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Sans la liberté de blâmer, il n'est point d'éloge flatteur."
Beaumarchais
Heritage & Savoir-faire
: Recent Articles
The watchmaking farmer : the wild Jura 2-7
Publié le 20 August 2015
But in 1384, our « Franc montagnard » had to become established. As he often does, man changed his environment, and watchmaking farmer's ancestors organised vast slash-and-burn, in order to increase the building and arable surfaces (villages such as Les Enfers or Breleux derive their name from those slash-and-burn).
It was thus that a multi-thousand-year-old hardwood forest disappeared; The inhabitants of Jura planted coniferous trees that grow much faster in extreme montain conditions. This choice of essences made them precursors of sustainable...
The watchmaking farmer: survivor of the Middle adges 1-7
Publié le 12 August 2015
From the 10th century, Europe’s economy was based on the clearance of vasts hardwood forests that covered the continent.
In these times of relative stability (at the time, the medieval conflicts were latent and mostly drew on mercenaries and noblemen, hence professionnal soldiers), European population increased sharply until the end of the 13th century. It is considered that clearing came to an end by 1280. Contemporary Europe was less wooded than it is today (the situation was quite similar in 1789, during the French Revolution).
Clearings in...
Philippe Dufour Simplicity: In search of the lost time: the finishes 3/3
Publié le 25 February 2015
I have become a fanatic of Philippe Dufour’s work. During many tours of the most prestigious houses, I have usually been disappointed: assembly lines, white rooms, watchmakers working without passion.
But at Philippe’s workshop,I finally had the immense privilege of being drawn into an atmosphere worthy of the purest myth of the Swiss watchmaking industry.
Spending an afternoon in Philippe’s workshop is like taking a ride in the De Lorean for a 50 year trip in the past: you get mesmerized by the wood and vintage tools’ warmth, it is...
Philippe Dufour Simplicity: In search of lost time 2/3: the mechanism and the external design
Publié le 13 February 2015
Hello my friends, Here are some details about the mechanism and the external design. 1- Breguet hairspring with Phillips coil: blued It is a classic high-end hairspring. The over-coil design compensates the hairspring tendency to be off centered: it straightens towards the end of the coiling. The hairspring doesn’t feature any special finishes beside the […]
Philippe Dufour Simplicity: In search of the lost time 1/3: Introduction
Publié le 9 February 2015
After ten years spent on the watchmaking web and after one year spent working with Philippe on the project “La naissance d’une montre”, my opinion about the Simplicity and on the work of Philippe Dufour has changed radically.To be honest, after this time spent with Philippe and Michel Boulanger, not only my point of view has changed, but I am full of admiration and respect.
Now that I have completed my agiornamento, I want to demonstrate why the Simplicity is such a unique watch.
The Simplicity was designed to be timeless. Its beauty is only a...
Interview of Nathalie Mathilde Jean Louis: Her curriculum
Publié le 4 January 2015
In my previous jobs, I used to work mainly with machines; but in the Greubel Forsey decoration workshop, I learned the traditional hand work. The standards were very high, and many of my colleagues cracked under an extreme pressure in terms of quality, while I thrived in this environment. One has to admit that, at this level, we are talking about craftsmanship; you create your own motivation.