Independents

Ornatus-Mundi
[Zenith]
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The Ox goes into the wild... It starts in Paul Gerber's Atelier in Zurich...

Dear All:

I have been (almost) silent about Ludwig Oechslin's brainchild Ochs und Junior since quite some time since I last reported three months ago (click here).

Well, much has happened. While the Settimana Junior is already on the market, the Anno 50, with its sophisticated annual calender driven by a new Paul Gerber automatic movement, required more maturing time.

Extensive tests took place and optimisations have been implemented. The calender mechanism as well as the movement are now finalised for production.

The Ochs und Junior team decided that its time for the first gold and silver cases to be made and then assayed by the Federal Assay Office for purity of the case material. This is done (literally) case-by-case!

Two Swiss federal hallmarks are punched separately into each case: The official Swiss hallmark (the head of a St. Bernard dog) and the stamp of the Vienna Convention for export into the EU (which warrants the purity of the metal on its entry into the EU, after which no further testing is necessary). In short: the hallmarks are a key consumer protection measure which is laid down by law and which facilitates cross-border shipping.

For this meant that something exciting is about to materialise soon! Why? Well, one consequence is that I received a call from Paul Gerber, and the message he had to convey to me made me immediately book the late evening flight to Zurich... And there I was:










Yes! I received, from the hands of Paul Gerber, the almost production-version, the final prototype of the Anno 50!

I am thrilled at the prospect of witnessing the process of my getting acquainted with this intellectual and highly unusual time piece. How will it fare in the normal course of life? Will it integrate seemingly, or will it call for attention every now and then?

Of course, I promise to report on my experience with this watch, my discoveries, but also my quarrels, and the misunderstanding that certainly will surface between me and the Ox. Stay tuned!





So far, I feel its a match made in heaven, such a beauty on my wrist:



With a smile on my face,
Magnus

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