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SJX
[Purist]
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Two owners share their thoughts on the Vianney Halter Perpetual Antiqua in platinum

Two lucky owners of the Vianney Halter Antiqua in platinum have kindly agreed to share their thoughts on this wonderfully rare watch with us.

The main differences between the two specimens of the Antiqua mentioned below are:

1. The rivets in the crown, one is white metal (white gold probably) and the other is yellow gold

2. The shade of the salmon dials differ

Update - this is a response sent by Philippe Mariez, Marketing & Sales Manager for Vianney Halter watches about the differences in the watches above:

"Regarding the crown rivets matching the case material rather than the bezel rivets and dials, this was a derivation that VH wanted to test and to propose to customers. This is a unique combination. Of course, a standard RG rivet crown could be mounted as replacement the next time the watch is serviced, in case the owner requires this (you can suggest BW to contact us as well)

The different shades of the dials is partially due to the manual finishing of these : the polishing, the brushing and the sandblasting differs from one set to the other as it depends on the gesture of the maker by the day of manufacturing (It varies from one dau to another).

However, the other (and main) explanation is the patina that time gives to the dials : these are made in solid rose gold plates : this alloy contains a percentage of copper and although stable can slightly change in color and shade (depending on age and weather condition).
These two phenomenom combine and make each timepieces definitively unique."

Here are the owners' thoughts of their watches:

Su JiaXian (SJX):   What attracted you to the Antiqua in the first place?

Bruce Wayne (BW): The case shape and the porthole idea resounded with me as a really novel way of showing time. To release it now in 2009 would be ho-hum but to do so when it came out back in 1999 was just revolutionary.

Clark Kent (CK): I initially saw the ad for the piece in a watch magazine and thought it looked really ugly. The picture made the watch look bigger and the different dials looked longer than reality.

I went with a friend to a local dealer and asked him if he had anything new. Luckily enough he had the Antiqua in all three metals and brought them out. I was pleasantly surprised that the watch was much smaller than I thought and did not look as flashy or bling as it did in the advertisement. I especially liked the way he used the ball bearing in the invisible rotor and the creativity in the design of the perpetual calendar.

SJX:   And why platinum?

BW: Preferred a more subtle colour to be used as case metal to go with the crazy case shape in order to focus all attention on the shape which for me is the central theme of the watch.

CK: As I mentioned, I was lucky enough to see all three colours and I thought that the platinum showed a very nice contrast between the brushed platinum and the salmon dials. While the rose gold looked nice it just seemed a bit much. The white gold looked more monochromatic and did not call out to me.

SJX:   What do you think of Vianney Halter the man?

BW: Vianney is a mad genius who has all the clichéd quirks associated with people like that; he’s a groundbreaker in terms of horology. 

CK: I would say he is a mad genius. He isn't the type to smooth you over with slick marketing. If you are a customer who expects the watchmaker to kiss your ass, you will be surprised when you meet Mr. Halter.

SJX:   What is the wearing experience of the Antiqua like? Pros and cons?

BW: Pros? Surprisingly it wears real well on the wrist. Cons? Well, I can’t think of anything. 

CK: Its unique look, the amazingly smooth crown winding and the sapphire ‘mystery’ rotor which spins very fast and just keeps going.

As for cons, quality control is not the best; usually the date disc gets stuck on two particular days of the year. It could also have a better strap, and while the riveted crown is pretty it can also be dangerous. A couple of times while putting my hand in my pocket the crown would catch on my pants and end up pulling out the crown and adjusting the time. Needless to say I am more careful now about how I put my hand in my pocket. My colleagues laughed really hard when I told them why I was late to the meeting and recommended I get a Casio watch like the ones they were wearing.

SJX:   Your Antiquas are slightly different, though both are platinum. For instance the shade of the dial differs and so do the rivets in the crown. What do you think of this?

BW: Unknowingly showing off the handiwork as well as the quirks of the man behind the brand...

CK: To be honest I was surprised to see the differences between my piece and Ba... I mean Mr. Wayne's piece.

When explaining about the Antiqua to friends I would mention how the watch is made of platinum, the studs are made of rose gold, the rivets on the crown are yellow gold and the buckle is white gold. This way you have all of the 4 metals in the piece. I thought this was done intentionally. I was extremely surprised when I saw that it wasn't.

This could have something to do with the quality control I mentioned above. Personally if I was Mr. Wayne I would have a talk with Mr. Halter about fixing up a couple of the issues. Though to be honest currently you feel like each watch that is made is unique in its own way.

SJX: New releases from Vianney have been far and few between in recent years. What are your thoughts on that?

BW: It’s something one has to put up with. After all, one can't expect a mad genius to adhere to a timetable. That’s like asking an artist to be an air traffic controller.

CK: I would have to say that I am both gladdened and saddened.

Gladdened that he is not sullying his name by making something gimmicky just so he can make a quick buck.

Saddened because he has demonstrated that he is capable of creating something special. It makes you wonder what else he could come up with.

SJX: Thank you both for your time.

This message has been edited by SJX on 2009-10-01 23:06:12