2023-09-13 22:04:11
Only Watch, the biggest sale on the watchmaking planet? Neither in volume nor in value, far from it. But in terms of creativity, maybe. Zoom in on the craziest movements created especially for the occasion!
1. TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph
There is no doubt that the new team at the head of TAG Heuer is creating sparks. After the immense worldwide success of the new Carreras, Carole Kasapi’s teams, under the direction of Frédéric Arnault, went back to work to unveil the first split-seconds chronograph in the contemporary history of the brand. The complication as such is not new, TAG Heuer has been working on the chronograph for over a century. But its modern models hardly had any left. You had to go back to the 60s to have mechanical split-seconds calibers, 1989 for its quartz counterpart.
The particularities of the piece are numerous, starting with a very disruptive aesthetic, a hollowed sapphire caseback which contains part of the movement, a textured titanium with unusual effects and, of course, a new movement, the TH81-00, developed in collaboration with Vaucher and capable of simultaneously measuring two distinct times. It is also the lightest automatic chronograph movement ever manufactured by TAG Heuer, made entirely of titanium.
Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph © TAG Heuer
2. Jacob & Co. and Concepto Watch Factory – Astronomia Revolution 4th Dimension
Where to start ? This “fourth dimension” is so superlative that we don’t know how to summarize it! It is equipped with a three-axis flying tourbillon, placed at the end of a two-arm carousel, the other end carrying the time module. The first axis of the tourbillon rotates in 60 seconds, the second in 18 seconds and the last in 15 seconds, all at the end of an arm which itself rotates. It is therefore a four-axis tourbillon, the first in a wristwatch.
Additionally, the tourbillon cage contains a constant force escapement. The dial under the rotating carousel is a hollowed-out structure in rose gold shaped like a large piece of fine jewelry. Jacob & Co. set it with 35 precious stones, chosen from 7 types of gems. Each is tailor-made to form a field of colored light. Each stone is placed upwards. The arrangement is random, creating an irregular surface. It captures the light, reshapes it and sends it back. All within 47 mm of total disproportion.
Astronomia Revolution 4th Dimension © Jacob & Co. And Concepto Watch Factory
3. Constantine Chakin Stargazer
Konstantin Chaykin is an independent watchmaker who founded his own manufacture in 2003. He is one of the most prolific inventors, recently very exposed for his Joker, a huge success with an inimitable look. But, for Only Watch, the man returned to major complications.
Konstantin Chaykin therefore focused on a multi-complication watch. Around the design of the Joker, the Stargazer displays a total of 16 complications, including a tourbillon and 11 astronomical functions. The piece has a reversible double side. This includes a symmetrically shaped case, H-shaped lugs, and a reversible strap with a special attachment and even a reversible buckle.
The Stargazer has two dials, which allows numerous indications to be displayed without compromising readability. Certain complications are unprecedented in the history of watchmaking: a discreet moon phase indicator, azimuth indicators at sunrise and sunset – these inventions have been the subject of a patent application. All in just 42mm in diameter. A tour de force from a discreet, prolific, ingenious and brilliant man.
Stargazer © Constantine Chakin
4. L. Leroy Minute Repeater
While the 2023 edition of Only Watch has a plethora of tourbillons, there are surprisingly few minute repeaters. That of L. Leroy is all the more surprising as the brand seemed plunged into a deep sleep. Heartbreaking, as this historic name, contemporary with Berthoud, Breguet, Moinet and so many others, is the bearer of watchmaking marvels which still inhabit palaces and castles.
L.Leroy therefore created a unique piece inspired by a tact watch, pendant, made by Leroy around 1810 for Prince Émile Maximilien Léopold Auguste de Hesse. At that time, when electricity was unknown and luminous hands had not yet been invented, this type of watch made it possible to know the time, even in the dark, by touching the hand which moved in direction of the twelve diamonds located around the edge of the case and acting as indexes.
Today, L.Leroy reinterprets this timepiece which is now part of the collection of the Patek Philippe Museum. Its hand-wound movement is composed of a flying tourbillon and a minute repeater. The 43 mm case is made of two metals: middle, case back, chime lock and crown are made of grade 5 titanium; Bezel and back cover are 18k white gold Palladium PD210. Entirely engraved by hand, an operation that is not easy on titanium parts given the hardness of the material, it required 120 hours of work.
Minute Repeater © L. Leroy
5. Louis Vuitton Tambour Einstein Automata
A difficult exercise for La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, as much appreciated as it is reviled for what it does best: breaking the codes. His Albert Einstein automaton will not break this momentum. The scientist’s left eye gives way to a Louis Vuitton Monogram Flower in blue lacquer, above his famous pink tongue. To the left of his face, equations. One of them, “E = LV2”, is a playful nod to his famous mass-energy equivalence formula “E = MC2”. At the bottom of the dial is a model of an atom surrounded by four valence orbitals. On Einstein’s forehead, an opening reveals the unsolved equation “T =?” “.
A fuse camouflages the pusher of an automaton, which triggers four animations. Thus, the pattern in the front opening transforms into a number from 1 to 12 indicating the time. The atom model in turn begins a rotation: one of its valence orbitals (recognizable by its lacquered tip end) moves until it reaches the appropriate position on a scale between 0 and 60 and thus reveals the minutes. The petals of the Monogram Flower adorning Einstein’s eye narrow, revealing the mechanics of the movement. Finally, his tongue extends completely.
The watch still hides one last secret: when the power reserve is almost exhausted, E will no longer be equal to LV2 but to OW2. The indicator will thus display the initials of the Only Watch charity sale…
Einstein Automata Drum © Louis Vuitton
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