Hi Goldenlutin

Jun 06, 2013,15:06 PM
 

No problem, I understand what you are saying of course, but it is interesting to see how we all view things from different angles/perspectives.

You brought  up some interesting examples indeed;  just for fun may I give my 'angle' on your list for a moment?

-  Take Roger Smith, a friend of mine and a great master. Remember the square watches he made (Series 1) more than a decade ago with a few Swiss movement parts used inside? (I am giving away my age here!)
-  Urwerk's first watches: definitely new design, but filled with lots of standard ebauche parts inside.
-  Max: great stuff, but perhaps only possible because he cut his teeth at Harry Winston for several years before going on his own with investment money.
-  What is Dufour's Simplicity movement closely inspired by? Answer: :LeCoultre (But of course he does not use an ebauche movement - an important distinction). 
-  Kari Voutlainen only brought out his own movement about 2 years ago; nearly everything he made until then were old calibers of LeCoultre, Longine and others....
- The great Daniels? ALL of his serially produced wristwatches (not pocket watches or one off wristwatches) in fact use quality Swiss ebauche movements that have been upgraded to celebrate the Omega relationship with the co-axial (the so-called Millenium watches). (Actually, the Daniels' watches now under production are the very first serially produced wristwatches with a movement completely designed by Daniels - a posthumous world first for that great man).

None of this takes away from the quality of these fine watches of course.

When you think that the BNB ebauche Akrivia uses is actually a limited production run (around 100 or so movements I was told) that can achieve 1 second a day results in the right hands, I think the horological company is not bad at all for an upstart ? 

Anyway, I do agree with you, just like with every new upstart: let's see what Akrivia does. I was also a bit skeptical when I first heard of them, but slowly I am beginning to suspect they might have more up their sleeve for later..... who knows?
All the best,
Theodore
This message has been edited by Theodore Diehl on 2013-06-06 15:22:20 This message has been edited by Theodore Diehl on 2013-06-06 15:28:41 This message has been edited by 219 on 2013-06-12 01:59:52 This message has been edited by 219 on 2013-06-12 02:23:25


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BaselWorld 2013 : Akrivia

 
 By: DonCorson : June 2nd, 2013-13:14
BaselWorld 2013 : Akrivia The minds behind the new brand Akrivia are the young watchmakers Rexhep Rexhepi and Etienne Deschamps. I had the pleasure of meeting them and seeing their first production, the Saturn tourbillon chronograph at BaselWorld. Both Re...  

Looks like the former BNB tourbillon chronograph...

 
 By: Goldenlutin : June 2nd, 2013-13:50
made for Hublot, RJ, F. Villa for instance. Not very original to recycle an "old" movement like that... Not sure either if this is enough to successfully launch a new brand.

A good startup in my view

 
 By: Theodore Diehl : June 3rd, 2013-13:58
Hi Goldenlutin, Correct me if I am wrong, but as far as I can tell nearly every young brand/maker - including some now very well known and/or famous ones i know - started exactly like this. So what? It ain't easy to gather the several millions needed for ... 

I see things a bit differently...

 
 By: Goldenlutin : June 5th, 2013-12:26
Hello Theodore, Well, IMHO the now most successeful watchmakers/small brands started with something personal/unique: FP Journe, Urwerk, MB&F, Laurent Ferrier, Richard Mille, Gerber, Daniels, Smith, Dufour. Well some if not all might have used some exi... 

Hi Goldenlutin

 
 By: Theodore Diehl : June 6th, 2013-15:06
No problem, I understand what you are saying of course, but it is interesting to see how we all view things from different angles/perspectives. You brought up some interesting examples indeed; just for fun may I give my 'angle' on your list for a moment? ... 

well...

 
 By: Goldenlutin : June 6th, 2013-15:33
Hi Theodore, Well, I actually had not Voutilainen on my list :), because he always uses old ébauches (Peseux 260, VJ, etc.) Regarding Daniels I was more thinking at his wonderfull pocket watches (like the Space Traveller), which are definitively not based... 

Thank you Don! More infos about the Saturn

 
 By: etiennedeschamps : June 3rd, 2013-07:09
Hi everyone, My name is Etienne Deschamps and I am the co-founder of AkriviA. First of all, I would like to say thank you to Don Corson for his article! It was a real pleasure to meet Don and present him the prototype of our first watch as well as talking... 

Suggestion...

 
 By: jmpTT : June 3rd, 2013-11:11
From a design standpoint, I'm really fond of the case. The attention paid to the case finishing really elevates the design in my opinion. Photos can be deceptive, but the legibility of the main hands would be my main concern. The main hands are very close...