we wanna be free to do what we want to do... ~ The Hour Glass Super Machines & Horological Heroes @ The Paragon

"Just what is it that you want to do?"

we wanna be free... we wanna be free to do what we wanna do
and we wanna get loaded... and we wanna have a good time
that's what we're gonna do... we're gonna have a good time... we're gonna have a party

simply sublime... Philippe Dufour Grande et Petite Sonnerie ~ Striking mechanism (grand strike, small strike, minute repeater, 24 hr power reserve)

lines in italic above are from the movie 'the wild angels' but I know it coz of primal scream's loaded of course. watched the world's end recently and it wasn't that great a movie but it brought back memories. I caught primal scream when they were doing their vanishing point tour in '98 and Asian dub foundation opened for them (The Ritz Manchester Feb 10 1998 to be exact)... excellent times! anyways it is a most fitting line for this weekend because it's F1 Fever time :) Singapore is gonna be hot hot hot! waitaminute it's always been hot [weather wise I mean ;) ]

and the line "we wanna be free to do what we wanna do"

is also most applicable to the independents in horology!

this post today is about the hour glass' excellent exhibition at the paragon. if u like/love/are passionate or have an interest in horology, I recommend u head on down to this exhibition and if possible, attend the plenary session.
I have always loved independent watchmaking and what it represents. the watchmakers/creators present a different perspective, a different take on these functional daily objects most of the time. daring to go beyond what the mainstream or big conglomerate owned watch brands dare to risk or dream, they realise small numbers of sometimes amazing, sometimes puzzling and sometimes breath taking timepieces.

exhibition floor... setup very nicely

Now some of the pieces I love a LOT and some I would be happy to unsee but all/most of them are special in their own way(and will have their own fans)... of course these are going concerns so they want those fans to be 'loaded' to be able to afford some of these limited creations.

the wonderful thing about many of these pieces were that they were birthed not by a committee but by visionaries, artists, artisans, technical geniuses putting in their heart soul blood sweat tears... and some of them with their fantastic watches on display here truly live up to the appellation... horological HEROES! ;)

to the watches then! first off the more conventional round case shaped ones...

voutilainen... such a beautiful face and a great sense of aesthetics

this shot taken at THG sometime before the exhibition... different variants
with different guillochage styles but most nay... all of them desirable ;)

I didn't take pix of the Laurent Ferriers on display at the exhibit as the dial side is pretty standard so showing the back of one of my mates' piece instead
and what a pretty back it is...

Simplicity... the movement again is the reason for awe...
the dial is not made by Dufour but to his specs

Duality... two 2 balance wheel watches on display in this exhibit... the other is of course the MB&F LM2. another 2 balance wheel watch not here is the FP Journe Resonance, another wonderful timepiece but Journe is not in THG or in Singapore

another shot of this which is a very rare beast...

now to some space oddities :) from de Bethune

to urwerks... first up their latest timepiece/machine, the emc... some technical

tour de force and ability for the owner to regulate the watch. I just wish it

looked better... it reminds me of a clamshell Motorola phone...

they've moved on to new designs but I still prefer some of their older ones

an interesting menacing lookin pocket watch... like u've never seen before ;)

vianney's latest creation, the deep space is there too. although it may not be my favourite from him from a design standpoint, I can see how it will win him new fans who will be drawn in by the mechanical ballet of the multi-axis tourbillon

sorry for the less than fantastic shots... watches behind glass and wrapped in plastic are really tough to shoot

ahhh... this I like a lot...

and this... this I love :)

the exhibition also has an ARTISANAL SHOWCASE – “METIERS DE LA MAINE” – SPECIALIST ARTISANS AND MASTER WATCHMAKERS DEMONSTRATING THEIR CRAFTS

Reuge The Craft of Mechanical Symphony 18 to 30 Sep

Parmigiani Fleurier          The Art of Restoration                                                   18 to 21 Sep
Hublot                                  The Intricacies of A Chronograph                              22 to 25 Sep
Ulysse Nardin                    The Mastery of the Freak Dual Escapement         26 to 30 Sep

restoration of mechanical frogs?