Let’s drill down on that for a moment Andreas. You have explained very well how and why you feel that the La Tradition is *about* being a machine. You mention the self-reference of the design, but of course there are very few watches or brands that have sufficient history to be as self-referential as Breguet. Others must draw on cues from different sources and this is perhaps where we find the crossover with machines other than watches or clocks. Vianney Halter’s watches frequently draw comparison with marine equipment – controls from Captain Nemo’s “Nautilus”. The Freak turns things upside down – the design doesn’t contain the mechanism; its mechanism (cogs, wheels, bridges) becomes its design. Other watches do the same:
What other watches can you nominate which are all *about* being machines, and what is it about them that makes you say that?
Those poetic astrological watches of Oechslin (and van der Klaauw)? What a lovely turn of phrase, by the way! The concept of those watches is as important as their execution, as they do not so much depend for their being upon an abstract concept (i.e. time), they are machines referencing other machines – in some cases, quite ancient ones.
But this is somewhat to digress, as these are watches which are far from ‘elemental’, simple, primitive tellers of time. These are art, surely, but more so science.
As is the MIH. Never mind the finish: a machine with the minimum necessary number of parts of the simplest construction and of materials best suited to the acquittal of its function. It doesn’t get much better – from a philosophical perspective, that is.
What was particularly thought-provoking was your high praise of the Resonance in this context, a watch whose level of finish and finesse would not immediately call to mind the descriptor of ‘machine’. Can it be that the Resonance (with its twin dials, twin subdials, two sets of hands, two balance wheels etc) appeals to another facet of our intuition, i.e. man’s innate preference for symmetry? Conversely, are we repelled by an absence of symmetry? How do you feel about eccentric dials? Amorphic cases? Intermixed numerals?
Still much to ponder in your post Andreas, thanks.
Cheers,
pplater.