Marcus Hanke[PuristSPro Moderator]
11515
Baselworld 2011: The (last) big PuristSPro report - Antoine Martin
May 16, 2011,12:26 PM
Basel 2011 Novelty report
Antoine Martin
by Marcus Hanke
While
the brand “Antoine Martin” is absolutely new, the man behind it is
already an oldtimer within the watch business: Martin Braun, developer
and producer of complicated timepieces since thirty years, had earned an
excellent reputation with the watches sold under his own name.
Especially the “Eos” model, a watch with the astronomical display of
sunrise and sunset, became his milestone piece.
What happened
then, was a story that is almost typical for that industry: his further
expansion was compromised by countless difficulties: to make suppliers
accepting and executing orders for dials, cases, crystals etc. in the
desired amount and quality, needs the power of a big group behind
oneself, the same need dictates the search for new distributors, and so
on. Consequently, Franck Muller’s Watchland-Group appeared to be the
ideal partner, for which Martin Braun even relocated his production
facility in 2007. However, the union proved to be rather unlucky, so
Braun put the brakes on and left the group; leaving behind his company,
his patents and above all, his brand name. In this respect he shared the
fate of many other famous watchmakers, as Gérald Genta and Daniel Roth.
What
was left with him was his long experience and inventiveness. Together
with his new partner, Antoine Meier, Braun founded a new company in
Switzerland, near Lucerne. The combiantion of their two forenames
resulted in the new brand name, “Antoine Martin”.
At this year’s
Basel fair, the newcomer brand already presented its first, very special
piece: the model “Quantième Perpetuel QP01” is a perpetual calendar,
based ona brand new and self developed and produced handwinding
movement.
The
movement cal. AM 39.001 has been developed by Braun, emphasizing
aesthetic aspects as well as modern state-of-the-art technology. What
fascinates me so much, is the dedicated tie with the traditional formula
one of watchmaking, the observatory chronometers. Braun wanted a
movement, sporting a large and relatively slow oscillating balance
wheel, but that offers long-term accuracy and stability, by using modern
materials and calculations.
This movement really deserves that I
explain it in all aspects in a separate article, which is why I
concentrate on the watch based on it right now.
The marked contact between escape wheel and pallet fork already offers a hint of why this movement is so special
Due
to the large movement used, the QP01 is a very large watch. Indeed, its
diameter of 46 mm might make it the largest perpetual calendar in the
wristwatch market. Even IWC’s Portugieser perpetual is nearly two
millimeters smaller.
While the first, apparently
computer-originated illustrations showed a very busy dial design, the
real piece in hand looks much less so. The various elements of the dials
even harmonise with each other. However, the interaction of guilloche,
stamped and embossed elements, visible screw heads and window frames
need some time to get used to.
The
calendar indications are rather orthodox, with a two disk big date at
6, cutout windows for weekday and month in the upper part of the dial, a
day-/night-subdial at 9 and a leap year indication at 12. The only
unconventional design is the vertical alignment of the weekday and month
displays.
The
massive case consists or more than 80 parts and does not rank behind
the dial in terms of complexity. The caseback surprises by its sapphire
cutout window, that only permits a view on the giant balance wheel with
17.5 mm diameter, the regulation mechanism, and a power reserve
indication (six days). The rest of the movement hides behind a massive
lid.
It is noticeable that the movement finish varies according to the case material
The
perpetual calendar is offered in 18k white and pink gold, but there is
also a black, DLC-coated steel variant. The latter has a more or less
completely blackened dial, which does not really enhance its legibility,
but serves the current fashion. Prices vary from 50,000 to 72,000
Swiss Franks.
Several
dial designs were shown, maybe not all will make it into series
production, such as the red calendar indications. It all depends on the
demand.
Please note that even the shock protection's clamp is matching the overall colour scheme of the watch!
Overall,
though, this watch is certainly a great market entry for the brand
Antoine Martin. Later this year, a version with a new selfwinding
movement shall follow.
With this presentation of a new brand I complete my series of this year's Basel reports. Hopefully, you enjoyed them.
Regards,
Marcus
This message has been edited by Marcus Hanke on 2011-05-16 12:26:37 This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2011-05-18 16:30:08