there goes my hero... he's extraordinary...

there are many words written already out there on the world wide web about this man, his history and his work so i will choose not to repeat or recycle that here... his legacy, his impact on horology and on being an independant spirit is one that will continue. in my own words than, my experience on meeting the man, one of , if not the greatest artist watchmakers ever...

drown out the noise... drown out the sounds... the laughter and chatter around... and listen... vianney halter is talking to me... he is expressing to me about his creations, his work... his life distilled into mechanical wizardry and fantasy timepieces that has cast a special magical spell over me...

the words are about life, about being in a constant state of motion and striving and arriving... and about death, on the passing of his brother and on unattainable mechanical objects that are obtained... but it is mostly about a language. a language that is his own and that i would love to learn more of. his expression becoming my passion... his work has never been about pushing boundaries for the sake of it... it is pure, it is his reality... what he sees, what he experiences... the artist takes this all in and he creates... he paints on his canvas or he weaves words together and his poetry, his music is created.

the masterpiece than, the opus of his collection that i hope to one day obtain in a quest which should see me slay mythical fire breathing dragons and save a kingdom whilst travelling through my sub-aquatic time travelling vessel is this...

the antiqua...

i held 2 of these fine watches last night. vianney kind enough to let me take a few pictures of the watch on his wrist and very thoughtfully cleaning the sapphire back before handing it to me so that i could take a cleaner picture of this movement.. the mysterious rotor...

and the other, the rose gold beauty that i have set my heart on. some folks say not to hype it up before i acquire one as than i will make it tougher for myself to get a piece in future... of course i don't think my voice is so significant that i can impact demand of watches at these price points but even if it was, i really don't care about that. i would be happier to know that more people 'get' his work, more people come to understand what his timepieces are about. look beyond the conventional and experience something magical. i would gladly share and communicate about this art and this artist to all.

for me, as someone passionate about horology and time pieces then... vianney, his antiqua are the pinnacle, the essence, the beauty of what i have come to love. i know i will continually discover new things in this journey which may take me down right, wrong, interesting, diverse paths, but this short time spent connecting with him is definitely one of the most meaningful highlights of my journey and one i will always treasure. thank you vianney.

a wristshot of what will one day be mine... * hopefully *

in the presence of greatness...

do find out more about vianney and his work at his site and do checkout these articles link1 & link 2 & a MUST READ pdf article from Watchtime link 3

an interlude... a lange & sohne datograph ... an orgy of evidence

first the side that people dont talk much about :)

and then the bit that people can't get enough of :)

raphmeister in wonderland...the luxury of independence

this was a magical evening for me as i got to meet, to communicate with someone i consider a true artist and great watchmaker... but before i go on (and on and on) about that, i'll share about my wonderful experience at this great event... with a lot of pictures of course :) do step through the looking glass with me...

the boys... a fine bunch of horology enthusiasts here in Singapore
i am always happy to catch up with them on watches and other stuff ;)

George (a top guy all around) Linda (a wonderful lady showing
us her lovely voutilainen piece) and me

to the watches then... voutilainen. to be honest before today i did not have a deep appreciation of his wonderful creations... i had heard of (and heard) the decimal repeater and i remember articles on the net about longines movements refinished but that was it. having had a chance to see many examples in the metal, i can now say i find them to be truly beautiful and amazing time pieces

vianney halters watches up next...
the trio... much nicer in the metal than in pics

the goldpfeil... one of the watches i almost pulled
the trigger on

the classic... one of the watches i was also targetting to acquire...

but i think my destiny lies with the antiqua...
more to be said about this soon...

more pics of the chronometer 27... resplendant indeed

trio from another angle.. the beauty of vianneys art is that
it looks different from different angles... its like different
interpretations but one understanding

ooohhh i like this... the color of this dial is just amazing...

max busser and friends... mbf horological machines 1 & 2

better in the metal than in most pics i have seen of em

lovely metal machines...

urwerk 103s... i like these better than the 201 series...

satellites calling ...

the figure 8

a dinner companion's 103...

such a beautiful watch...

a nice ulysee nardin was spotted too...

the blue dial version is not as striking as the orange dial piece above but
is still gorgeous and looks great against the gold...

the movement is breathtaking...

this was just so very nice...

my respect for kari has shot to maximum levels...

a happy moment between a genius and his muse perhaps? :)

Rosemarie.. if you look up 'effervescent' in the dictionary, you may find
her picture right there :) top gal who got this gig together...
thanks so much for the nite Rosemarie

next up is me and pal George again... exchanging notes
about our next targets ;) addicts the 2 of us...

but of course we have different tastes...
and this would be my drug of choice...

my grail...

i had a good catchup with Bernard as well whom I highly respect

and he was wearing this 'not so little' number...
in his words... its a real man's watch :)

and there were beautiful ladies present too... ching wyin, a great gal and irin,
looking as stunning as ever... there were doing a pretty good job at
distracting me while another staff member took my credit card
out to pay for one of the above pieces... *kidding yuh* :)

irin gan

luvly denise modelling 'her' new daniel roth...

hmm... i believe she was sweeter than these desserts even :)

another gorgeous independent was on a mates wrist...

the finishing is beyond reproach

to me this is more lovely than the dial side of the watch for this model...

simply beautiful

roger smith was around to tell us a bit about his lovely creations

rogers finger in the shot... pointing out to us all the
fine intricacies of the movement...

a friends watch... this is simplicity... no words for this...

... except that i need a better camera ...

a final closer look at the 27 as me and George spent some time
chatting with Kari...

and a not so good shot of the back but just thought i'd share it anyways

and finally, the highlight of the night for me... it is this man whose hands, whose mind and heart applied to watches creates new realities... if ever you were looking for a watch that was alive... with music, with poetry, with soul... it would be,
it should be one of this artist's work. it was such a profound pleasure
spending 15 to 20 minutes talking to him... the sounds of the room was drowned
out and all i could hear, feel was his expression, his language and it was transcendental...

i hope to own this some day... i can be patient...
not 'love in the time of cholera' patient... but patient...

and finally, sincere thanks to Michael, Rosemarie, Alan, Irin, Ching Wyin and all other hour glass folks involved in making this such a memorable event for me and i am sure for many that were there too. keep up the great work :) signing off now...

cheers
raph