tahoeblue
1056
Gary, great detective work and summary
in conjunction with Allen et al. Your post gives me a new appreciation and understanding of historical chrono movements and this spectacular watch by Kari.
I can see he had a wonderful inspiration for this movement, which is beautifully executed in its own right. It is no small feat to produce a chrono movement, and no matter one's definition of "from the ground up," I think Kari's few "in-house" chrono movements (a total of 20 over 2 series if I am not mistaken) stand as the most impressive produced by any independent watchmaker in recent memory. There are few of these in the indie world, and for good reason.
Not to be lost in this discussion of movement genesis, Kari's dial display is an inspiration. When his Masterpiece Chrono Series I was introduced, I thought it the most stunning display of any simple chronograph. And we can see the master had up his sleeve the idea to add the further complications of date and moon phase. Another detail that makes this watch different from others in a very useful and aesthetic way is the crown, with integrated pusher to advance this big date.
Your post, as well as some of these learned responses, will be a reference for those researching chronograph variants.
The Movement Question -- Voutilainen Masterpiece Chronograph series
Greetings to all! When I posted my retrosp ective on our journey with the KV Masterpiece Chrono II, ztirual posted a response that asked several pertinent questions: " I should have asked Kari, but I did not because I was focusing on other watches, but wo...
that was informative. What I know about chronograph...
Design could fit on a jewel. It appears Kari was inspired by those examples and folded them into his design.
Inspiration was pretty clear
...and I am right about where you are when it comes to technical knowledge! Thanks, Gary
Those kind of details are not for Mr & Mrs Smith ...
... and even the average watch-guy won't get it ... but for PuristS :-) Love it and appreciate it a lot. Thanks to you and Allen! Oliver
My pleasure, Oliver
As I am sure you could tell, all of the brain work was done by Allen! Best, Gary
thanks
Gary, Thanks for the detailed [post - I too was one of the guys who were always curious about the origin of the Kari movement, being a huge fan of its dial. Hopefully I'll get to see on in person someday here in NYC. Hope to see more macro photos of the m...
There is a fresh movement side photo
...in this week's Macro Monday thread on HoMe! Appreciate your comments -- I will keep posting photos as I am able to generate them... Best, Gary
Thank you for this research...
A great post Garry. This lets us look into the history a little, each evolution of a movement adds improvements, eliminates problems (hopefully). These thoughts turn up the light some of the problems on the present fashion for "new in-house" movments that...
Thanks for the kind comments, Don
To the extent that there are insights in there, the credit should largely go to Allen who did the initial investigation. I learned a fair amount about this Chrono and chronographs in general putting this piece together, so it was a great education for me....
Some small additional comments (long, sorry!)
Hi everyone, Great post and interesting read, many thanks indeed for your insights. Also congratulations on your watch! I would just like to add a little bit to the discussion: 1. If we go back in time to the beginnings of horological history, we will see...
Thanks for these very interesting thoughts
As a published author and copyright holder I do sometimes ponder what contemplates hommage vs. imitation -- but your comments do well to point out the long tradition of adaptation in the history of this particular industry. Thanks for taking the time to c...
Dear Gary,
Many thanks for your detailed and articulate reply to my inquiry. A very interesting nuanced analysis. I fully understand your preference for an in house movement and it surely seems to be the case here -not that Kari disappoints when he is working with o...
Direct inquiry
I didn't ask, but one member of our group did and provided the following report: " He said that he created his own chrono taking ideas from what he thinks are the best chrono calibres out there." I have satisfied myself thoroughly about the genesis of the...
Great Investigative Work
and for putting it comprehensively for the lay person (me). Thanks for the education. Reading Theodre's post, led me to think and wonder if MB&F ever decide on a Chrono. What innovations that would bring and perhaps advancement in design of such a mov...
Thanks, flamenco
As for the MB&F question, it's an interesting one -- if there is one thing that I have learned in the process of buying this watch, it is that chronographs are pretty difficult complications to make! One reason why so many companies use tried and true...
A few thoughts....
Hello, Gary, good post and interesting pictures ! When I saw one of (maybe even the first) the first finished Kari Chronograph, at least to my eyes it was more than obvious that it was based on the Valjoux 13'' family chronographs. Of course I asked Kari,...
Perhaps infinity is finite ;-) ?
Hi Suitbert, It is really great to have interesting discussions about movement design like this, ignited by Gary's wonderful story. Reminds of the old days at Purists when there would be heated discussions about the real or imagined value of wolf's teeth ...
To avoid any sort of misunderstanding....
Hi Theodore, I don't want to accuse or insinuate anything - I'm just trying to explain my personal view and feelings. Chronographe movements from the past happen to be a field of interest for me for some time - believe it or not, but somehow the manufactu...
Hi Suitbert
Hi Suitbert, Thanks for your response; I do think there are semantic questions here that are playing a role perhaps toward inadvertent misunderstandings. I certainly don't want to split hairs if it does not add anything to the discussion. If we leave watc...
Thanks to both Suitbert and Theodore
...for your well-considered and thoughtful contributions to this dialogue. Perhaps the "PuristS of old" is not so far away from us after all? Best regards, Gary
Gary, great detective work and summary
in conjunction with Allen et al. Your post gives me a new appreciation and understanding of historical chrono movements and this spectacular watch by Kari. I can see he had a wonderful inspiration for this movement, which is beautifully executed in its ow...
Concur in your thoughts here, tahoeblue
As one of our friends keeps telling us, the chrono is a very difficult complication to execute! Perhaps better to have the basis solidly built on traditional geometry than to get too adventurous. I also keep forgetting that the original conception of the ...
My pleasure, Frank!
Many thanks for taking the time to post here -- I really appreciate your comment! Best, Gary
Great Article ...
Gary, Your article here is really interesting. A great read, I enjoyed. Thanks for taking the time.
Glad you liked it
My intent was to create more light than heat -- I know that the topic of "inspired by" is one that arouses a lot of passions... Best, Gary
An absolute gem of a post!
Gary, You've got me thinking, which is no small ordeal. There is an interesting contrast between Kari's chronograph movement and, say, the Patek Philippe CH 29-535 PS or even the Omega 9300. We must remember that even a genius has only a finite amount of ...
Many thanks for the thoughtful comments -- and kind words
It does seem that modern software is enabling many non-traditional forms (e.g., the Ivresse as manufactured by David Candaux). It will be interesting to see what is next! This whole topic of whether it is good, bad, or indifferent to use the fixed points ...