Independents
Curtis for David Lou
1564
Conversation with Mr. Phillips>>>
Hi guys,
I just finished a 30 minute conversation with Mr. Phillips with the following results.
Regarding the "certificate of origin." He was unaware of that being there. In fact, he admits to not being computer literate and did not realize that the highlighted area was a link to the certificate. The site has been up for three to four years and nobody noticed or mentioned it.
Mr. Phillips sent many photos for the Budapest Watch Co. and for his restoration side of the business (he thought the Patek certificate would be used as a back drop for one of those pages), but the webmaster incorrectly used the Patek certificate instead of the Budapest one.
So, he gives his thanks to those keen eyes who spotted the error. He has a new webmaster who will sort that out ASAP and the dead restoration link.
He makes his watches from "scratch." All components are by his design and hands, save the jewels and springs. This includes the making of his one-piece case. Except for the Millennium series (50 watches) his creations are limited to 5 pieces per series.
His philosophy was to make a watch that incorporated the positive mechanical bits he noticed during his many, many years of restorations and include them in one mechanism. Also, the watch must be serviceable to watchmakers years later. He said, "I want watchmakers who service my watches to feel it was a pleasure to work on."
I will be visiting him in the early part of next year and he will give me his technical sheets, etc..., but he did say the watches he makes use Rolex hairsprings (he is a certified service center for Rolex) that are flat w/regulator and vibrate at 21,600.
His clock has been put on hold, as he has been moving towards perfecting the "eternal winding system" in a wristwatch. He has an experimental wristwatch which has been running and keeping time since March of this year with only the initial winding! There are five or six prototypes that he makes improvements on, etc...
The system works on a similar principle as the JLC Atmos clocks. A bellows is effected by temperature and atmospheric changes, thus winding the mainspring.
The state of wind is always in the most beneficial portion of the power curve, which provides a very constant torque to the balance. He said the International Wrist Watch quote of him saying it is quartz accurate was incorrect. He said it is "remontoir accurate."
He is using recently released NASA lubricants for his eternal winding constructions. This is why, he believes, the watch or clock will not need servicing for many generations. NASA doesn't relubricate for several years when using this "stuff." He assumes that if the lubricant is sufficient in such hostile environments (used on outer portion of wings, for example) that in his sealed mechanism it will be sufficient for ages... I guess only time will tell, but I admire his venturing into the unknown.
He is currently shopping this patent to 8 to 12 companies, including Franck Muller.
Right now Mr. Phillips spends his days working in his store front repairing/restoring watches and clocks. The evenings and weekends are spent making his watches. With the success of his watches (his Millennium series of 50 is sold out) he plans on moving to a more secluded area and devote the majority of his time on his own constructions, with restorations by appointment.
Cheers,
Curtis
