6 ms·

A Russian Gains Prominence Among Fine Watchmakers

83 points by admp 14y ago

gamegoblin 14y ago
I have such great admiration for these sorts of hackers. I really do love advanced clockwork (the Dr. Who episode with the clockwork ship crew that goes back to capture Madame de Pompadour comes to mind). Clockwork is, to me, the essence of hardware. As an aside, it would be extremely cool if someone (maybe I would try my hand at it in the future) could create a sort of Hardware Description Language for clockwork, the same way we have VHDL and Verilog for circuits.
ImprovedSilence 14y ago
Just this past year I started to get an interest in watches. These watches of his look fantastic, I love the independent watch styles.
cdjk 14y ago
For those interested in watches, the book "Watchmaking" by George Daniels is an interesting read. It's very technical, but covers in great detail all the steps necessary to make a watch, including some complications.
- andrewgleave 14y ago
  I built a simple site for George in 2008. Nice guy, died last year. I took a video of his co-axial escapement model a couple of years ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMWpT-MniFo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMWpT-MniFo
bhauer 14y ago
The Levitas watch referred to on the second page: http://watchpaper.ru/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Konstantin-Chaykin-2011.jpg http://watchpaper.ru/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Konstantin-C... Impressive. And not because of the crapton of diamonds.
- fduran 14y ago
  See also http://www.konstantin-chaykin.com/chaykin/collections/watches/levitas#watchGallery http://www.konstantin-chaykin.com/chaykin/collections/watche...
fduran 14y ago
Another self-taught watchmaker with some beautiful pieces http://www.pita.es/jsp/thewatches.jsp http://www.pita.es/jsp/thewatches.jsp
aleyan 14y ago
I wonder what direction watch making will take in the future. As small scale manufacturing is being transformed by 3D printing in general, could there be analogous impact in watch making from cheaper automated precision milling machines? Imagine an amateur downloading some vanilla clock movement CAD designs; personalizing them to an extend he feels comfortable; and have the parts printed/milled/laser cut offsite for traditional assembly at home. Without being knowledgeable in watchmaking, this sounds like a fraction of the effort that is presently required to make a custom watch.
- dfc 14y ago
  I do not see why you think cheaper precision milling is going to create an environment where making a watch requires a fraction of the effort. In order for that to be the case the biggest impediment to making a watch would be the cost of production. Do you think its relatively effortless to understand and modify a basic watch design? Do you think "traditional assembly at home" is going to be easy? I think "being knowledgeable" in watchmaking is a prerequisite for an amateur to personalize the movements to any extent. I highly doubt that many people are going to download watch designs and go nuts and add 5 or 10 new complications that they have always wanted on a watch but could never afford.
  - aleyan 14y ago
    I was thinking more along the lines of customizing the watch face for the amateurs. Downloading the movement probably isn't required as completed movements should be available for purchase. For experts, yes, they should be able to customize their movements and go nuts. My original post all comes down to lowering the barrier to entry, making existing things possible with less effort, and increasing the iteration speed for very hard and experimental things. PS. Of course you have to be "knowledgeable" in watch making to pull any of this off. The "without being knowledge" in the original post referred to me commenting on the topic without any specialized knowledge rather than the hypothetical amateur doing things willy-nilly.
    - dfc 14y ago
Semaphor 14y ago
> While most of the Western world divides the day into two halves — a.m. and p.m. I'm not sure if that's only a German thing but I think it's that way in most of Europe.
- notatoad 14y ago
  I believe Germany (and most of europe) counts as part of the western world.
  - Semaphor 14y ago
    Yeah, ambiguous wording on my part, sorry. I meant that we don't divide the day in just two halves.
- Aloisius 14y ago
  “Typical ways to describe time in Russian include phrases such as ‘I woke up at 7 in the morning’ or ‘I will stop by at 2 in the afternoon’ or ‘Someone was making a lot of noise at 11 at night,”’ Mr. Chaykin said. All of these I use myself (in California). Are there languages/cultures where this isn't the case? In addition, I'll add "6 in the evening" (early night) and "woke up at dawn" (early morning). If thinking of the day in more than 2 parts epitomizes being Russian, then most of my fellow Californians (and likely my fellow Americans), are going to be very confused.
  - wglb 14y ago
    Ham Radio culture uses 24-hour time; military also. And if you look at my smartphone you will see that as well.
  - yco 14y ago
    The difference is that in Russian the division into 4 parts is more formal. In the same sense as in English the 24 hours are divided into am / pm, in Russian it's divided to morning/afternoon/evening/night. The formal name for 2 a.m. in English is "2 in the morning". But you just can't say "2 in the morning" in Russian - this wouldn't make any sense. You can only say "2 in the night".
Steko 14y ago
Another unlikely watchmaker, Dan Spitz from Anthrax: http://www.hodinkee.com/interview-meet-dan-spitz-anthrax-guitarist-turned-master-watchmaker http://www.hodinkee.com/interview-meet-dan-spitz-anthrax-gui... edit: lol
- alanctgardner2 14y ago
  He seems exceptionally talented at damn near everything. It's too bad he never got the urge to do comp sci, or we'd have a proof for P=NP by now.
kqr2 14y ago
Professor Gerald Sussman of MIT put together this great video on an electrical engineer's view of a mechanical watch: http://video.mit.edu/watch/an-electrical-engineering-view-of-a-mechanical-watch-9035/ http://video.mit.edu/watch/an-electrical-engineering-view-of...
martinced 14y ago
I bought a very nice mechanical watch today (in-house movement, 3 complications, pink gold). There was something immensely good about buying a pure mechanical device in this crazy 0's and 1's world. Even if it was build thanks to amazing technologies, including computers and advanced software, the end product is still 100% mechanical. And this timeless masterpiece should still be working perfectly long after all the electronic junk I'm using today shall be forgotten ; )
delinka 14y ago
If this is one of those "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" industries, I'll just buy a Casio. Why can't we get prices on these damn watch websites? I'm willing to spend money on a watch, but I'm not willing to wade through a phone call (or worse, give you my contact information and await your callback...)
- Evbn 14y ago
  Why, would you consider placing an order to buy a watch from the website without further consultation?
  - delinka 14y ago
    Indeed. Especially with a liberal return/exchange policy.
- oijaf888 14y ago
  Since they are all hand made I assume its more like wanting to buy some custom art, you don't just go on ebay and pick the first thing you see, you talk with the artist about what you desire in it. Based on that I bet the price changes. If you want a platinum face to your watch I'm sure he can accommodate.
  - delinka 14y ago
    They may be handmade, but the sites display predesigned models. Even if they're handmade to order (i.e. they don't keep inventory), I expect to get the watch shown. Is it too much to ask for even a range? Is that a $500 watch? $10,000? Should I only consider buying one after I've paid cash for a Lamborghini?
xorgar831 14y ago
Patek Philippe, makes some extraordinary time pieces and has a museum: http://www.patekmuseum.com/ http://www.patekmuseum.com/ Edit: Also, http://www.patek.com/ http://www.patek.com/
Ras_ 14y ago
I was rather surprised to read* that neighbor Finland is actually responsible for the largest community of foreign watchmakers working in Swiss industry. 30 overall; names like Kari Voutilainen and Stepan Sarpaneva. [*] http://www.worldtempus.com/fr/actualites/a-la-une/detail/article/1245757216-metiers-la-finland-connection/ http://www.worldtempus.com/fr/actualites/a-la-une/detail/art... Here's a great background piece on School of Watchmaking, est. 1944 near Helsinki: http://www.tp178.com/wsw/ahci/fin_wmschool/article_01.htm http://www.tp178.com/wsw/ahci/fin_wmschool/article_01.htm

83 points by admp 14y ago

I have such great admiration for these sorts of hackers. I really do love advanced clockwork (the Dr. Who episode with the clockwork ship crew that goes back to capture Madame de Pompadour comes to mind). Clockwork is, to me, the essence of hardware. As an aside, it would be extremely cool if someone (maybe I would try my hand at it in the future) could create a sort of Hardware Description Language for clockwork, the same way we have VHDL and Verilog for circuits.

ImprovedSilence 14y ago

Just this past year I started to get an interest in watches. These watches of his look fantastic, I love the independent watch styles.

cdjk 14y ago

For those interested in watches, the book "Watchmaking" by George Daniels is an interesting read. It's very technical, but covers in great detail all the steps necessary to make a watch, including some complications.

andrewgleave 14y ago
I built a simple site for George in 2008. Nice guy, died last year. I took a video of his co-axial escapement model a couple of years ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMWpT-MniFo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMWpT-MniFo

bhauer 14y ago

The Levitas watch referred to on the second page: http://watchpaper.ru/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Konstantin-Chaykin-2011.jpg http://watchpaper.ru/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Konstantin-C... Impressive. And not because of the crapton of diamonds.

fduran 14y ago
See also http://www.konstantin-chaykin.com/chaykin/collections/watches/levitas#watchGallery http://www.konstantin-chaykin.com/chaykin/collections/watche...

fduran 14y ago

Another self-taught watchmaker with some beautiful pieces http://www.pita.es/jsp/thewatches.jsp http://www.pita.es/jsp/thewatches.jsp

aleyan 14y ago

I wonder what direction watch making will take in the future. As small scale manufacturing is being transformed by 3D printing in general, could there be analogous impact in watch making from cheaper automated precision milling machines? Imagine an amateur downloading some vanilla clock movement CAD designs; personalizing them to an extend he feels comfortable; and have the parts printed/milled/laser cut offsite for traditional assembly at home. Without being knowledgeable in watchmaking, this sounds like a fraction of the effort that is presently required to make a custom watch.

dfc 14y ago
I do not see why you think cheaper precision milling is going to create an environment where making a watch requires a fraction of the effort. In order for that to be the case the biggest impediment to making a watch would be the cost of production. Do you think its relatively effortless to understand and modify a basic watch design? Do you think "traditional assembly at home" is going to be easy? I think "being knowledgeable" in watchmaking is a prerequisite for an amateur to personalize the movements to any extent. I highly doubt that many people are going to download watch designs and go nuts and add 5 or 10 new complications that they have always wanted on a watch but could never afford.
- aleyan 14y ago
  I was thinking more along the lines of customizing the watch face for the amateurs. Downloading the movement probably isn't required as completed movements should be available for purchase. For experts, yes, they should be able to customize their movements and go nuts. My original post all comes down to lowering the barrier to entry, making existing things possible with less effort, and increasing the iteration speed for very hard and experimental things. PS. Of course you have to be "knowledgeable" in watch making to pull any of this off. The "without being knowledge" in the original post referred to me commenting on the topic without any specialized knowledge rather than the hypothetical amateur doing things willy-nilly.
  - dfc 14y ago

Semaphor 14y ago

> While most of the Western world divides the day into two halves — a.m. and p.m. I'm not sure if that's only a German thing but I think it's that way in most of Europe.

notatoad 14y ago
I believe Germany (and most of europe) counts as part of the western world.
- Semaphor 14y ago
  Yeah, ambiguous wording on my part, sorry. I meant that we don't divide the day in just two halves.
Aloisius 14y ago
“Typical ways to describe time in Russian include phrases such as ‘I woke up at 7 in the morning’ or ‘I will stop by at 2 in the afternoon’ or ‘Someone was making a lot of noise at 11 at night,”’ Mr. Chaykin said. All of these I use myself (in California). Are there languages/cultures where this isn't the case? In addition, I'll add "6 in the evening" (early night) and "woke up at dawn" (early morning). If thinking of the day in more than 2 parts epitomizes being Russian, then most of my fellow Californians (and likely my fellow Americans), are going to be very confused.
- wglb 14y ago
  Ham Radio culture uses 24-hour time; military also. And if you look at my smartphone you will see that as well.
- yco 14y ago
  The difference is that in Russian the division into 4 parts is more formal. In the same sense as in English the 24 hours are divided into am / pm, in Russian it's divided to morning/afternoon/evening/night. The formal name for 2 a.m. in English is "2 in the morning". But you just can't say "2 in the morning" in Russian - this wouldn't make any sense. You can only say "2 in the night".

Steko 14y ago

Another unlikely watchmaker, Dan Spitz from Anthrax: http://www.hodinkee.com/interview-meet-dan-spitz-anthrax-guitarist-turned-master-watchmaker http://www.hodinkee.com/interview-meet-dan-spitz-anthrax-gui... edit: lol

alanctgardner2 14y ago
He seems exceptionally talented at damn near everything. It's too bad he never got the urge to do comp sci, or we'd have a proof for P=NP by now.

kqr2 14y ago

Professor Gerald Sussman of MIT put together this great video on an electrical engineer's view of a mechanical watch: http://video.mit.edu/watch/an-electrical-engineering-view-of-a-mechanical-watch-9035/ http://video.mit.edu/watch/an-electrical-engineering-view-of...

martinced 14y ago

I bought a very nice mechanical watch today (in-house movement, 3 complications, pink gold). There was something immensely good about buying a pure mechanical device in this crazy 0's and 1's world. Even if it was build thanks to amazing technologies, including computers and advanced software, the end product is still 100% mechanical. And this timeless masterpiece should still be working perfectly long after all the electronic junk I'm using today shall be forgotten ; )

delinka 14y ago

If this is one of those "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" industries, I'll just buy a Casio. Why can't we get prices on these damn watch websites? I'm willing to spend money on a watch, but I'm not willing to wade through a phone call (or worse, give you my contact information and await your callback...)

Evbn 14y ago
Why, would you consider placing an order to buy a watch from the website without further consultation?
- delinka 14y ago
  Indeed. Especially with a liberal return/exchange policy.
oijaf888 14y ago
Since they are all hand made I assume its more like wanting to buy some custom art, you don't just go on ebay and pick the first thing you see, you talk with the artist about what you desire in it. Based on that I bet the price changes. If you want a platinum face to your watch I'm sure he can accommodate.
- delinka 14y ago
  They may be handmade, but the sites display predesigned models. Even if they're handmade to order (i.e. they don't keep inventory), I expect to get the watch shown. Is it too much to ask for even a range? Is that a $500 watch? $10,000? Should I only consider buying one after I've paid cash for a Lamborghini?

xorgar831 14y ago

Patek Philippe, makes some extraordinary time pieces and has a museum: http://www.patekmuseum.com/ http://www.patekmuseum.com/ Edit: Also, http://www.patek.com/ http://www.patek.com/

Ras_ 14y ago

I was rather surprised to read* that neighbor Finland is actually responsible for the largest community of foreign watchmakers working in Swiss industry. 30 overall; names like Kari Voutilainen and Stepan Sarpaneva. [*] http://www.worldtempus.com/fr/actualites/a-la-une/detail/article/1245757216-metiers-la-finland-connection/ http://www.worldtempus.com/fr/actualites/a-la-une/detail/art... Here's a great background piece on School of Watchmaking, est. 1944 near Helsinki: http://www.tp178.com/wsw/ahci/fin_wmschool/article_01.htm http://www.tp178.com/wsw/ahci/fin_wmschool/article_01.htm