SuitbertW
2411
Back in the old days....
Hi Aaron,
back in the old days there wasn't electro plating 
, so the way to go was fire gilt - an extremely
toxic (due to the amalgan mercury nature) process, but with an extremely nice, silky matte fine gold surface.
Later a brushed (chemical) silver plating underneath the gold plating was used to create the grained frosted finish.
Today many ways are used to mimic the old frosted finish, mainly mechanical treatemens lke bead blasting or brushing with
modified rotating steel brushes.....
During 19th. century frosted gold finish was almost universal and I'd guess widely prefered finish at least in Europe.
Glashütte makers for example offered Geneva stripes/rhodium or nickel plated finish for export (especially USA) for example
(which is remarkably funny, considered the todays "typical german finish with german silver plates/bridges - historically quite wrong, but
modern marketingwise extremely successfull).
I believe those "white", damascened or striped movement finishes were especially thought after in the US I believe.
Best regards
Suitbert
Christian Klings 'Open Version' 1 of 1...
If one has a particular interest in the Independent watchmakers, it does not take long before Christian Klings comes to notice. Whilst he may have flown under the radar for some years, he has been a member of AHCI since 2009 and his magnificent tourbill...
Beautiful!
What a fantastic watch. The movement looks just exquisite. I love the silk center for the dial. No wonder you weren't at SIHH this year! Congratulations and wear it in the best of health!
"Missed you too!"...
Thanks Allen. If Chris knew how you roll (perhaps he does???) he'd be hugely flattered. Hope to catch up soon. Cheers, pplater.
Whenever you need a vacation...
You are welcome to visit anytime. We will make it worth your trip!
Simply amazing.....
There's nothing I don't love about this timepiece. I tend to be drawn to time-only dials with small seconds registers, and the movement is otherworldly. The fact that Christian created your movement, case, dial, hands, crown, etc. with his own 2 hands (li...
Darren, you can rightly claim...
...to be the Godfather of this watch. It may have been your commission which drew Chris back to the land of the living. Would you mind posting here some photos of your own Klings piece, to remind others of the breadth of Chris' considerable talents? Cheer...
Sure - here are a couple of mine.....
Here are a few scans. My movement is a bit more pedestrian, although at the end of the day Christian created quite a bit of it on his own (in particular the power reserve and moonphase). I hope we get to see more of Christian's work in the near future, as...
Thanks for adding those, Darren...
That movement may be different, but it's certainly not pedestrian. Given Christian's production, you are doubtless the proud owner of the only blue-dial moonphase Klings in captivity, wouldn't you think? Lovely to see, as always. Cheers, pplater.
After the calm...
comes the storm. After pplater posting silence comes hell of a post :) Happy for you and proud Congrats Mr. Connoisseur from Down Under Cheers D
Dear friend from Up Over...
...you always have the kindest things to say. This watch will be visiting you in a few months, attached to an ageing, tired, scrawny wrist from Down Under. The matching wrist, however, is already in training for all of the work it will have to do in your ...
It's all in the wrist...
as we say up here so all you have to do is practice... wrist...short movements downside up and again :) Really looking forward with third baby on the way in month or so we'll have to synchronize our clocks very well ;) Best Damjan
Third baby!...
Congratulations Damjan!! You must buy a watch to celebrate! ...and then we must get you away from the house, and full of Islay 'sleeping potion', before cabin fever and exhaustion set in. Look for a PM. Cheers, pplater.
Correct...
...but it seems that you, at least, are still equipped to catch up. Some of us have gracefully retired. :-) PM sent. Cheers, pplater.
Still those two bits of metal sticking out of the chatons......
Kidding...... Wow,what a watch my friend....well done,the back is terrific,the front to die for... You are a true connoisseur ....huge congrats Mo
:-) ...
Mo, have you been 'told' today???? ;-) All compliments are due solely to Chris Klings, but you are very kind. It is a pleasure - a thrill - to have participated in the realisation of this piece. Your approval is hugely gratifying. Cheers, pplater.
With all due respect, Mo... ;-)...
this is a watch for adult connoisseurs, only… Cheers, Magnus P.S.: Could not resist either…!
LOL - Indeed...
...for adults who evidently cannot field simple questions without feeling attacked. A bit silly really that you seem to have this need to repeat how adult your tastes are online, whenever you can. But I guess within the limited constraints of looking at y...
Finally a relaxed ,chilled out post!
It would be nice to hear your comments after this exhaustive thread,especially with your experience from years of collecting. Mo
What a fabulous and truly unique creation
This is the perfect post that pops up ever so seldom. Thanks for the wonderful walk through. The two year process from start to finish must have been thrilling for you, and the anticipation.... And then to see the realization of this unique piece that has...
Highly recommend...
...getting a head start on that special piece, Dean; it could take all of two years or more, as you know. Having commissioned a few AHCI pieces over time, two years didn't seem such a long wait. Still, as you say: it's two years of fun and anticipation. T...
Like no other!
What a wonderful story about your new acquisition pplater! The watch is like no other and it's a joy to read how it all started! Every bit of the watch oozes class. I love the unique idea of the patterned silk! Amazing how Christian managed to secure such...
If invited, Sidney...
...the watch will come. There's also the small matter of a gathering of the Habrings, and then the Gerber P10 get-together. Maybe one of you in the 'far East' can jog AndrewD out of his torpor and we can make a party of it! Until then, thanks for your gen...
gee, how lovely is that?
Pplater - for me, hearing about the process is as engaging as the final result, it makes me look at a commission so very differently. Thank you, as ever, for sharing. Pplater & Sidneyc - I don't qualify for any of those still-to-be-arranged gatherings, bu...
Ah yes the Gerber P10 gathering!
Would definitely looove for that to happen! And indeed I'm sure we would all enjoy Aptronym to be our guest of honour! Regrettably my Habring club membership had expired but the Gerber P10 is still with me. Congrats again! I could stare at the photos of y...
Wow !
Truly amazing piece of Art ! I'd wear it case back ... Never mind the time ... Great to be involved along the way , piece unique indeed. Hope to see it one day , perhaps in sunny Singapore. Thanks for the truly wonderful post.
What an incredible project!
It are projects like this that keep me interested in the watch world. Bravo! Best regards, Dirk
It was indeed exciting, Dirk...
...and enough to sustain an interest in watches for all one year, three hundred and sixty three days! Of course, there must always be something in the pipeline to keep the passions aroused. Cheers, pplater.
Mon Cher Confrère, Félicitations for this very fine watch.
From the case to the dial and the movement, I am totally seduced. Participating to the creation of your time piece is certainly a very exciting experience. Bravo. Amicalement yours. Nicolas.
Thanks, as ever...
...cher confrère. You judgment is as valuable as your advocacy. ;-) Cheers, pplater.
Splendidly beautiful, my perfect cup of Camomille.....
Congratulations Pplater for your sense of aesthetics and the choice of your master watch maker. Looking forward to see and feel it in the metal;) Cheers Francois from........South of the River
what Paul Sacher was for early modern music
you may become for watchmaking, great piece but also really impressive interaction between artist and patron. Loved that post and the watch is, of course outstanding from every angle. Best Andreas
A wholly undeserved comparison, Andreas...
...but if it means also becoming the richest man in Europe (as Sacher reputedly was) then it's a cross worth bearing! ;-) Thank you for your generous words. It means a great deal that someone with your fine sense of discrimination should find the watch ap...
Being a watchmaker looks fantastic.
I would love to have the knowledge to be able to make my own watch. This movement seems goregeous and with all the Indies' ingredients. Thanks a lot for sharing and congratulations to you for this fantastic piece ;) Cheers, Mark
But then, Mark...
...what would you collect??? :-) Let's be satisfied with leaving the making to others so that they can rely on us to do the collecting. Perfect symbiosis! Cheers, pplater.
A watch the ends it all...
and says so much about the maker and the patron! For me everything is done right, the conception of the movement, its layout and execution, the dial (including the exotic choice of materials). This watch would give me much more pleasure than any complicat...
Gosh, Magnus!...
That's quite a big statement! We are agreed, though, that a simple watch such as this one can give at least as much pleasure, if not more, than a complicated piece or Grande Complication. That having been said, the luxury of commissioning a very complicat...
Don't commission that big complication...
...without informing your bald buddy first! Best, Gary
Congrats, to all passionate people ...
involved in that outstanding project. You made my day! Oliver
What a splendid piece and informative report!
Many, many congratulations to you, my friend -- while others of us simply propose minor tweaks to the already-conceived work of the masters, you collaborate on something fundamentally new! Can't wait to see this one in person -- and of course to renew our...
Your final thought...
...has made the day (in a caring and sharing kinda way). It's probably only an oversight, though - soon to be corrected, no doubt! :-) This was a lot of fun. Chris is obviously well established, but we should be looking to do something similar with the em...
Congrats!
I'm really happy to see something from Christian again - sincere congrats to both the creator and happy new owner!!! Best regards Suitbert
What some people may not know, Suitbert...
...is that you have always been an early champion of Christian Klings. Your posts are an invaluable resource for anyone researching his work. Here are a couple which turned up on a quick search, but it would be much appreciated if you could post links to ...
Thanks so much for reminding us on these marvellous posts...
… and of course on a bit of PPro history. 6 years ago - we were all (?) much more virginal… Cheers, Magnus
A lovely watch pplater!
Thank you for taking the time to share this wonderful journey with us. A most satisfying result I'd say! Chris Klings is a genius watchmaker and a great guy. Enjoy and well done on your continued support of the artisanal watchmakers round the world. As I ...
Some of us, Tim...
...support these artisanal watchmakers only in small ways: it takes a huge leap of faith and real guts to support them in the way that you have, and you do. Chapeau! Cheers, pplater.
Appreciate the kind words.
Coming from you, that is a terrific compliment. I follow my heart and gut...so far so good, it has been a tremendous journey! Cheers, Tim
Stunning pplater- you are certainly Mr Independent!
That is i a beautiful process, starting with design and ending up with another prefect piece. Your patience is astonishing Next time you are in this timezone lets try and catch up . Would love to see IRL Cheers Julian
Or should that be...
...""??? :-) Rest assured, we will catch up before too long. Looking forward to it. Cheers, pplater.
The bonding starts even before it was born.
What an experience! Very interesting finishing on the movement. Beautiful dial as well. It is not difficult to tell you are an excited and happy owner of this piece of art work. Regards Ling
It will be a very long time, Ling...
...before the excitement wears off. A new purchase is one thing, but the arrival of something two years in the making is quite another! Thanks for your kind words. Cheers, pplater.
Perfect!
Congratulations on a stunning watch. Fabulous movement (love those bridges) and great craftsmanship. But the wonderful collaboration between watchmaker and patron makes it perfect. Look forward to seeing it in person. All the best. TerryO
Very kind, Terry...
...and a real compliment for Chris coming from an Independent watch connoisseur such as yourself. Hopefully we will catch up next January (if not sooner); it will be Klings at thirty paces!! Actually: why wouldn't he be at dinner next year? May have to wo...
wow! what a masterpiece! congrats!
I love everything about the watch! It's truly showing your remarkable taste in horology and Kling's excellent craftmanship in watchmaking! Best regards, Alex
Thanks Alex. As the owner...
...of the FPJ RDT you would recognise a couple of the 'antique' touches which are echoed in the Klings piece. Pleased you like it! Cheers, pplater.
Fantastic!
Many congrats! If the old painted scrolls I've seen are any indication, that silk will be pure white LONG after the rest of the metal has darkened. As for the "english frosted finish", I have no solid research to back this up, but every watch I've seen fr...
George Daniels?...
Who is he???? ;-) You'd like this one in the metal, Aaron. As posted above, it really does have a few gentle 'echoes' of some of the graceful older pieces. Of course, the real trouble with having a white silk dial is finding accessories to match! :-) :-) ...
Back in the old days....
Hi Aaron, back in the old days there wasn't electro plating :-), so the way to go was fire gilt - an extremely toxic (due to the amalgan mercury nature) process, but with an extremely nice, silky matte fine gold surface. Later a brushed (chemical) silver ...
Hmmm..
I know US makers were nickel-plating bridges as early as the mid 1860s, or right about the beginning of their rise to power, but those were sold alongside gilt movements for most of the 19th C. From watches I've seen, not having done any real research on ...
Wonderful! But ...
... as much as I love Kling's movement design, I think that the highly classical Breguet design of the face and hands does not really do it justice. For my taste, the front is too conventional for the unique movement. Other than that, it is truly a work o...
That's a fair point, Marcus...
...it's easy to imagine the movement in a watch of the 'modern' era, isn't it? You could have a lot of fun imagining the different kinds of case and dial which might 'work'. However; it is a Christian Klings watch, and asking him to do a 'modern' case and...
You obviously watch too many splatter movies, Alex...
Killings - Kilings - Klings… ;-) Magnus
Marvelous--one of the most beautiful watches I have ever seen.
Thank you for sharing, and congrats to you and Mr. Klings on an amazing collaboration. Cheers, Daniel
Awe...
Sincerest congratulations on this wonderful piece! I "envy" both your vision and patience. May you wear it in good health, and hope you make a trip to HK sometime with the wonder!
I read it again and again.
There are so many things there -First I love your vision and your criteria, that gives a way and if communication is successful you will be pleased more than with any other watches, and I do believe that it is the case. Pleased is weak in that case. -Seco...