Watch Commission
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Speake-Marin - Piccadilly - Openworked Dual Time
Speake-Marin has always had an odd way of pairing a respectful nod to traditional watchmaking with a modern, design-driven approach. There’s something quite Anglo-Helvetian about it all. England and Switzerland each have storied pasts. Each country is struggling to have a clear view on who it wants to be next, and what role it should play shaping the world, as if that was still an option for either of them.
In that same way, Speake-Marin references the past with novel ideas, forging an independent path. Most of the watches are part of its Piccadilly line, a traditional-looking watch with straight lugs shooting out of the case wall, with thick knuckle endings that emulate a screwed strap. It still uses springbars though, which makes changes straps very easy. The crown makes its silhouette look like a navitime tool watch, more for captains than pilots. The watch looks tough, but then the brand has been quite successful by placing elegant open-worked movements within this drum-shaped case.
This is the Openworked Dual Time. Its wonderfully contemporary architecture shows that this watch was designed to live without a dial. The bridges are key to the concept, showing several layers and distinct edges, all intergral to the watch’s appeal. The dials float while the numerical rings are angled, giving the subdial a recessed look. The color palatte is well-matched in the numerical font, while the hands look like they came from a 19th century clock but give it a whimsical approach without becoming cute.
Speake-Marin created a number of bright color combinations. This one is called the Terracotta, and ships with a white rubber strap that makes it a quintessential summer watch, though a simple black leather strap in the winter turns it from beach club to nightclub. I like the weird frosted surface. The chaotic elements offer a 24-hour time dial, and a small seconds dial sits at a funky angle while a retrograde date horseshoe surrounds it at the top right of the dial. That small seconds dial between 1 and 2 o’clock has become Speake-Marin's signature feature. It’s kind of weird how the open design gives an emphasis to the main spring barrel while hiding the balance wheel on the back of the watch.
Speake-Marin makes these watches in 38mm and in 42mm. The trend has been back to cases smaller than 40mm, but I like bigger watches, so this is the 42mm version. I consider that to be pretty much as large as I am willing to go, with the notable exception of Bernhard Lederer’s CIC.
The watch world is filled with history, functions, and design that are respected and considered important. It is is difficult to stand out. Like a lot of craft-driven industries it is also male dominated. Maybe it is part of Speake-Marin’s design quirks and subsequent success that are a reflection of a company that is now owned and led by a woman. Christelle Rosnoblet has done a great job introducing elegant yet technical designs while staying independent. That’s not easy. Combining tasteful design with interesting horology could benefit a lot of watch companies trying to figure out their spot in the marketplace.
If anyone has any information as to why the founder Peter Speake-Marin entirely left his eponymous company I'd like to know more. It doesn't really change my affection for this watch, but it feels like there's a story there that wasn't easily found on the internet.
Possible blasphemy ahead, so continue with caution: I think if Breguet ever had the courage to try its hand on something slightly more contemporary, this watch could be an interesting reference point, but these days it takes a younger brand to forge new paths.
Speake-Marin - Piccadilly - Openworked Dual Time
That is a very interesting Speake-Marin Openworked Dual Time.
I own a Tradition
