Horological Meandering

I am interested to see examples of excessive writing on dials. Who has managed to squeeze the most written information onto their dials. Who has done this successfully? What is the most inane piece of dial information? [My prize goes to Zenith for "Date"]

And as an aside, which watch has been anointed with the longest, best or worst name? I will give you an example from the audio world: twenty years ago an upstart cable manufacturer called TARA Labs (The Absolute Reference Audio Labs) came out with a product called The Space and Time Phase II. It was a very successful first product and made their reputation, partly because the name resonated with the audio geeks I think.

As usual, photos appreciated ...

A

The dial of the montblanc mystery tourbillon from last year is adorned with the words "Pure Macanique Horlogere." I also dislike when a dial is adorned with "automatic."

Great idea for a thread!
B

As you know, for on-dial verbosity none come close to the Greubel Forsey Invention #3 (great photo by Andrew - '219' -  used without express permission but with undying appreciation) -

 

 

The back ain't too shabby either!

 

Cheers,

pplater.

I have another contender... but not too much writing, just too much!!

...hands down with the Invention Piece No.3, but it started with Invention Piece No.1, where the epic adorned the back.

there is an "artistic effort";text used as decoration so,forgiveable IMHO.Mo

With too much wording.

2 examples:





An example of perfectly integrated wording?

Here you are: No too much...Just the necessary.



The integrists?

Follow me, please...

Benrus Type 1 Sterile:



Panerai Cali:



Does the lack of wording remove anything of the beauty of the watch?

I don't think so, at the contrary.

One or 2 lines are an excellent " quantity " or words on a dial, but it can go till 4 lines if harmmoniously displayed, like some Marina Militare Officine Panerai.

More than 4?

Risky, for me...

Best,

Nicolas

...Svend (front and back), not Benrus or Panerai, for his Eros series, which is more um... stimulating than the Cali, in my opinion. My favorite is the 69, which also wins for best name hehe.


My apologies to those who find this offensive. Sorry.

What charming scenes of Life you put here, my friend...

But even in this case, there is a small engraving which " ruins " a bit the ...Scene, heeerrm, I meant ..the dial:

" Geneve "...

But I agree, we couldn't say anymore that the dial was ...still virgin.



Best, my friend.

Nicolas

Oh, with all the going-ons, I didn't notice the words ha! To be honest, I hardly noticed the hands too... On a side note Nico, and with my deference to the OP of this thread for the digression (sorry Andrew), I've never happened across any watches in the Eros series for sale. What's the story there? Please PM me so as not to pull this thread further off tangent. Thanks!

... that whilst there are some standard pieces, many of the 'Eros' may be made to order, and may be made with a scene or automoton of particular significance to the owner (errrrr...so a friend once said). Perhaps that is why they so rarely leave their owners' hands?    ;-)

 

Cheers,

pplater

but I think the prize for the watch with most numbers goes to this RD Bi-Retorograde 52 Weeks Perpetual Calendar Chrono...

 Google Image

 

 

This message has been edited by Davo on 2010-02-21 03:25:15

Firstly, while it may not be bestowed with the most verbose dial in watchmaking history, nevertheless this new Polo 45 Chrono from Piaget is sufficiently lame for me to gain a perverse pleasure in singling it out for exposure in this thread -





As for long-winded model names, there is a clear favourite: the Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Watch with Audemars Piguet Escapement.





Lovely watch. I think they should have just called it Derek and left it at that.


Cheers
Tony P





This message has been edited by tony p on 2010-02-21 05:25:36

...but I actually like the new FortyFive from Piaget. 

Cheers,

Daos

. . . it's a watch I happen to love but the name is rawther long: Jules Audemars Grande et Petite Sonnerie Repetition Minutes Carillon, Reserve de Sonnerie et Dynamographe.  As it is such a lovely watch though perhaps one ought to be prepared to make allowances.

Cheers,

Jack

In my view, the most successful integration of a very long wording on a watch is VC Les Masques with Butor's poem on the dial.

And in order to illustrate this post:

"Bewitcher, I observe
the shapes of girls who pass;
my eyebrows are like a bird
ready to take wing and circle
its prey, my moustache
like a serpent ready
to strike at the least sign
of weakness or assent"



Invitation to fantasy...

obvious writing on watches.date,chronograph,automatic,power reserve,hours,minutes and so on....

One of the worst is FP Journe with" Remonitoir d egalite avec seconde morte"or the resonance dial,all this goes with "FP Journe" "Invenit et Fecit" his address date of birth ,socal security number ,and more info about the watch as "round case" "leather strap"and so on..On the back of the watch same all over again...Oh dear I like Journe  s watches but all the text always put me off.Its very patronising....please give us watch lovers some credit we know what we buy!!!!!!........."OH look if it wasnt for the writing I d never had thought I had a tourbillon on my 50 K watch!!!"Imagine for a second if the same applied on a Bentley:"door","engine",steering wheel","wheels" written all over the car.

Just my HO.....Mo

GTI 16 V Turbo on some sports cars of the 80ies...



Best,

Nicolas

Many times, the text has a design purpose: to balance the dial for example. You know, when you write "Remontoir d'égalité", it is a specificity of the caliber, it is like writing "Turbo" on the boot.

You can take a watch with a busy dial and with Photoshop you remove the words. Funny thing is that in 95% of the cases, you prefer it with the words rather then without. Because, again, they are part of the design.

Fr.Xavier

a good dial layout doesn t need much writing,only a bit if necessary(Richard lange,De Bethune 25 spring to mind....).There is always a line to be drawn and sometimes it is crossed.Just my visual opinion.Yours,Mo.

A poetic choice (poem by Michel Butor):



As busy as a page of a book:



Of course, Rolex is also well-known for its verbose dials but the words are gathered:



And I propose you a blank page to finish my post: there is no word even the brand's name on this dial !





Fr.Xavier

Craig

I've always found that giant word "Doppelfederhaus" entirely superfluous. I also dislike the "Geneve" on the bezel of the Patek 5131, not just because it is unneeded, but because the font makes it look so much like something that was comped on there in MS Paint.

I'll also put in a vote for the extra words on the new Polo subdials.

A

its not too in your face so ...forgiveable for me.Mo

It is part of the Dream, on these watches, don't you think?

Best,

Nicolas

Aeternitas Mega 4

in category most successfully without doubt
Trilogy set

in modesty category my favorite is

& thank you for another superbly interesting question
+
Dear Andrew I think that
you should write a book "1000 interesting questions about horology"
Sincerely
Damian