Mechanical Wonders and Louis Vuitton Watch Prize

Until then, let’s imagine ourselves as one of the jury members and think about which of the 5 candidate watches below, we should choose while we still have the opportunity. Here are the candidates:

1.

Simon Brette

Chronomètre Artisans

Limited to 12 watches and produced by a team of 13 independent craftsmen under the leadership of Simon Brette, the 39 mm diameter Chronomètre Artisans is offered in a zirconium case exclusive to subscribers. All 12 watches to be produced until 2028 (50 thousand CHF excluding tax) have been sold. The technical highlight of the watch, which attracts attention with its craftsmanship, is the winding mechanism that can be seen, heard and felt (The watch won the 2023 GPHG Inspirational Watch of the Year Award).

2.

Raúl Pages

Regulateur à détente RP1

Raúl Pages graduated from CIFOM – Ecole Technique (Le Locle) watchmaking school in 2006 and worked in the restoration departments of Parmigiani and then Patek Philippe. The standout feature of the Régulateur à détente RP1, a manually wound stainless steel wristwatch, is that it has an improved trigger escapement. The trigger escapement, first developed by Pierre Le Roy in 1748, is a rare mechanism today. Although it has some flaws in terms of accuracy, the Thomas Mudge invention (1755) lever escapement is the most preferred type due to its robust features. The trigger escapement has never been popular because it is difficult to manufacture and although it is more sensitive, it does not have shock protection. Raúl Pages proves that he has overcome this problem by adding shock protection to the escapement.

3.

Petermann Bédat

Chronograph Rattrapante

The names of Gaël Petermann and Florian Bédat were heard for the first time at the 2020 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), when they received the “High Horlogerie Discovery Award” with the Deadbeat Seconds model with jumping seconds, which has unusual technical features. Developing new projects since then, the duo’s latest work is the Chronographe Rattrapante, inspired by pocket watches. This watch is a split-seconds chronograph with a jumping minute counter. The symmetrical structure of the chronograph with a semi-skeleton dial has an interesting aesthetic. (The watch won the 2023 GPHG Chronograph of the Year Award.)

4.

John-Mikaël Flaux

L’Abeille Mécanique

L’Abeille Mécanique (mechanical bee) is a hand-wound table clock in silver and gold. It is also a work of art designed to draw attention to endangered bees by imitating the complex structure of living things. When the bee figure carrying the escapement and wheel chain stands on a rotating table, the bee’s sting shows what time it is. The bee and the tray have independent mechanisms but work in harmony.

5.

Andreas Strehler

Tischkalender Sympathique

Combining a table and a pocket watch, this design is inspired by the Pendule Sympathique design produced by Abraham Louis-Breguet in 1798 (an example of which is in the Topkapi Palace) and takes the main idea even further by adding a perpetual calendar. Housed in a wooden case, it consists of a pocket watch that displays the time and integrates it into a perpetual calendar. When the pocket watch is removed, the system suspends itself and the desk clock, which displays the year, month, date and day of the week, stops working. Let’s say you return after three days and replace the pocket watch, at that moment the calendar starts working with the help of mechanical memory and sets the date to the required day. Andreas Strehler (52) is a well-known master in this field and has unique designs.