Jon – Freesprung

The Psychology of Ten Past Ten

Empirical evidence for the subliminal, positive impact of setting the hands of a clock or watch in a configuration that resembles a smile, from a team of researchers across Germany, Egypt, and the USA. Somewhat surprisingly, watches set in this configuration were found to induce "in women significantly stronger ratings of pleasure than in men."

Parrot Shot

How to take a "parrot" style wrist shot. A tutorial by Verne Ho, a former UX director at Shopify.

Image credit Verne Ho

Inside the OAK Collection

With Justin Hast, at the London Design Museum.

Image credit Justin Hast

Hands-on With the OAK Collection

Ben Clymer, of Hodinkee, touches the tip of the ice-burg of Patrick Getreide's "One of a Kind Collection" (a.k.a. The OAK Collection) that is on display from May 19^th to 25^th, 2022 at the London Design Museum. One of the highlights includes a splendid tourbillon pocket watch, commissioned by Henry Graves Jr. in 1932, featuring a movement crafted by Pellaton for Patek Philippe.

While it may seem a little over-the-top for Getreide to employ a watchmaker for himself, when you consider the fact that servicing just one of the timepieces from his collection of over 600 rare and complicated timepieces would easily cost five figures at the manufacturer and potentially take years to get back, it makes sense. I have little doubt that maintaining this impressive collection for Getreide is both painstaking and a great pleasure for his watchmaker, Gabriel Tortola.

Image credit HODINKEE

Origin of Clock

The word clock is derived from the Latin word clocca, meaning "bell", as the primary intent of early clockwork built in the middle ages was to automate the ringing of bells at specifically pre-ordained times of the day.

Incense Clock

A hand-carved and well-preserved incense clock, in the form of a dragon, on display at the Time Museum of Tehran.

As the incense stick inside the dragon slowly burned up, it would burn through the strings laid across the back of the dragon and the bells on the ends of each string would drop, their chimes marking the passage of time.

Image credit Hamed Tavakoli

Jony Ive's Favourite Loupe

If "design is how it works," I'm mildly surprised that this vintage, folding brass loupe, crafted by Leitz Wetzlar, is Ive's go-to magnifier. The barrel distortion of the lens is pronounced.

Image credit Dwight Eschlimann

An In-depth, & Interactive Look at How a Mechanical Watch Works

By Bartosz Ciechanowski.

Voutilainen Decimal Repeater

A look at one of Kari Voutilainen's later decimal repeaters, produced circa 2010, alongside a number of other independent timepieces coming up for auction at Phillips' Geneva Watch Auction XV.

Image credit SJX

Reticulating Precious Metal

While the open, arched indices on Philippe Narbel's inaugural ROOTS timepiece appear to have been 3D printed, that has yet to be confirmed. However, he has been very open about the fact that the texture in the center of the dial is crafted from sterling silver using a technique he stumbled upon by accident while studying to become a jeweller. That technique is known within the jewellery industry as reticulation and involves removing the copper content from the surface of sterling silver, or other precious metal alloy, and then proceeding to melt the core of the metal without melting the surface. As the surface is now pure precious metal and has a higher melting point than the alloyed metal below it, the liquified material below it deforms the surface as it heats and cools.

The linked video, by Andrew Berry, provides a full walkthrough of the process, from material preparation all the way through to punching out a desired section of the reticulated metal without damaging the texture.

Image credits Philippe Narbel

Iconic Gastown Steam Clock in Vancouver Damaged

One of the glass panes protecting its pendulum was smashed over the weekend. The clock itself is still ticking.

The Fears Garrick

Under the dial of the new Fears Garrick, showing the inner workings of the power reserve complication developed for Garrick's caliber UT-G04 by Andreas Strehler. The finished timepiece is a collaboration between British watch brands Garrick and Fears, as well as Canadian type designer Lee Yuen Rapati

Image via SJX

ROOTS by Philippe Narbel

A beautifully hand-finished movement, based on the ETA/Peseux caliber 7001, inside a minimalist timepiece with a novel dial construction.

The free-sprung balance coupled with a swan's neck mechanism to control and lock in the beat error are both a pleasant touch.

Image credit Philippe Narbel

Benjamin Huntsman

An English clockmaker, born in 1704, credited with the invention of cast steel, which was far more consistent and reliable than the laminated steel that preceded it.

Borrowing techniques from glass blowers, Huntsman was able to heat the steel to a much higher temperature, paving the way for superior quality springs and other steelwork for horological purposes, among myriad other applications both within and beyond the borders of England.

Image source Crucible Steel Company of America Share Certificate

Watches by Daniels & Clutton

Watches—the first book ever written by George Daniels, alongside Cecil Clutton—is returning to print, with an updated cover featuring Daniels' Four-Minute Tourbillon.

Image credit Philip Wilson Publishers

Harder Drives

Tom Murphy the 7^th on how to store data in network latency, Tetris, and (possibly) even used COVID tests.

Flipside of the Masse Mystérieuse

Jack Forster goes hands-on with the Cartier Masse Mystérieuse.

The symmetry of the movement architecture is even more impressive on the back than the front.

Image credit Tiffany Wade

One Step Closer to Self-charging Smartwatches

Students at Edinburgh University develop piezoelectric generators from electrospun PVDF nanofibers that are 2x more effective at converting mechanical energy into electricity.

Research and implementation by Francisco Javier Diaz Sanchez, Michael Chung, Muhammad Waqas, Vasileios Koutsos, Stewart Smith, Norbert Radacsi.

Arabic Numerals

Turns out, the digits 0 thru 9 that we commonly refer to as Arabic numerals on the dial of watch actually originated in India several centuries prior. Confounding matters, timepieces made specifically for the Arab market typically employ Mashriki, or Eastern Arabic, numerals (١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩).

Why World Orders Change

Patterns and principles drawn from 500+ years of historical perspective, distilled and relayed by Ray Dalio.

Capsoul

The company behind the design-led, diamond-growth technology used to create the 2.5 carat diamond crown of the Tag Heuer Carrera Plasma Tourbillon Nanograph.

The Tag Heuer emblem floating within the crown is a nice touch. The process employed by Capsoul to create this crown for Tag Heuer also enables them to inlay other colours of diamond, including black diamond, directly within the the lattice of perfectly clear diamond (and vice versa) allowing for incredibly diverse outcomes that are crafted from 100% pure diamond.

While synthetic diamond has been around for over half a century, it seems we're finally approaching the scale that would render the mass production of diamond crystals to protect the dial of a watch viable. Scratch-resistant sapphire crystals seemed like science fiction when Rolex first debuted one with the unveiling of the the Oysterquartz in 1970. Now they're ubiquitous in the realm of mechanical watches. I'm excited to see who will be the first to market with a truly scratch-proof crystal, machined entirely from a single piece of monocrystalline diamond.

Image credit Tag Heuer

Original Sketches of the Patek Philippe Nautilus

Painted by Gérald Genta circa 1976.

Image credit Sotheby's / Gérald Genta

Aion Group Cloning Rolex Tech?

One of the key images making the rounds in the Aion Group's latest press release depicts a sterile, Rolex caliber 3135. First produced in 1988, most of the patents on this caliber are now expired. While it is viable a new French upstart would have the audacity to bring a clone into mass production (the same way Sellita et al did with several ETA calibers after the associated patents expired), the prospect of it seemed suspicious. Particularly in light of the Aion Group's recent acquisition of Felsa's assets. Felsa, itself, having quite the back catalog of movements to choose from. Sure enough, it turns out this image first appeared online circa early 2020 and, like nearly every other photo of a movement on the group's website, is a stock photo licensed from LightField Studios.

On an infinite timescale, I think it is inevitable that a mass manufacturer of watch movements will eventually clone the 3135, and with good reason—it is a superlatively well-engineered watch movement. Indeed, a number of movements now coming out of China are already about 90% of the way there. The question is, will anyone ever come close to the best-in-class oscillator and supreme metallurgical expertise of the real-deal?

Image credit LightField Studios

Cartier Masse Mystérieuse in the Metal

As one might expect, the thickness imbued by the layers of sapphire crystal is appreciably more pronounced than in the renders. Nevertheless, the end effect is wonderfully whimsical.

Image credit Zach Weiss

The METAS Master Chronometer Lab

Inside Tudor HQ with Jack Forster.

Unlocking an 18th Century Safe

Crafted in France, between 1780 and 1810.

Image from linked video

Why Pebble Failed

Founder, Eric Migicovsky, reflects back on the rise and fall of the first smartwatch to hit broad, public appeal.

How Do You Pronounce GIF?

Taking Control

Patrick Pruniaux on the upside of securing independence from the French luxury group, Kering, for Ulysse Nardin and Girard-Perregaux.

Elisha Mitchell's Pocket Watch

On a trek to verify the highest peak east of the Mississippi, which now bears his name, Mitchell slipped and fell to his death near the summit. Over a century later, the watch still bears the supposed time of his death on June 27, 1857. A poignant reminder of our frailty and the brevity our time here on this beautiful planet.

Image credit Wilson Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina

Moonrunner Supernova Blue

Designed by Davide Cerato with a pin-regulated movement developed by Eric Coudray, the latest creation from HYT pairs a voluminous moonphase display with a glowing, liquid hour indicator.

Image credit HYT

The Watch Library Foundation

A Global Treasure Hunt

Catalyzed by the recent digitization of the EuropaStar archives, Serge Maillard and Martine Depresle are spearheading an effort to digitize the world's watch heritage in a globally accessible, online database that will be open to the public.

Grounding Breitling’s Aviation Image to Take the Brand to New Heights

From the brink of bankruptcy to a $3.3 billion valuation, Georges Kern’s “air, land, and sea” approach to making Breitling a more sustainable watch brand—both environmentally and fiscally—has accelerated its growth in a time of global upheaval and uncertainty.

Masse Mystérieuse

Yet another sublime mystery watch from the Cartier Maison. Although she has departed Cartier, this has the hallmarks of Carole Forestier-Kasapi's ingenuity written all over it.

I'd say I'm disappointed to see it lacks a free-sprung balance at this price point, but in a somewhat satisfying twist, this setup manages to deftly sidestep the impact of gravity on timekeeping performance, helping to mitigate one of the downsides of regulating pins.

Image credit Cartier

An Era of Change

Charlotta Eriksson on navigating Scandinavia's pre-eminent watch retailer, Nymans Ur 1851, through a transformational period in history.

Breguet's Workbench

The watchmaking bench used by Abraham-Louis Breguet, donated to France's Museum of Arts and Crafts by Héloïse Vuitel in 1893.

Image credit Musée des Arts et Métiers

Sartory Billard SB05

Interesting modular case construction, with individual lugs each screwed in place.

Image credit Bjorn Meier

Voutilainen Vingt-8

A beautifully executed Voutilainen Vingt-8 with a tasteful dial, owned by a fellow Canadian. Frank Geelen discusses the journey to own it with the Vancouver-based collector who commissioned it.

Image credit VancouverWatchGuy

Inside the Omega Passion Museum

Hodinkee's Cole Pennington pays a visit to one of the largest private collections of Omega timepieces on the planet, hidden in a factory on the outskirts of Bangkok, to chat with its owner and curator, Khun Apichai.

Greubel Forsey Independent Again

Greubel Forsey has purchased back the 20% stake it sold to the Richemont Group in 2006. 100% of the brand's shares are now back in the hands of it founders, Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey, and the brand's Chief Executive, Antonio Calce.

Origami Robotics

From the Reconfigurable Robotics Lab at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Mission to Mars

Robert-Jan Broer with an early hands-on of the Mars variant of the Omega × Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch.

Swatch X Omega

This limited release MoonSwatch from Swatch and Omega is stellar delight at a down-to-earth price-point. While not typically one to wear loud colours, I'm particularly drawn to the red bioceramic, Mars x Alaska Project variant.

Image credit The Swatch Group

Turning a Sliding Pinion

Demonstration of fabricating a sliding pinion (a crucial component for winding and setting the time on a mechanical watch) using a Tornos SwissNano CNC machine.

Inside Vitsoe

The six-decade-old company intent on enabling and manufacturing products designed to last.

“I have a deep problem with a capitalist system that benefits a few at the expense of many. We’re doing our little bit to change it.”

Principled perspective from its current co-owner, Mark Adams.

Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra

So thin that its engineers and designers had to ditch the crown.

This is the company's 8th record breaker in 8 years. 8 sides. 8 patent applications. I'm surprised they didn't limit it to a run of 8 pieces. It's certainly understandable why Bulgari has limited this to a run of just 10, though. While I'm sure it's a delight on the wrist, I can see a piece this delicate returning for service often if worn with any degree of regularity. Particularly in light of the omission of various safety mechanisms typically found around the escapement and oscillator. That said, the engineering exhibited in this chef-d'œuvre is nevertheless impressive and the hybrid tungsten carbide mainplate that doubles as the caseback may prove any supposition of fragility unfounded—provided it doesn't fracture.

Beyond being the current record holder as the world's thinnest mechanical watch, it is entirely feasible the Octo Finissimo Ultra might very well house the thinnest free-sprung balance wheel ever produced.

Image credit Bvlgari

Retronasal Olfaction

Or why the gases trapped inside of the bubbles that make up the majority of the volume of a loaf of bread also provide the majority of its flavour.

A Brief History of the Pilot Watch

Cole Pennington is back in Thailand to journey through the history of aviation and timekeeping with pilot watch collector, Andy Tolley.

Aion Group SA Acquires Felsa

With intent to revive industrial watchmaking in France.

Watch Manufacture

A Swiss ébauche factory, resurrected in the south of France (by the Aion Group), operating under a new English name.

Swatch X Damien Hirst

A delightfully playful and minimal take on the Mickey Mouse watch.

Image credit Sotheby's

The Watch Retailer Conundrum

“As you get into a relationship with them and become an authorized dealer, it’s a limited partnership with an understanding that, at any point, they can choose not to be your partner.” – Leonard Goldberg

Micro RC Smart Car

This is an impressive hand-built, small-scale mod—right down to fully functional steering and lighting.

Fun fact, the "smart" in Smart Car is a quasi-acronym for Swatch Mercedes ART. The watchmaker, Swatch, and car maker, Mercedes, worked together on the initial prototypes for the original Smart Car. When Mercedes chose not to continue pursuing making the vehicle electric and opted to go all-in on scaling up production for a gasoline-powered version instead, Nicholas G. Hayek Sr. pulled Swatch out of the project.

Cutting the Right Corners

Felipe Pikullik serves up confident interior anglage at an accessible price point.

Image credit Felipe Pikullik

Monster Fever

Cole Pennington kicks off a new video series for Hodinkee, Watches in the Wild, with a trip to the Kingdom of Thailand to chat with Seiko mega-collector, Khun M, and Hiroyuki Akashi, Managing Director of Seiko Thailand.

Tiny

I've had the Jaeger-LeCoultre caliber 101 set up as an ebay alert for over a decade, in hopes of acquiring one to perform an in-depth disassembly and review at some point. Today is the first time a complete movement has popped up, albeit in a fully functional watch. While justifiable for what it is, $10,000 CAD is too steep to rationalize spending simply to take it to pieces. For now, here's a candid picture of what once was—and may very well still be—the smallest mechanical watch movement ever mass produced.

Image from ebay listing

Rowaltco

Does a hard-to-pronounce name impact the mass-market appeal of a brand? Almost assuredly. Jack Forster explores some of the possible futures we avoided along with a handful we may have missed out on.

Movement Design as an Exercise in Artistry

Delightful perspective from Jack Forster on the often unsung hero of truly fine watchmaking, opened with some equally excellent perspective, in cameo form, from John Davis.

Coincidentally, had this article been published prior to today, the MRE reference would have flown right over my head. Not being American and having never served in any military capacity, I was oblivious to the existence of Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) kits, which are standard fare for troops serving in the field, until reading about them in Catherine Price's Vitamania this morning. Engineered to be as lightweight and durable as possible while still delivering the full array of nutrients and energy a soldier needs to perform at peak capacity for a sustained period, they're an apropos comparison to the austere, workhorse movements that power the vast majority of mechanical timepieces.

Bathands

An interesting set of custom watch hands that lend a different visual appeal to the customary ten past ten.

Image credit Artur Akmaev

Original Sketch of the AP Royal Oak

Painted by Gérald Genta and put into production by Audemars Piguet.

Image credit Sotheby's / Gérald Genta

Happy Two's Day

It's Tuesday, February 22^nd, 2022. There is something delightful about Two's Day (22/2/22) falling on a Tuesday. And, yes, I couldn't resist posting this at 2:22am.

The Dead Brands Society

The New York Times digs into watch brands collectors are pining to resurrect.

Narrative Elasticity

Jack Forster on record making and breaking in watchmaking.

The Outlier

Hard to pick a better timepiece to stand as the outlier than the one Danny settled on.

More Pure

"Almost exactly the same but executed with more finesse, the pocket watch is a perfect tribute to turn-of-the-19th century watchmaking."

A delightfully in-depth look at Philippe Dufour's Grande Sonnerie Pocket Watch No. 1 by JX Su, Sheng Lee, & Richard Lee.

One thing that has perplexed me about Philippe Dufour's Grand Sonnerie in the past, which this article addresses tangentially, is how Philippe would go about letting down the power in each of the gear trains when working on this piece—both in development and later on each time it required service. As it turns out, the satellite ratchet system nested into each of the ratchet wheels is not the full story. The visible ratchet system solely governs winding direction, similar to the way a pair of reversers would operate in an automatic winding system. Beneath these ratchet wheels is another set of clicks, which are responsible for holding the power in the barrels, and it is these clicks that a watchmaker would disengage to let down the power in a controlled manner. It's a masterful solution to a complex problem, in a masterfully complex watch.

Image credit JX Su

Ulysse Nardin Blast Moonstruck

The sun indicator, crafted from a ferriferous mineral known as bronzite, lends this piece an extra bit of depth and character.

Image credit Ulysse Nardin

ARCAP AP1D

A nickel-silver, free-machining alloy for high-performance precision parts that is both antimagnetic and corrosion-resistant.

Dexel

The creators behind a number of adjustable length clasps from different watch brands. Offering a variety of services to the watch industry in a plethora of material options, from simple, classical clasps to complete timepieces.

Image credit Dexel SA

Animated Geneva Mechanism

By Moran Goldstein.

Image credit Moran Goldstein

Venla Voutilainen Heads to Urban Jürgensen

Kari Voutilainen's 22-year-old daughter, Venla Voutilainen, will be working full time at Urban Jürgensen. With Kari as the brand's new CEO and Venla on as a full-time watchmaker, the duo make up half of the current Urban Jürgensen staff, reinvigorating this storied brand that has a promising future.

Image credit Clara Tuma for The New York Times

AP Caliber 7121

Debuting in the new Royal Oak Extra Thin, this caliber improves on its predecessor, the AP 2121, in a number of significant ways.

I am incredibly happy to see the barrel get a dedicated bridge. Previously, in the caliber 2121 (itself based on the Jaeger-LeCoultre 920), if there were any issues with the barrel, such as a broken mainspring, nearly the entire movement would have to be disassembled to address it. Mirroring it handsomely on the other side, I am pleased to see this caliber also make the move from a balance cock to a full balance bridge. The move from peripheral automatic winding to a centrally driven system, mounted on ball bearings, is a likewise welcome change.

I am curious to learn more about the specifics of the implementation of the new stud holder. Ostensibly, the mechanism to move the stud holder, in order to adjust the beat error, appears to be mildly over-engineered and the screw to lock in the beat error once corrected is precariously close to the soft metal of the balance bridge.

Image credit Audemars Piguet

The Remarkable John Leslie

A 19th century Scottish-Canadian watchmaker and jeweller who operated a successful boutique near Parliament Hill in Canada's capital city, Ottawa, for half a century.

The house that he built for himself and his wife was later purchased by Canadian Prime Minister, Wilfred Laurier, and is today the Laurier House, an official national historic site housing a museum.

Photo via Gary Fox

Prototype a Music Box

Utilizing the same principles leveraged by high-end music box makers like Reuge, this web-based music box composer, by Bryan Braun, lets you effortlessly fiddle around with creating a tune of your own.

Leery on NFTs

Kevin O'Leary sits down to talk watches with David Lin.

I've seen this interview making the rounds. While there are nuggets of truth in here, this interview is rife with misinformation. When it comes to the watches, the errors are ultimately inconsequential. Of greater concern is those with deep enough pockets to be investing in this echelon of timepieces being duped out of serious coin on NFTs for the secondary watch market. I know enough about the underlying tech behind blockchains, camera sensors, and machine learning—not to mention authenticating watches—to state flat out that what he is intent on selling doesn't hold water.

UPDATE: O'Leary also announced his intention to create and sell NFTs for the secondary watch market at Watch Week in Dubai. In his announcement he stated that he had the backing of the Horological Society of New York. I have it on good authority from multiple officers of the HSNY that this claim is unfounded.

Last Clockmaker in the Yukon

Teeny Tiny Timepieces

Action-figure-sized watches by miniature prop artist, Robbie Jones.

Image credit Robbie Jones

TechnoGlow

Bulk supplier (relatively speaking, as far as watches go) of luminous pigments in a variety of colours.

Kirk Rich Dial Acquired by M&G Jewelers

Petitpierre Coffret Tradition

A detailed look at the watch tool set produced by Petitpierre, which one example of sold for north of $40,000 USD in 2013 at the Product (RED) auction hosted by Sotheby's and curated by Jony Ive and Marc Newson.

Zimmer & Ive

Hans Zimmer on his relationship with Jony Ive as fellow creatives:

"We've never met, but we have this weird relationship where he sends me something and just has a little note going, ‘I made this’. And then I write as a thank you note, I write a little tune by hand and I sent that back to him and so, it's like things we made, right? "

Billight

Lume specialists for the horological industry.

Subtle Moon

The latest from Horloger Ming serves up an interesting take on a moonphase display in the Ming 37.05 Moonphase. In some orientations, it could almost pass for a power reserve indicator.

Image credit Horloger Ming

Kari Voutilainen to Head Up Urban Jürgensen

Kari Voutilainen & fellow investors acquire Danish watchmaker, Urban Jürgensen & Sønner, from Søren Jenry Petersen. Voutilainen to take over as CEO.

Ornilux

Bird-friendly glass inspired by the optical properties of spider webs. Paving the way for windows that are transparent to the human eye, while serving up visual cues for birds to know not to fly into them.

Tornos

Makers of high-end, Swiss, CNC machining tools.

Apple Announces Self Service Repair Program

I would love to see watch brands follow suit on this. There are dozens of brands I refuse to buy from, and likewise dissuade others to buy from, due to their abysmal service practices and refusal to sell spare parts.

Tudor Pelagos FXD

Nice execution on the fixed bars for the strap. A thorough first look at Tudor's latest iteration on the Pelagos, in partnership with France's Marine Nationale.

Image credit James Stacey

Birks Unveils One of the Most Advanced Watchmaking Workshops in Canada

Nestled in the heart of Montreal.

Image credit Maison Birks

PH 13-8 Mo

A novel stainless steel from Armco with a solid balance of good machining properties & ability to withstand severe environmental conditions.

I'd be interested to see how this particular stainless steel holds up when used for a watch case or bracelet.

Casting Aluminum From a 3D Print

The Last Interview With George Daniels

The candid pictures of work in progress on the bench tops of his workshop are a welcome complement to this retrospective article. It's interesting to note, too, that in addition to Bentleys, Daniels also collected Leica cameras.

Image credit Olivia Arthur

Hippopotamuses Make Their Own Sunscreen

Japanese researchers isolated ‘hipposudoric acid’ & ‘norhipposudoric acid’ from hippo sweat, which were found to provide antiseptic as well as sun protection benefits, alongside body temperature regulation, for hippopotamuses.

Image from the Journal of Nature Vol. 429

Coober Pedy

A largely covert town in South Australia, home to a community of subterranean-dwelling opal miners, beautifully photographed by Tamara Merino.

One of October's classic birthstones, an estimated 70% of the world's opal has come from Coober Pedy's mines.

Image credit Tamara Merino

FullControl GCode

A math-oriented design tool for creating 3D-printed objects that leverage the strength of filament.

Low-budget Fly-through Rig

A clever camera rig for fly-through & fly-over shots, developed by Luke Edwin, using a telescoping rod, some string, a drill, wing nut, and a hex key.

Image credit Luke Edwin

Diamond Plate Progression

Some counterintuitive findings from The Science of Sharp, analyzing the cutting surface of straight-edge razors honed on varying grits of DMT diamond plates.

"Often, results that contradict our intuitive expectations are a key to identifying and improving our deficient understanding."

I use DMT diamond plates to hone the gravers I use with my watchmaking lathe. Anecdotally, I find that finishing to a mirror polish using the extra-extra-fine diamond plate yields an appreciably better finish when turning down a pivot or an arbor. I'd love to see a similar set of SEM images run on a watchmaker's graver, which would be less prone to the plastic deformation conjectured through these results.

Image credit The Science of Sharp

Orbital O2

Currently, the most powerful tidal turbine in the world. Based just off the coast of Orkney, Scotland.

ArtyA Purity Tourbillon

The movement architecture of ArtyA's latest tourbillon is aesthetically well-balanced. With respect to the balance itself, I applaud the use of a free-sprung balance wheel—any tourbillon without a free-sprung balance, isn't taking itself seriously. I do have some concern about the one-to-one ratio of the gear train delivering power to the tourbillon itself, though.

Image credit ArtyA

Rolex USA Provides Official Comment on Yahoo! News Story Regarding Supply

It's worth noting that this comment is from Rolex Watch USA Inc. & not from Rolex SA. While a good degree of care clearly went into this response & the reasons provided are both sound & in line with the brand's values, the official comment itself lands a stride short of the excellence that Rolex SA is renowned for.

Going Back in Time