It is of endless fascination to me watching a promising, definitely talented young watchmaker to bring his or her idea to maturation, and then transform it into an amazing piece of metal. This year was another such opportunity, when the
AHCI (Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants) knighted German watchmaker
Kim Djapri as its newest candidate member.
Kim came well-prepared with his own brand
Bélier Watches and had his
entry ticket first timepiece
Reverse for PuristS to admire:
But before I go into detail with the Reverse I would like to introduce to you Kim Djapri, who to some of you, particularly those who admire Saxon watchmaking, is probably not all that familar: Kim was born in Cologne, Germany, and was trained as watchmaker at the watchmaking school of Furtwangen. After earning his degree he joined
Lang & Heyne in Dresden, where he honed his skills and immersed himself into the typical Saxon school of watchmaking. Furthermore, Kim also acquired sales skills at the
Tempus Arte boutique for independent watchmaking.
With
Marco Lang as a mentor and role model, Kim's desire to actually create his own watch rose and roughly 2.5 years ago he started sketching out his first watch. His apartment was slowly transformed into something like an
'atelier with a bed somewhere', and henceforth Kim would spend his spare time with creating and finishing watch parts (besides DJ-ing). That Marco Lang granted him access to some of Lang & Heynes machinery certainly helped.
Eventually Kim felt confident enough with this work to approach the grandmasters of his trade to ask for their opinion:
Kari Voutilainen and
Paul Gerber, two of the undisputedly greatest watchmakers you could ask. Both seemd to be impressed enough to act as Kim's 'godfathers' to sponsor his application for admission to the AHCI, and even
Philippe Dufour admitted that the Reverse is a 'very well made watch' - Kim felt his preserverance and hard work paid off big time.
During BaselWorld 2016 Kim proudly presented his Reverse to the collectors who came from all over the globe. I had the pleasure to see this watch at several instances during its gestation, but never got the 'OK' from Kim to share images. Finally, with Kim satisfied with his work, its showtime:
The Reverse by Bélier Watches is a 'simple' three-hand time-only watch, and is first and foremost an
exercise in transparency combined with
excellent
traditonal watchmaking craftsmanship. All bridgework has been reduced to the max, opening up much room for the application of the (Glashütte-style) finishes. Naturally, the inner works of the movement are exposed to a stunning ethereal visual effect.
The second defining detail is a funny twist - literally! - to the movement: all time indications
run counterclockwise (
'if you look at my watch, you actually get younger!' says Kim), a solution which proved being the harbinger of the watch's name.
With that out of the way, I would now get close up with this beautiful piece. One absolutely outstanding detail is the dial, instantly triggering recollection of the great chronometer wallclocks of days long gone. Not surprising at all, is it created using nothing else than the same time-honoured technique of friction-applied silvering, a technique recently rediscovered in Glashütte.
I would point to two addtional details: The
ram engraving, the logo of the brand (Kim was born under the
zodiac sign of Aries, which inspired him to the name of his brand,
bélier=french: ram), as well as the small bridge connecting the crown axis to the mainsping barrel (45h power reserve) which is hidden beneach the dial. You can clearly see two wheel transferring the winding energy towards the dial disk.
The arrangement of the barrel below the dial is an important aspect manifesting the airiness of the watch.
Note Kim's 'home-made' hands of his own design.
The remainder of the bridges and plates are greatly reduced to the technically necessary. The resulting surfaces and edges are ample, and they are all well decorated for sure. No wonder it takes Kim 2 weeks to hand-finish only the edges of a single watch...
The second remarkable feature is the exposed balance wheel supported by a mirror-polished, superbly shining bridge. The balance (sourced from Lang & Heyne) is 14mm in diameter and fitted to a hairsping with Breguet overcoil, bent by Kim himself (the movement runs at a traditional 18.000 vph). The charmingly delicate seconds hand (running counterclockwise as well) hovers over a mattened glass framed by a hand-engraved index ring - a unique and tasteful solution!
Just another view on this magnificient detial!
On the back you can admire wonderfully frosted movement plates, hand engraved (like all engravings) by
Matthias Köhler of Lang & Heyne fame.
Lovers of Saxony-style finished will certainly rejoice at this sight - sunburst finishing on the ratchet wheels - some of the best work of its kind I have ever seen. Also all the teeth are beatifully polished.
The case has been designed by Kim, but crafted by an outside supplier. The design is bold but not unelegant, with a massive crown protector as a vital element. The finishing is done by Kim as well.
The equally massive and 'ram-ified' buckle:
Despite its massiveness and its solid 46mm+ diameter it is an easy watch to wear. It has a touch of airiness which lends it a gentle soul with refinement. It is exactly the latter which is almost puzzling: for the first creation of a young, independent watchmaker the piece is almost alarmingly free of the idiosyncratic elements you usually detect: some roughness in design or conception, it is of an amazing consistency throughout, which is found normally only with experienced watchmakers.
The branding is another token for that, and this is my only point of critique: For such a talented watchmaker, why not use your own name for your watches, to adverstise yourself? And why a French noun while there is nothing French (or Swiss) on your watches?
Kim Djapri has demonstrated exceptional wholistic talent with his first piece, and the reaction of collectors is encouraging (not surprisingly so!). For a debut watch that comes with a self-confident price-tag (the Reverse is available in pink gold (49,900 Euros), white gold (54,900 Euros) and finally in platinum (68,200 Euros), all of which are limited to 11 pieces each) he could already secure a handful of confirmed orders, and attract a major international retailer.
It is therefore understandable that Kim is enthusiastic about his watches and already developed detailed ambitious plans for his Bélier brand, including machinery and hiring of watchmakers, to exploit the momentum.
“Not so fast, young Skywalker,” I am tempted to advise. There are sufficient examples of hopeful aspiring watchmaking masters who fell into the traps of an premature expansion, just to regret it bitterly later.
Thus, dear Kim, take your time and slowly go one step after the other! You are still young and have plenty of time. You are ony fire, keep it burning, so maintain and nurture it! I really wish you a great future and an impressive career. One thing, dear Kim, is for sure: Your watches are....
Congratulations, Kim, for your superb first watch, and congratulations also to Marco Heyne, for having supported such a talented élève!
Cheers and thanks for reading,
Magnus
