates & bridges on the latest watch ( the subject of this thread). I am happy to say that the hands are indeed the shiniest bits and readability is vastly improved. On the other hand this is perhaps a case of thinking too much with the head & not the heart . Here are some more pictures










"3/ the "love-killer" detail is to me the poor quality of your engravings that were obviously done by laser. It's a pity because this detail ("the devil is in the details" as we say in Europe) devaluates the rest of the job. I feel this could be very improved if hand-finished by a skilled engraver (engraving itself is an experience and most of the watchmakers ask for specialists for this)."

What can I say, if I had an option I would use it

As for the invitation to visit La Manufacture Janvier, if I do visit Switzerland again I intend to take you up. Thank you for the kind and generous offer!

Kind regards

Aditya

PS. apologies for the long & rambling post.

Aditya
This message has been edited by aditya on 2012-01-05 22:49:28