hs111
16911
An Independent's Arrival - The case of the MIH watch.. Or: Less is more..
Friends, Some of you may have realized that my main collection
focus is JLC, followed with some distance by Rolex, then GP.
But after some years I have developed a rising interest in some Independents.
and several times new avenues have been opened.
This time here I just wanted to share the little story of my newest baby, which happens
to be a single watch product, just focusing on the essentials of a watch and n a
reductionist approach.
A watch that is truly very eclectic, almost puristic, yet also renders two complications,
a yearly innovative calendar, plus a Chronograph.
- It is the so called MIH - watch. For those of you deeper interested here the web-lnk
(http://www.mih-watch.ch). For those only interested in the watch pucs, pls see below !
How did it happen
?
When I was looking around for a cool, unobtrusive calendar watch,
exploring some brands, I soon was attracted by this pretty unusual watch,
not coming out of a manufacture but being the result of a unique cooperation
of a visionary developer, a designer and a Master watchmaker, whose atelier and
workplace did prototyping but also does all production still currently.
The developer is Ludwig Oechslin, genial watch guru, curator
of the International Horological Museum ( in La Chaux-de-Fonds),
secondly the Swiss designer Christoph Gafner and the Swiss Master watchmaker
Paul Gerber in Zurich, marketed by the Lucerne juweller & watch store Embassy.
Thus, several weeks ago, by last week in June It could be picked
directly in Switzerland; important to note, that in fact one can only order it
through either the MIH or the jeweller & exclusive watch AD of Embassy,
with stores either in Luzern or in St Moritz.
Thus, the timepiece, I am referring to, is the MIH (Musèe International d’Horlogerie).
It is a watch stripped to a really cool minimum : a two-handed black dial,
with white hands, for maximum contrast, featuring a yearly calendar with
indications of weekday, date and month. (One of the main design features
is the fact that the movement only consists of 9 parts).
The special additional feature is a monopusher Chronograph, moving a red
tipped hand, indicated by one seconds hand, whereby the minute 30 mins counter is
displayed through a backside small bullseye window, which also lets one see the
minirotor of the automatic watch.
Thus the eye would not see the Chrono minute-counter, when wearing the watch; hence
a feature hidden to the exclusive sight & pleasure of the connoisseur owner..
A final but important feature is the very reduced, puristic case, all in brushed Titanium and a
dimension & appeal that is a bit bold, but with lots of cool charm, and a screwed in, 12-edged crown.
The watch comes on a great rubber strap, rendering also a solid Titanium pin buckle, with backside
engravings of Meridian & latitude of the Museè MIH.
So now, some shots:
- first of the pickup in St Moritz, in its „box“, which is nothing more,
than an issue of the Neue Zuercher newspaper, again sort of minimalistic.
then some early shots from the first weeks of use.
A which I enjoyed from the first moment on; simply loving the under-the radar
and in a way puristic appeal. Also the lume ( Superluminova) at night is great & very well legible.
Just picked it up in the Ober-Engadin
A very special "treasure- wrap" - The Neue Zuercher of the very day
And now here some more:
Puristic coolness
Titanium case, Monopusher profile
The backside with Chrono counter & rotor
Titanium bckle with meridian & latitude
Final collage - Welcome to my stable, dear MIH !
Hope you liked a bit this puristic gear for a Purist !
I do.. a lot !!
Cheers, hs
An Independent's Arrival - The case of the MIH watch.. Or: Less is more..
Friends, Some of you may have realized that my main collection focus is JLC, followed with some distance by Rolex, then GP. But after some years I have developed a rising interest in some Independents. and several times new avenues have been opened. This ...
Quite beautiful. Ludwig is a Master. Big congrats!
The simple finish of the titanium case is a perfect match for this watch too. I love it!
Very nice watch. Love it. Congratulations.
Thanks for sharing your nice pics. Congratulations. Vte
I may be the wrong person to answer this.. But AFAIK, probably, yes.. Interesting Q, BTW.. It's a very smart movement & display !
.. the website ( which I mentioned in the post), describes more details.. Thx for looking ! Best, hs
It also shows AM/PM in that same alignment
small red dots in the display window indicate the portion of the day (so you know the midnight change is coming) Mike
Absolutely Mike
I didn't pay attention before to this subtle but very well thought out detail. Many thanks. Best wishes Alkiro
Congratulations! Always a delight to behold this watch.
I call this the 'unlikely watch'! And you have elected to visit Embassy to pick yours, which is always a nice (if not, also memorable) experience (mail-orders don't get the special treat of chocolates, tea or the lakes and the mountains!). I discovered so...
Thx for your kind looking & your interesting comments !.. & Yes, picking it up in Switzerland indeed contributed to the pleasure !..
.. Also + 1 on the nice notion, that Embassy will stay to its committment for the MIH watch, which IMHO is a fairly unique combo of design, mechanics & puristic features.. Cheers & Best, hs
Let them eat cake
Thanks to Swiss quality manufacture & design, plus generous testing, the MIH is guaranteed resistant to immersion into birthday, anniversary, and retirement cakes. I am not sure if wedding cakes qualify. Yes, they confirmed in writing that cake immers...
What a spectacular watch 👍🏻
A wonderful addition, HS111 - one of the watches I will definitely get at some point. So many cool choices, unfortunately... Thanks a lot for your review!
Thx K, for your nice words and the kind looking !.. & Yes, I guess we all have those "one day maybe timepieces", but..
.. so many choices, couldn't agree more ! So wishing you good fortune for your next choice, whichever that may be ! Cheers & Best, hs.
Thanks, HS111!
Difficult to say what the next choice will be. Many options again. But first comes No. 2, then we'll see about the next watch
The MIH is a watch that has always intrigued me, but the size (likely made to look even bigger than it is due to its wonderfully sparse design)
and the fact that I'm not able to easily try one on before purchasing have prevented me from pulling the trigger. Yet every time I see a picture of one... I've had the watch's website bookmarked for quite some time. Maybe one of these days I'll have one t...
Brilliant watch, welcome to the club!
Simple yet not so simple....you'll have many years of enjoyment with this one. I personally like a different strap over the rubber. Cheers, Tim ...
Hello, Tim !.. Thx for your kind looking and nice words !.. & Yes, am really happy, I took the plunge.. :))
If I may ask, is your strap leather or some special texture/cordura ?.. Really like the great contrast with the intense green stitching.. Cheers & Best, hs.