Independents

SuitbertW
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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 manufacturers/designers of the past found many ways to realize same or similar functions in the same space -
but going into the details, they also found very different solutions.

And, believe it or not - in most cases one can easily spot the differences and also similarities.

Personally I've spoken to some movement designers/watchmakers and interestingly my experience has been
quite different. Some openly pointed out which part/group they "took" from where - some even when obvious
answered exactly like you pointed out above, "....well you only have certain ways to design this or that, we don't  need to invite the wheel twice....." .

It might boil down to semanthics for some, it might also be the case  I'm a stupid "know it all"  - but anyhow,  to repeat myself, if :
- the pivoting points, gear/pinion  tooth count
- setting/winding bits
-chrono lever pivoting points and in some parts even lever (cosmetical) shapes are the same....

one could rightly say, the "design is based on" or "the basic design is"  taken from caliber XX  - if you don't or
even deny , yes, in my book you do indeed hide something (I'm neither a lawyer nore a marketing guy, so my understanding might be unrealistic )
Inspiration - this is something different to my understanding - but as said previously, that might boil down to semanthics.

BTW,  if one had to design a new chrono movement from scratch with Kari's seconds hand placement as a base
requirement, I'm pretty sure the basic going train would look a bit different.  The natural direct seconds wheel is located at 9 position,
as in the original Valjoux movement  and Kari designed an elaborate indirect second with different placement under the dial....

Of all about 30mm sized chrono movements of the past - only one will fit 1:1 in pivoting points and gear train layout with Kari's chrono....
And you know that this is the case for others as well,...

Conspiracy??? No, I'm not one of those believing in conspiracy all over - that's one of the reasons I don't get it why it's not more openly discussed.

To understand your (and all others) view or understanding of the word "inspiration" a bit better, just a provocative question:
For an esthetic design - if brand XXXXXX produces a watch "inspired" by let's say the design of  AP's RO - obvious for anyone and  most likely intended ?
Inspired by or .....?
For a technical design,  not only looking alike,  basic measurements/gear counts exactly 1:1 ?? Inspired by or ....?


I'd like to explicitely  point out (once again), personylly I' ve the greatest respect  for Kari and all other independent (or not) watchmakers and designers -
I happen to like Kari's work immensely and adore his workmanship - I also don't doubt that he's doing almost everything in his own workshops (or, which
is equal in my book is capable of doing it).

Best regards
Suitbert