Independents

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Maitres du Temps - Chapter 2

I have become enamored - even obsessed - with the Lost Indies. Twenty five years ago, when the Independent movement really started, people were making crazy watches. Houses like Hautlence, Urwerk, and MB&F took off, and this week’s release of the HM12 was a nice reminder that there are still people out there who like really imaginative time machines.

Maitres du Temps means Masters of Time, a short-lived endeavor that brought together the greatest watch makers to create wonderful timepieces. This one was brought to life by Daniel Roth, Peter Speake-Marin, and Roger Dubuis. Other masters were Kari Voutilainen, Andreas Strehler, and Christophe Claret. A Super Band, if you will.

This is the Maitres du Temps Chapter 2, an automatic triple calendar where the big date sits at 12 o'clock and the day and month are shown on large cylinders at the top and bottom of the case in their own little compartments.

The tonneau case is a piece of engineering in its own right. It uses six sapphire crystals — front, back, and separate windows for the rollers —along with integrated pushers and correctors that must interface precisely with the date and roller mechanisms. The case is substantial, at 58 x 42 mm it has the heft of platinum even though it’s white gold.

The MdT endeavor was founded by American entrepreneur Steven Holtzman, but the whole adventure first launched in 2008 and only lasted three “chapters”, ending in 2012. It was never a lot of watches, probably no more than 150 pieces all together.

Being part of a collectors group makes this hobby so much fun. I went out on a boat with some fellow watch nerds yesterday, and I got some fabulous shots of the city, along with some great conversations.