Jay (Eire)
9178
Marquetry. Never ceases to amaze me.
For me the greatest of the rare handcraft skills. To see the craftsman in person, to see the process and speak about the steps involved just amazes me every time.
Unfortunately the designs and themes chosen by Patek for these dials are too traditional, old fashioned even, to appeal to a younger audience.
What would it be if Patek used these traditional skills to produce something contemporary?
Personally I believe there would be a huge audience for it and it would introduce these skills and the appreciation for these skills to a new (and younger) collector.
This was the second time I met Jerome Boutteçon. He is the sole craftsman at Patek working on the marquetry dials and has been doing so for 30 years I believe. He is still very passionate about his job, it’s evident when you speak with him.
He guided several of us through the use of the machine he uses to cut the various pieces of wood. The machine is essentially a foot operated saw; your foot pushing up and down on a pedal controls the speed / tempo of the saw.
The wood, which is usually stacked 8-10 pieces and separated by pieces of paper to ensure these really thin strips of wood do not shatter when cutting, is then directed by your hands to create the shape one intends to cut. Once cut, the prices are soaked in water to remove the paper.
Below is the result of my turn on the machine. You can see the size of the wood pieces. Small, but yet maybe 20 times larger than the piece Jerome had just cut right before me. Amazing.
I think he mentioned he was working on a sample dial for a black polish chicken next!
Marquetry. Never ceases to amaze me.
Truly amazing.
Glad you are sharing your coverage of the show,
I’ve been holding this for 22 years, waiting for your post
I think we need something like a KAWS Edition!
Great reporting Jay ! What examples can you think of for...
This is a craft that (in my opinion) lends itself more naturally to more classical themes...but contemporary dials could certainly be interesting as well, depending on the topic.
You raised an important point: " What would it be if Patek used these traditional skills to produce something contemporary? ".
I think there are many others whose interest would be significantly greater if the themes were different.
What about custom requests
Tbey dont need a younger audience...they make so few
Good grief!!!! They made less than 5 of the mountain climber
Where did you hear me say “they can’t sell them”？
And I reiterate....if you only make 2 ugly designs
