Vianney Halter x Massena LAB – COLLABORATIONS Old Soul Edition 2025
Massena LAB is proud to partner with the legendary independent watchmaker Vianney Halter to create Old Soul, a limited-edition wristwatch that marries Halter's otherworldly vision and technical mastery with Massena LAB's deep reverence of horological history.
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The development of Old Soul began with the discovery of cache of new old stock vintage movements from the celebrated watchmaker Minerva. This Minerva 17’22 caliber, first developed in the 1920s and used in pocket watches until 1942, has been reimagined and revived in 2025, transformed into an object that is neither past nor present.
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Old Soul features a multilayered dial with steampunk influences — a Vianney Halter calling card — as well as vintage and mid-century design inspiration from Massena LAB. Hours, minutes, and seconds appear on three separate registers: hours at three o'clock, seconds at 9 o'clock, and minutes along the outer chapter ring.
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Old Soul employs an ingenious mysterious minute disc system that creates the illusion of a minute hand orbiting in space and floating magically above the dial. Thanks to Halter's technical mastery, Old Soul's movement has been modified to incorporate the transparent minute disc used to achieve the mystery dial complication—marking the first time a vintage movement has been used in this way.
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Arabic numerals, rendered in Halter’s signature typeface, reinforce the watchmaker’s touch. Meanwhile, the chemin de fer, or railroad track styling on all three registers, recalls celebrated vintage watches from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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"Vianney Halter" and "Massena" are printed on the interior side of the sapphire crystal rather than directly onto the dial itself, accentuating the dial's three-dimensional design and casting a subtle, pleasing shadow across the main plate. A steampunk-inspired shield rests atop the sapphire crystal. Engraved with rounded lines to complement its hourglass shape, the shield is dotted with stainless steel studs that evoke the Halter aesthetic.
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Old Soul is housed in a 42mm stainless steel case with a stepped lug design that anchors the watch to vintage tradition. The case mixes polished and brushed surfaces for elegant contrast. The crown is dotted with functional studs that not only enhance the steampunk aesthetic but also improve tactility for easier use.
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The movement of Old Soul is on full display through sapphire glass with anti-reflective coating for excellent visibility. The original Minerva caliber 17'22, crafted entirely by hand, is hand-finished with elegant stripes of Cotes de Genève, anglage throughout its architecture, and black polish finishing.
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MYSTERIOUS MINUTES
Old Soul employs an ingenious minute disc system that creates the illusion of a minute hand orbiting in space and floating magically above the dial.
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The concept of a floating minute hand, which seems to orbit along a central axis, is another nod to Vianney Halter's deep appreciation for science-fiction, and Star Trek in particular.
"TIME IS THE FIRE IN WHICH WE BURN"
The case back of Old Soul is signed with the signatures of both Vianney Halter and Massena LAB as well as a unique serial number. At the top of the case, between the lugs is a fine engraving: “Time is the Fire in which we burn,” borrowed from the American poet Delmore Schwartz (1913-1966).
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The line, taken from the poem Calmly We Walk through This April's Day was popularized in the 1994 science-fiction film, Star Trek Generations. In the film, the line is uttered by the actor Malcom McDowell in his role as the villain Tolian Soran, the murderer of Captain Kirk.
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Limited edition of only 47 pieces. Please email info@massenalab.com to inquire regarding availability.
Old Soul can be viewed, on an appointment basis, at Geneva Watch Days from September 4 to 6.
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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
🤝COLLABORATIONS:
Collection: COLLABORATIONS
Model: Old Soul by Vianney Halter and Massena LAB
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Manual-wind, vintage Minerva 17'22 caliber crafted by hand starting in the 1920s before the invention of CNC machines
Modified to integrate a mysterious minutes complication--the first time a vintage movement has been used in this way.
• Diameter: 39.25mm.
• 17 jewels.
• 18,000 half oscillations per hour (2.5 Hz) with approximately 36 hours of power reserve.
• Breguet balance spring
Hand-finished in the days before CNC machines: Côtes de Genève, anglage, black polish finishing.
Functions
Hours, minutes, and small seconds.
Case
Diameter: 42mm.
Thickness: 12mm including crystal.
Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating.
Exhibition case back also with sapphire crystal and antireflective coating.
Concave bezel, polished, with stepped lugs featuring mixed polished and brushed surfaces to accentuate details.
Studded Vianney Halter steampunk style crown adorned with Vianney Halter “VH” signature.
Water-resistance: 3 ATM.
Dial
Three dimensional, multilayered dial with time in a regulator display, split between three independent registers.
Hours displayed on subsidiary dial at three o’clock.
Seconds at nine o’clock.
Minutes on the outer chapter ring.
Mystery minute display.
A rotating sapphire disc with blued steel arrow gives the illusion of a floating minute hand.
Arabic numerals in Vianney Halter signature typeface.
Double signed “Vianney Halter” and “Massena” – signatures etched into sapphire crystal.
Crystal
Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating.
Exhibition case back also with sapphire crystal.
Bracelet
Navy blue calfskin leather made in Italy.
Stainless steel Massena LAB pin buckle.
🔰Limited Edition of 47 pieces
🔴Retail price: CHF 37,000💰
----------------------------------------------Press release- 2025
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Massena
LAB, founded by noted watch collector and industry veteran William
Massena, is a creative horological studio that designs, develops, and
produces timepieces, often in collaboration with respected watchmakers
from around the world. Massena LAB exists to be a reference point of
horological culture and to play an integral part in its constant
evolution, using elements of style from the past to enhance the future
of watchmaking.
It aims to create and nurture a community of
informed watch enthusiasts with a passion for novel timepieces from
independent watchmakers. The “LAB” in Massena LAB is a combination of
two words: “laboratory,” for our willingness to experiment and our
embrace of new ideas, and “collaboration,” for our fruitful,
long-standing relationships with our partner brands.
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ABOUT VIANNEY HALTER
Vianney Halter was born in 1963 on the outskirts of Paris,
the son of an engine driver on the French railways. He remembers being
fascinated by the old machines and mechanical objects that his father
brought home. Perhaps this early contact with powerful locomotives,
steam engines and other measuring instruments is the reason why he was
attracted to technology and mechanics.
At 14 years of age, Vianney Halter made the decision to broaden his interest in mechanics, and took the train to the capital to enrol at the École Horlogère de Paris (Paris Watchmaking School). He qualified in 1980 and
spent his first ten years in the profession restoring antique watches
and clocks, experience which gave him in-depth knowledge of the art of
watchmaking.
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Self-employed since 1984, he then went on to create a variety of timepieces for well-known manufacturers including Harry Winston, Breguet, and Audemars Piguet. He has also invented and developed his own collection of wristwatches since 1998.
His designs have been regarded as avant-garde pieces and are considered to have instigated a new shift in the watchmaking world. Vianney Halter makes unusual watches in the traditional method of the master watchmakers of the past, while using singular aesthetics, his own technical patents and unique constructions. All of this is illustrated in his first model, the “Antiqua”, a perpetual calendar presented in 1998. This watch was instantly regarded as a "relic of the future", reinforcing Halter's creativity and allowing him to enter the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI).
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His years as an independent watchmaker continuing the art of watchmaking and his contribution to the modern horological landscape have already earned him nine awards. He has created around ten models of wristwatches, but the high level of workmanship they demand means their production is confidential. Indeed, under 500 pieces created by Vianney Halter have been produced to this day.
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