Independents

Observatoire movement photos

 

This one is for my friends tahoeblue, who asked me to take some fresh shots of the Observatoire movement so that they might be compared with this week's photos of the Simplicity -- and Nicolas, who is convinced that Kari has chosen him for some form of persecution

This is also the first set of shots I have ever taken using extension tubes.  My "discovery" of these is something like my much earlier "discovery" of the Reuben sandwich -- it was always there, but I was simply ignorant at first and then scared off by the new terminology.  In reality, extension tubes turn out to be great for getting shots of smaller details -- but you do sacrifice even more depth of field, so getting a sharp image in the absence of using focus stacking is quite tough.  For these photos, as with the Simplicity the watch was running and I was unable to stop it, so no focus stacking was possible -- I worked around it the best I could using relatively flat viewing angles and a tilt-shift lens.

First, an overall shot to give a quick reminder of the view that greets you when you first flip over the watch:

Let's get closer, shall we?

The Observatoire came with a variety of engraving styles for the maker's logo over the production life of the series -- for me, the style shown in the above photo is by far the most attractive.

Above, you can see double reflections of the screws on the plate inside of the crown wheel -- the result of the black polishing of the small plate and the absence of AR on the rear crystal of the watch.  Still, not bad that the polishing is so good that you can see the fourth reflection of the screws (including bounces off of the underside of the crystal and the small plate) quite clearly.

Having seen both the Simplicity and Observatoire this week, I would have to give a slight nod to the Dufour for elegance of finishing.  It should be remembered, however, that Kari had to start with NOS (or maybe not-so-NOS) Peseux 260 movements, which I am sure placed some limitations on his ability to choose, and then execute, some specific finishing techniques.

I'll probably be on the minority on this one, but I prefer Kari's striping to Mr. Dufour's.  When turned the right way, the Simplicity striping is almost blindingly evident and gorgeous (I tried to capture it in my earlier photos), but viewed straight on in some lights they almost lose the 3D effect that (for me) is an important part of the illusion of the stripes.  Kari's stripes are quite evident from pretty much all angles that I can figure out, and I also like the narrower stripes a bit better.

One of the disadvantages of seeing your watch at a zillion times life size is that every stray bit of dust or lubricant looks like a boulder or oil slick.  Having studied these and other photos I took today of this watch, I think that after 3 years of happy ownership it might be about time for me to have Kari do a thorough cleaning, touch up the screw slots, etc. 

Hope you found these of some interest.  As always, all comments, suggestions, and criticisms welcomed.

Best,

Gary G