Although we have already entered the world of fine watchmaking to delimit the aspects mentioned above (art, beauty and quality), it should be noted that, within this microcosm, in turn we can find factors that make a piece or manufacturing rises above others.  

Although we have already entered the world of fine watchmaking to delimit the aspects mentioned above (art, beauty and quality), it should be noted that, within this microcosm, in turn we can find factors that make a piece or manufacturing rises above others. For this, this time we are going to talk about what we have called the “D, E, F” of Haute Horlogerie considering the following criteria: Design. Exclusivity. Functions.

Design is undoubtedly a fundamental part of any work of art that begins with an idea. Converting such thought into art can be a process of several months and even years; to actually capture in a physical and tangible way what did not exist before. This is where creativity and inspiration take shape. In watchmaking, additionally, the design team must meet with watchmakers to validate that their ideas are mechanically and not just aesthetically viable.

 

 

 

Today, we can find in Haute Horlogerie multiple designs that go far beyond the circular or square watch and, in turn, watches that have different ways of marking time; some of them, even have dispensed with the use of the hands. Watches that, because of their originality and innovation, have managed to create a whole new world of possibilities, allowing collectors who are looking to get out of the conventional, to add pieces (different from all the above) to their repertoire. Pieces that endow their owners with a singular distinction for innovation, development and the extraordinary, gathered in a masterpiece that very few know about and even fewer people in the world can obtain.

Thus, we enter the subject of Exclusivity, something fundamental in the world of luxury to which Haute Horlogerie belongs, which unequivocally lies in that few people get to wear the same thing. There can be no luxury without exclusivity, since the first, has to be uncommon and out of the ordinary: a manifestation of wealth and limited distinction for a few, because if luxury were achievable by all, then it would cease to be.

Not everything exclusive can be luxurious, but all high luxury must be exclusive. On the subject that concerns us, a watch can be exclusive for various reasons: for its materials, the craftsmanship in its manufacture, limited production, its design, etc. In addition to all the production and aesthetic factors, a piece of Haute Horlogerie manages to be exclusive for its mechanical engineering, that is, its Functions.

 

 

 

In Haute Horlogerie there are certain functions, in addition to measuring time, which offer additional complexity. The most common are the chronometer, the dater, GMT, the moon phase, the annual calendar; the most complex: the compensation of gravitational forces by a tourbillon, mark real seconds by a jumping second hand, to measure the length of months and years (even leap ones) with the perpetual calendar, and to hear hour by chiming with minute repeaters. The functions that a watch has, are a determining factor that adds to another universe of possibilities and that generate an additional value to the aesthetic and material.

Many watchmaking houses may have a captivating design and limited production of pieces, but the real leap to Haute Horlogerie has an additional technical factor that is only available to the most skilled watchmakers in the world. Undoubtedly, the combination of all the factors that we have discussed lays the foundations of what Haute Horlogerie really represents and how there are not so many manufactures that dominate and harmoniously combine all the elements to achieve merit and belong to this select group. 

 

Text: ± Photo: Ferald | PMT | Your watch | Singere Imagined