Independents

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

I knew that it was you Gary. Great pictures of a great watch, when are you coming to Paris for a photo shoot?? LOL

Best regards,

George

I prefer it to the Dufour... Well, it is a kind of horological Champions League,, here, but the KV speaks louder to me, from the dial to the finish of the movement.

Yes, I'm totally vladed, and your pics don't help.

Best,

Vlad.

Thanks for sharing as always Gary, you are generous with your time it must be said, and a huge credit and benefit to these fora.
Cheers,
Tim

Thank you for posting those wonderful pictures. I never get tired of seen pictures of Kari's Observatoire. Any chance of seeing pictures of its pretty face, if you happen to have take any?
Ztirual

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I greatly appreciate it. I considered whether to do another photo retrospective as with 500 and 1000, but decided to wait for 2000 ...

Best,

Gary

... your pics are fantastic!  Thank you for sharing.

Ken

and to think you did this for me!  I would say that the Observatoire and Simplicity pretty much stand as the benchmarks of a class of watches--the finely finished "simple" watches by independent makers.  And you have captured the essence of each (with some dial shots still due for the Observatoire, hint, hint....)

From my few experiences with Kari, what really makes his watches special is HIM. It's his persona that shines through from the first moment one meets him to the finished product.
 That's what I consider magical about these pieces, is that this terrific guy and his team are putting these out there.

In terms of finishing, there's a different aesthetic present in the Kari which is not in the Dufour. The latter has a more rooted aesthetic on Brassus models of the 1920s-1930s. If you look at some of the AP and Patek movements from those two decades and look into how the finishing is done and the type of jewel shapes used by Dufour you'll see how much of a link with that tradition he's doing.
 Kari on the other hand, inserts his style from a different point of origin (of course his relationship with the tradition is very different than Dufour), but I equate his finishing more with the highest of the 1950-1960s. A time when machinery was used more than in the 20-30s, and an altogether different result, still absolutely amazing though in it's own right.

 Thank you for sharing these amazing photos, I'm alway hoping that when I click on the AHCI link I'll find more pictures of these two masters, they're such a beautiful antidote to the Renaud et Papi style that has become the mainsteam nowadays (which I love as well, but a different beast altogether!).

Thanks
S

A note I forgot to respond to.

From what I understand (from actual hands one practice!) is the following:

1) Dufour cotes: Issues involved with why they look like they do:
  the speed, angle, size of pegwood and grit that is used to do the cotes. MOST importantly, the pressure that is applied
when scratching the waves on to the bridges. This is an older style of doing this. If you look at the few german silver Louis Audemars movements (from around 1870-84) you'll see very similar. Lastly it is the combination of metal he's using (rhodium plated german silver).

2) Kary cotes: Same factors, he is cutting the cotes nearly in half from those of Dufour, and the grit and pressure are different.
Don Corson can surely illustrate all these. They're different styles, I think very much related to my previous post here to yoru pictures. Both are very beautiful and convey a slightly different altogether experience.

Thanks again,
S

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You got everything right - the light, the colours, the dept of field, the contrast ... I just wonder how you do it.

Regards,

Morten

Gary, your Observatoire movement photos... really make my love for Kari's watches reach another level!

Thanks for your interesting observation between Dufour and Kari's finishing!

over a Dafour.  This is a easy choice for me.  

Such detailed shots of the beauty...

Thanks, everyone, for your very kind comments and interesting added information!  I apologize that I have not posted separate responses to all, but between the extensive time I spent constructing the posts, the need to spend time with my lovely wife, and actually having to work for a living I have not had a great deal of time to go post by post.  Thanks again for your input.

Best,

Gary G