I had the privilege to attend an interesting event named "Les Valeurs du Temps" (values of time) organized by Men's UP, a French digital magazine dedicated to Men's lifestyle. The aim of this event was to gather the clients of 4 high end brands which play in the high-end segment and share the same values: flawless craftsmanship, low production, sustainable products, care to details. These brands were: Lange & Söhne, Pinel & Pinel (the trunk maker based in Paris), Maison Tamboite (the bicycle maker also based in Paris) and Champagne Salon (based in Mesnil-sur-Oger). The clients of these brands are also very similar. They are people with passion and they are in the end, the true brands' ambassadors.  This fact  was by the way underlined by Thibaut Pellegrin who is at the head of Lange & Söhne Western Europe.

The event took place in a very original yet beautiful venue: the Pinel & Pinel workshop located rue Avron in the eastern part of Paris, far from the usual cocktails locations by  the Rue de la Paix or Place Vendôme. And I can tell you that all the guests appreciated a lot this singular place flooded by natural light.

Let's browse the pictures I took during the event.

The Pinel & Pinel building doesn't flank the street:




The guests could discover the Pinel & Pinel items and the wide range of leather goods & trunks available. Do you notice the Arcade Machine on wheels? I need one!



The big surprise was the presence of a watchmaker. It is always a strong asset and a key factor for a successful event since the guests love to speak with the true actors of the industry and observe them how they assemble the movements. The watchmaker was working on the Datograph Perpetual movement and I could gather both sides of the caliber on the same picture:



He was wearing a perfect tie for this context! At the beginning I thought it was a Lange & Söhne tie but you will notice that the big date mechanism is not excatly the same. Actually this tie comes from a Munich museum! It was a great idea from him to wear it during the event!



The young watchmaker also attended the event organized in March. It is the reason why I had the pleasure to see again his watch, this lovely Langematik:



I love watches... but I am even more happy when I meet my friend Lucia from the Lange & Söhne Western Europe team:



A guest was wearing a PT Richard Lange. So we could shoot this duo of neutral material pieces!



The CEO of Champagne Salon proposed to the guests to test one bottle. It was a superb opportunity when we consider the price of one bottle and the rarety of this champagne. Only the exceptional years can become vintage years. It is the reason why the vintage years are not continuous.



What an impressive color. The Champagne Salon is a long-keeping wine thanks to its very stable characteristics.



Yum-yum!



The watchmaker at work. He got a lot of questions from the guests, fascinated by his skills and the complexity of a chronograph movement from Lange & Söhne:



With Lucia:



and with me:



Of course, Thibaut joined us for the picture! Thibaut and Lucia did a great job to support Men's UP in the organization of the event.



Thibaut was wearing his Lange One Timezone with a blue strap:



A big buffalo head was decorating the room. Too large for my living-room to be honest.



If you love fine mechanisms... and I'm sure you do since you are reading this on PuristSPro, you will be very fond of the bespoke bicycles from Maison Tamboite. Founded in 1912, the company produces high-end bicycles which are in a way a symbol of the French elegance.





The Lange & Söhne displays:



I'm happy to see that this fierce creature is dead:



A duo of three hand watches (Saxonia and Richard Lange). The top watch seems to have a light blue dial but it is due to the light conditions!



A close-up of Thibaut's watch. The second timezone is set on Honolulu, I think that Thibaut is preparing his next holidays.



We couldn't miss the opportunity to shoot our watches together:



Thibaut came with a large selection of the current catalogue with some pieces which are quite rare like this Lange One Timezone... in honey gold:



The 1815 Annual Calendar is a significant novelty of the year for Lange & Söhne, not because of its complexity but because it is a keystone in the catalogue



I was delighted to see again the Grand Lange One Moonphase Lumen. I love it... I love its originality and its very contemporary touch.



Another 2017 novelty: the Zeitwerk Decimal Strike in honey gold.



It is not the Handwerkskunst version... but well... the 1815 Rattrapante PC remains a superb piece! I like the "pocket watch atmosphere" and the dial lay-out.



Even the best moments have an end but when we left the Pinel & Pinel building, we could have the feeling to have spent a nice event with, from my side, the opportunity to know better three high end French brands and the will to learn more about them. I'm sure that the guests who didn't know Lange & Söhne when they came to the event will share the same will.

I would like to thank a lot Men's UP,  the Lange & Söhne boutique of Paris and the Western Europe team for for the invitation to this successful event.

Fr.Xavier