Independents

Volker Vsykocil VA1

This is the only "simple" watch to make it into the masterpiece category this year. Presented first in 2004, it has yet to make its maiden appearance till 2008.

It is the very last of the true romantics of being handmade by one man.

Although therein lies its primary appeal. The watch itself is a demonstration of German precision and inventiveness. It will be a complication that allows the precise synchronization of the seconds to the minutes, right down to the proportions of the actual fractions of each minute on the dial!

That is among one of the many hidden complexities of this totally hand made watch.

The man whose name is on the dial makes the case, the wheels, almost everything short of the crystals and rubies. At close to $80,000 it compares well to a price of a new Porsche in Germany.

At full work speed, Volker will manage to make about 5 watches a year! He employs no one to help him. Every cut, every polish, any imperfection, is his alone! There is no dilution for commercial advantages. He walks alone. George Daniels may have attempted this, but he made very few watches. What's more, Daniels never actually did manage to replicate his work into a series in any significant way.

Volker has gone to the step beyond. He has dedicated his work into making a perfect run of identical watches, all hand made into a series of 5 each year. This is much more difficult than making "one offs".

I personally bought the first piece in Singapore when Volker himself was my guest in my home for the duration of Tempus in 2005.

Fully booked till the turn of 2010 or beyond!