Monday, August 14, 2023

FURLAN MARRI x Dominique Renaud x Julien Tixier – Secular Perpetual Calendar - Only Watch 2023

FURLAN MARRI x Dominique Renaud x Julien Tixier
Secular Perpetual Calendar Silver - Pièce Unique Only
Only Watch 2023
  Defying the laws of the calendar and pushing its limits:

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For its first participation at Only Watch 2023, the young independent watch brand Furlan Marri has teamed up with renowned watchmakers Dominique Renaud and Julien Tixier to create an ultra-simplified, modular secular perpetual calendar.

A unique watchmaking achievement that accounts for leap years and secular years.
A single adjustment once every 400 years.

Origins of the Secular Calendar

Rewind: 1996 saw the introduction of the first wristwatch with a secular perpetual calendar. This rare complication encompasses all the variations of our Gregorian calendar, surpassing the classic perpetual calendar in terms of precision. Indeed, the perpetual calendar, though a fascinating complication in its own right, comes with certain limitations. If leap years are taken into account, secular years (one secular year = 100 years) are not. An adjustment is thus necessary to correct for this – every 100 years.

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The secular perpetual calendar, on the other hand, accounts for both leap and secular years. The next secular year is 2100. This complication will identify the fact that this is a special year and therefore automatically pass from February 28th, 2100, to March 1st, 2100 – whereas the date change on a classic perpetual calendar would be from February 28th to February 29th, considering it a leap year. The secular perpetual calendar complication, quite complex as its name implies, has until now defied simplification.

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Furlan Marri took up the challenge and teamed up with Dominique Renaud and Julien Tixier to create a truly special timepiece for the Only Watch 2023 charity auction. This project is undoubtedly the culmination of an amazing adventure in watchmaking. Above all, however, it is a human journey. It is this story, the encounters and the savoir-faire that Andrea Furlan and Hamad Al Marri, the co-founders of Furlan Marri, wish to share.

The Only Watch 2023 Secular Perpetual Calendar

What would have happened if Furlan Marri had met those who inspired the legendary designs of the 40s and 50s? Today, Furlan Marri counts itself fortunate to work hand in hand with the exceptional craftsmen who decided to join the team. That is how the Only Watch adventure began.

“I've always enjoyed rethinking complications,” explains Dominique Renaud.
“Just another challenge,”
thought Julien Tixier.

Two years ago, Andrea and Hamad met Luc Pettavino, the founder of Only Watch. This led to the idea of working with Dominique Renaud, master watchmaker, inventor and co -founder of Renaud & Papi, and Julien Tixier, prototype watchmaker, to create a one-off watch for the charity auction.

Julien Tixier and Dominique Renaud had met in 2016, when Dominique was giving lectures on his DR01 project. Julien regularly attended his lectures, showing great interest in his research. This in turn led to a friendship and the birth of the 'Tempus Fugit' project.

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If Dominique was quite keen to join Andrea and Hamad’s endeavor, and delighted to again collaborate with Andrea Furlan, it was also because Dominique had previously worked on a perpetual calendar with Giulio Papi. Combining their open minds and decades of experience, they had already found technical solutions to simplify a minute repeater. You could say it was a particular forte of theirs. “I met Andrea during the DR01 project, when he was involved in the design, technical aspects and 3D rendering. It was the beginning of a wonderful relationship.”

The perfect blend

The association of Dominique Renaud, with his 40 years of experience, and Julien Tixier, an independent watchmaker constantly on the lookout for new ideas, was the spark for rethinking the complication – practically from scratch. The result was a balancing act between opting for a classic complication and reinventing it with modern R&D methods.

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Defying the laws of the calendar is an exercise both were amply familiar with: together, they had previously developed the exceptional 'Tempus Fugit' timepiece, both poetic in its interpretation of the passage of time and technically accomplished – it calculates time over the next 10,000 years with a secular module containing 51 components; the entire movement comprises 300 components.

The illusion of simplicity

Conceiving and designing a secular perpetual calendar with the idea of simplicity at its core: that is what the whole project is about. A rather complex undertaking, nonetheless. It was in their respective workshops that Julien Tixier and Dominique Renaud would let their imaginations roam and ideas take shape, collaborating on the birth of this piece. In the heart of the Vallée de Joux in the Swiss Jura Mountains, Julien designs his pieces from A to Z, in complete autonomy. The same goes for Dominique, who works from his own atelier, also in the heart of the Vallée.

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Dominique carries in him the inventor’s flame: he first puts his ideas down on paper and then turns them into models, the old-fashioned way, as he did in the days of Renaud & Papi, with plexiglass and metal parts. Then it’s the turn of Julien, who, in addition to co -inventing, translates the concepts and ideas into something the computer can understand so that all the parts work together and can be manufactured: the case, the components of the date module, the dial, but also the finishes and various treatments, such as electroplating and titanium treatment.

A simplicity that can be summed up in three points:

Movement: Simplifying the secular perpetual calendar makes assembly and disassembly that much easier, besides improving its reliability. Fewer components, but above all, adjustments that take advantage of the latest technologies to facilitate assembly. For instance, the large rocker, usually located in the middle of classic calendars, now became peripheral; it meant information would be communicated differently, but also more efficiently.

A secular module is grafted onto this perpetual calendar, making it accurate over the next 4 centuries, which make up the secular years. Of these 4 centuries, 3 will not be leap years.

“By simplifying the mechanism, we've made it totally modular, allowing us to configure the calendar as we wish. This way, we can switch from a secular calendar to a simple calendar, while keeping the same base and removing components,” explains Julien Tixier.

“The fact that we now have a large peripheral rocker means that we can take information from just about anywhere on the movement and place the elements where we want them. Compared to other perpetual calendars with a fixed rocker and a rocker that passes through the middle of the movement, it's now possible to add or remove elements to make it modular,” Julien adds.

The secular assembly comprises just 5 parts, and the date module a total of 25.

User-friendliness: Simple and safe, it’s the result of extreme simplification, too. This makes the interface very easy to use. Julien Tixier explains: “We decided to move away from conventional push-button correctors. Here, the corrector is in the form of a ring. A single corrector can be used to adjust the entire calendar, in either direction. Like a kind of minute repeater lock, the days and the entire perpetual calendar can be set with a single corrector.”

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The date is set by turning the corrector to the right, and the days of the week by turning it to the left. The crown is for adjusting the hours and minutes. The corrector is equipped with a reset mechanism that automatically takes it back to its starting position.

Ease of use also shows in the fact that, unlike many other calendars, there is no risk of damage to the movement while the watch is being adjusted.

Legibility: Following through on the concept of simplification, it was obvious to Furlan Marri that the information on the dial should be easy to read. Simplicity lies not only in the movement and its use, but also in its legibility.

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The months of the year can be read all around the dial, freeing up space in the center. Also, the choice of a cam displaying 12 months of the year instead of a 48-month cam (displaying 48 months) makes for a cleaner dial, affording breathing space for the brand logo at 12 o'clock. Both sub -counters – the one on the left indicating the days of the week, and the one on the right showing the date – are openworked, revealing a plate gilded with 18K yellow gold that echoes the 18K-gold oscillating weight. Furlan Marri thus adds depth to the timepiece while showcasing the kinematics of the components.

The central hand, which indicates the months, doubles as a leap year indicator. Here, the central hand features a Maltese cross that completes a rotation in 4 years and indicates leap years. The wheel rotates in 100 years, turning the Maltese cross to count non-leap years and enabling it to count the secular leap year every 400 years.

Hand-finishes of genuine artistry and craftsmanship

The case: The lugs are applied to the case, which is hand-turned as would be a piece of jewelry.

The movement: The secular module was developed by Dominique Renaud and Julien Tixier, based on La Joux- Perret's G100 movement. The movement, made in La-Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, has a power reserve of 68 hours.

The oscillating weight: Cut and beveled by hand by Dominique Renaud – a nod to his beginnings as a chamferer.

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The entire secular perpetual calendar is machined, adjusted and finished by Julien Tixier. The plate is delicately sandblasted, then electroplated with a coat of 18K gold. The gears are circular-grained and the date cams black polished by hand. The steel springs are straight-grained and beveled by hand, too.

The titanium peripheral ring undergoes an anodic oxidation treatment. The steel day and date hands are flame- blued and the hour and minute hands polished; the month hand in polished titanium bears the leap-year cam indication in the form of a Maltese Cross. The dial is then given an anodic oxidation treatment, resulting in a visually arresting blue-to-gray, birefringent effect.

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All Julien has to do now is walk down the hall and take the stairs one floor down to bring Coralie Mercier – her workshop is in the same building – the oscillating weight so she can engrave it, by hand of course.

Finally, the bracelet: It’s off to Le Lignon just outside Geneva, where the watch will be matched with a silver Milanese mesh bracelet, entirely handcrafted by Laurent Jolliet, one of the last chainmakers in Europe. No machines are involved in the manufacture of the coils, and assembly and soldering are all by hand. Finally, the clasp, embellished with the craftsman’s stamp, is filed by hand. The result is astonishing: the Milanese mesh bracelet looks as if it is made of the supplest and smoothest cloth, hence its other name, "fabric bracelet".

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Furlan Marri
’s secular perpetual calendar is unique and revolutionary in its simplicity. Yet, as Dominique Renaud so aptly put it, "Sometimes, simplifying something complex can be quite complicated.”

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ABOUT FURLAN MARRI

Furlan Marri is a watch brand founded by Andrea Furlan and Hamad Al Marri. Based in Switzerland, the brand offers vintage-inspired watches with a particular attention to detail. Each reference tells a different story.

Andrea Furlan is a Swiss industrial designer (graduate of ECAL, Ecole Cantonale d'Art de Lausanne, Switzerland) who developed a passion for the world of watchmaking at an early age. After several years working for prestigious brands (internships with Chopard, Hublot, Sarcar and HD3 Complication), and with Dominique Renaud (founder of Renaud & Papi, one of the world’s leading manufactures and purveyor of complication movements to Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille and Cartier, among others), with whom he designed a complex watch called the DR01 Twelve First. After 4 years, he moved to Asia and California, where he became a watch design consultant for various large-volume production and online distribution groups. After several trips there, he met and worked directly with the most demanding partners, specialists who, since November 2019, have been accompanying him on the Furlan Marri journey.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 

Model name   Secular Perpetual Calendar Pièce Unique Only Watch 2023

Specificities:
— Ultra-simplified, modular secular perpetual calendar with 400-year leap and secular year calculation
— A single corrector for the entire module
— Exclusive module developed in-house and patented

Functions
Hours, minutes, date, day of the week, month, leap year indication on central hand.
Secular perpetual calendar with 400-year leap and secular year calculation.
A single corrector for the entire module:
- Global calendar correction: days, date and month (turn to the right)
- Quick weekday correction (turn to the left)
Hours and minutes are set using the crown.
Dial
• Blue titanium dial with an in-house anodic oxidation treatment
Hands:
Hand-crafted by Julien Tixier, including the Maltese cross on the central month hand;
weekday and date: blued steel;
hours and minutes: polished steel; months: polished titanium.
• Sub-counters:
Openworked, diamond-cut, revealing a delicately sand-blasted plate gilded with 18K yellow gold, echoing the 18K yellow gold oscillating weight
• Indications engraved in the dial
• Counter flanges in titanium
Case
Rhodium-plated silver
Diameter: 39 mm
Thickness: 11.3 mm
Hand-engraving on caseback by Coralie Mercier
Movement
G100 by La-Joux-Perret
• Frequency: 4 Hz
• Oscillating weight in 18K yellow gold, hand-beveled by Dominique Renaud and hand-engraved by Coralie Mercier in the Vallée de Joux, Swiss Jura Mountains
• Number of components: 164
• Number of jewels: 24

• Hand-finished by Julien Tixier: wheels circular-grained and calendar cams mirror-
polished by hand
Module
• Developed in-house and patented
• Number of components of the complete perpetual calendar module: 25
• Including the number of secular module components: 5
• Module thickness: 1.25mm
• Modular plate made from arcap alloy, gilded with 18K yellow gold
Bracelet & buckle
• Milanese mesh bracelet and clasp in rhodium-plated silver, entirely hand-crafted by Laurent Jolliet
• Additional calf leather strap provided

 

 🔰Edition
Limitation: Unique piece for Only Watch 2023

 🔴Prices    Lot 24      Estimated at CHF 30,000 - CHF 20,000 💰

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Friday, August 11, 2023

Baume & Mercier – RIVIERA Chronograph Day Date M0A10722

 

Baume & MercierRIVIERA Chronograph Day Date Automatic - 43mm Slate-Grey Dial 2023

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A NEW RIVIERA CHRONOGRAPH IN STEP WITH THE TIMES

First released in 1973 and recently reinterpreted, the Riviera watch expresses the Brand’s design expertise and its exquisite use of materials. A Baume & Mercier lifestyle icon, this timepiece with pure, slender lines and an immediately recognizable twelve-sided bezel today asserts its full maturity. 

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It is now available in a 43-mm sport-chic chronograph version in a bicolor mode with a totally stealthy look.

Baume & Mercier Riviera Chronograph M0A10722: back to basics

The Riviera has been keeping pace with the times for more than 50 years. Inspired by the carefree lifestyle of the French Riviera, this is the watch of casual elegance symbolizing an easygoing view of refined watchmaking. It was first developed in 1973 and has adapted to every era, year after year, while staying true to its own special style. Its steel adornments and strong shape have always represented a form of freedom and an offbeat elegance. And now it represents renewal.

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In 2021, Baume & Mercier presented the fifth-generation Riviera, which continues to uphold the Brand’s expertise, capturing the signs of our modern times to better revisit them. Since then, the Riviera has revealed a number of variations. Starting in the ’90s, the first Riviera chronographs brought continuing development to the collection and reflected the new codes and trends of each passing year. The story continues this year with three variations of the brand-new Riviera chronograph in a 43 mm diameter. 

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In 2023, the Riviera chronograph complication translates into a distinctive new bicolor model thanks to a combination of titanium and gold-tone PVD.

Riviera M0A10722, a self-winding chronograph with a strong personality

Certain watches are better than others in taking on board the genetic codes of a collection and the stylistic markers of a Brand. The latest self-winding Riviera chronograph is unquestionably one of those. With its 43-mm steel case and its dodecagonal bezel in sand-blasted titanium fastened with four sand-blasted steel screws, this piece asserts a strong character, revealing its passion for action at first glance. 

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The powerful design of this chronograph respects tradition while rewriting the future. The original design is still there, but the desire to adapt to our times is just as clear. The latest addition to the Riviera collection, this chronograph is driven by a premium self-winding Swiss Made mechanical movement. Resistant to 100 m, it displays the day and date in two horizontal apertures located at 3 o’clock. Emblematic of sports elegance, this watch offers the strength of evocating the original models from the ’70s while revisiting their DNA. It shares the same shape, spirit and function.
 
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Its slate-gray hue is sun-satin, featuring a gray flange and carved-and-snailed auxiliary counters that create an impression of very deep relief. The perfectly proportioned, skeletonized gold-tone hands are coated with white Superluminova (blue glow), echoing the gold-tone ring that subtly appears between the bezel and the caseband. The sapphire crystal of the dodecagonal back, fastened with four screws, reveals the tried-and-true self-winding movement that drives this distinctive chronograph. 

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Moreover, the scratch-resistant sapphire crystal on the front has an anti-glare coating on both sides for perfect readability. This piece is adorned with a built-in gray rubber strap featuring a canvas decoration and a triple folding buckle with security push-pieces and an easy adjustment system. The very reliable Baume & Mercier interchangeability framework makes it possible to change the strap in a few seconds without the need for tools.

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Like the rest of the collection, Riviera chronographs embody the values that underscore the Brand’s style while continuing to express its savoir-faire in design, shape, and watchmaking expertise.

The Riviera collection: five generations, one legend

This is the story of an illustrious watch: one like none other, one that has always been ahead of its time. The Riviera has been redesigned several times through the years, not only keeping up-to-date but truly setting the pace.   

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Launched in 1973, the Riviera immediately made a splash with its dodecagonal case and its slimline metal strap. It was already avant-gardist, though the Riviera name had yet to appear on the dial. In 1975, the concept was updated and made available with both self-winding and quartz movements: small, medium and large models were produced in steel, gold/steel, and solid gold.

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A new generation was unveiled in the 1980s. The newly bicolor Riviera pursued its technical and aesthetic maturation, with its unmistakable name now appearing at 6 o’clock. 

For the first time in 1981, it was made available as a diving watch in a style-pioneering sport-chic spirit. Its success was immediate.

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Four years later, in 1985, the third generation of the collection was released. The bezel was reworked for a softer, less angular approach. The case and strap were also overhauled, and their polished and brushed surfaces helped create a more rounded look. The Riviera thus marked a turning point in terms of sophistication and reliability, including – among other features – a miniaturized screwed crown designed to improve its water-resistance. 

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For its 20th anniversary in 1993, it strutted its style with a one-of-a-kind chronograph model. At the time, Baume & Mercier even created an unprecedented full-calendar Riviera in bicolor and solid gold versions, demonstrating its exceptional watchmaking savoir-faire. The Brand also introduced a version of the bicolor edition in a smaller diameter for ladies.  

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In 2004, the Riviera collection took on a twofold approach for its fourth generation with two variations, one classic and the other more athletic. For the “Classic” line, Baume & Mercier maintained the dodecagonal shape of the case, interpreting the dial with a variety of materials and configurations. As for the “Sport” range, the Riviera featured four screws on its bezel for the first time, asserting an athletic look that would stand the test of time. 

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The fifth generation, launched in 2021, carried forward its perennially fashionable sport-chic personality with a number of variations that only added to its character.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Collection   RIVIERA 

Model:  RIVIERA Chronograph Day Date Automatic - 43mm

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Ref.  M0A10722

Movement
Swiss Made  BM 13750
Energy:  Automatic, self-winding
Automatic, self-winding watch
Power reserve: 48 hour(s)
Day Date, Chronograph
Frequency: 28.800.0vph/4.0hz
Number of Rubies: 25 
Case
Shape: Dodecagonal
Size Diameter: 43.06 x 36.47 mm
Material: And Finishes
Steel and titanium, Polished/satin-finished 
Featuring a sandblasted titanium bezel enlighted by a PVD gold ring
Water resistance: 100
Dial
Sun satin-finished slate-grey dial
Hands:  Triangle, Superluminova Phos BL485nm Grade X1 blanc C1 
Strap
Material 
rubber, Grey
rubber strap with canvas decoration.
Buckle   Steel, Satiné finishes


🔴 Price:   US $ 4,500 / 4,550  💰

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