Style
Meet The Makers
Publisher of The Watch Annual, member of the GPHG Academy and Mr Porter style council, Justin Hast explores the rarefied world of independent watchmaking – the pinnacle of haute horology.
1
Chronomètre À Résonance
F.P. Journe
François-Paul Journe is one of the most acclaimed players in the field of haute horology. A graduate of the Paris watchmaking school, Journe restored clocks and pocket watches by Breguet and completed commissions from Asprey and Cartier as a talented young watchmaker. In 1999, he presented his own collection of wristwatches signed ‘F.P. Journe Invenit et Fecit’ – a Latin phrase meaning ‘invented and made’. His designs have strong design DNA, none more so than the Chronomètre à Résonance. It is the only wristwatch in the world to utilise the natural phenomenon of resonance, where one movement helps regulate the other.
2
Type 5 Dive Watch
Ressence
Founded by the Belgian industrial designer Benoît Mintiens in 2010, Ressence’s motto is “built on the expertise of yesterday, crafted with today’s technology”, and their watches are truly designed for tomorrow. Each model features an instantly recognisable clear and revolutionary design in which the watch’s sub-dials continually orbit one another. Regarded as the most legible dive watch ever, the Ressence TYPE 5 is the world’s first watch which can be viewed at any angle under water, thanks to its edge-to-edge display and 142 components immersed in 37.5ml of oil within its domed dial. The choice of the true connoisseur.
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Legacy Machine
MB&F
After decades conforming to the rules of corporate watchmaking, Swiss businessman Maximilian Büsser founded what he describes as “a rebellion called MB&F” – Maximilian Büsser & Friends - in 2005. MB&F assembles collectives of independent watchmakers to develop radical watches – Horological or Legacy Machines. MB&F’s design philosophy reinterprets traditional, high-quality craftsmanship as three-dimensional kinetic sculptures. Central to the brand’s creative process is a belief that “a creative adult is a child who survived”. First launched in 2014, the Legacy Machine 101 series embodies and accentuates the essentials of the wristwatch. Its pioneering three dimensional ‘flying’ balance wheel has become the design signature of the Legacy Machine collection.
Discover The Watch Annual: https://thewatchannual.com/password
The full edition of PURSUIT – CUSTOM LIFE can be found as a digital flipbook here.