WHL
[VC Moderator]
4922
DeWitt Twenty-8-Eight Tourbillon Prestige and Parmigiani Ovale Pantographe
One of the aspects of independent watchmaking that I appreciate is that the term can encompass a wide range of business models, from solo watchmaker (J-B Viot; Jean Daniel Nicolas) to small firm (Roger Smith; Kari Voutillainen), and from emerging brand (FP Journe; Laurent Ferrier) to global powerhouse (Patek Philippe). I think it is one of the most exciting corners of the collecting universe, and it is always interesting to see what kinds of innovative and creative concepts these independent makers come up with, whether small or large.
Over the past couple of months I had the chance to look at an interesting watches from two emerging brands, DeWitt and Parmigiani, and they couldn’t be more different in terms of general aesthetics. I’ll start with the DeWitt Twenty-8-Eight Tourbillon Prestige and then touch on the Parmigiani Ovale Pantographe.
DeWitt Twenty-Eight 8 Tourbillon Prestige
This piece is an eye-catcher. The 46 mm rose gold case is complemented by the chocolate brown dial and features rhodium railings. The angles at which the dial elements work recall Art Deco design.The columns on the flanks of the case are a typical DeWitt feature.
The dial leaves open space for a view of the tourbillon, which appears to float independently:
What makes this model stand out is that it has dead beat seconds, so the seconds hand appears to tick in discreet one-second increments, as if it were a quartz watch. I find it to be a whimsical touch.
The device between the two wheels controls the discreet seconds
Flipping the watch over shows the peripheral winding rotor. DeWitt has developed its Automatic Sequential Winding (A.S.W) device so that even though the rotor will glide freely, it only operates on the mainspring when the torque is outside of the range of 92 to 96% of ideal, so that there is a consistently stable flow of energy through the gear train to the tourbillon escapement.
The Twenty-8-Eight Tourbillon Prestige (I just love the name) is limited to 99 pieces.
Parmigiani Ovale Pantographe
While I had never handled a DeWitt before seeing the Twenty-8-Eight Tourbillon Prestige in person, I have only rarely seen watches by Parmigiani, and never one quite like this.
For one, it is rare to see an elliptic case in watches, but the Pantographe hands (which were inspired by such hands on a restoration project Michel Parmigiani undertook on a vintage pocket watch) telescope in and out so that the tip of both the hour and minute hands are a constant distance from the edge of the dial, were new for me. Like the dead beat seconds on the DeWitt above, they add a whimsical touch that I find appealing in a wristwatch.
The blue steel hands are highly contrasted against the white lacquer dial.
The caliber PF111 is manual winding with an 8-day power reserve, and power reserve and date are indicated on the dial at 12 and 6, respectively. The movement of the watch has truly exquisite finishing.
Bill
