'Manufactured in Australia' project update

 

The first batch of NH3 watches has been delivered to watch collectors in the US, Europe and Australia. Without exception, every single ambassador who has received his NH3 replied in superlatives. "It simply looks so much better than on photos". "Stunning". What more could we ask for? In a moment like this, I would usually say: Thank you, we are humbled. This time, just: Thank you very much - your support is truly appreciated. But we are not humbled. The NH3 is exactly what we have promised: manufactured in Australia, to our best ability. I am not just speaking on behalf of my team who have worked so hard for the past few years to deliver a bespoke watch you can be proud of. I am talking about our ability to push watch part manufacture to a level rarely attained by small independent watchmakers - not just in Australia, but anywhere that watches are made. Machining exotic titanium, brass and timascus alloys at the micron level, hand finishing and hand assembly are just some of processes appreciated by highly sophisticated watch collectors. It is very important to point out that those first orders came from very serious collectors, including enthusiasts who specialize in makers like Constantin Chaykin, F.P. Journe, Joshua Shapiro, Urwerk, Paul Gerber, De Bethune, MB&F and Gronefeld. The future is exciting: currently, we have more orders than we can physically take care of. Which means that we no longer provide a firm delivery date. Each watch is a unique piece which cannot be rushed.  Today we have commenced 'disassembly' of our manufacturing facility in Brookvale. As the new Kern is about to arrive and to be installed, we are now forced to halt production, move every single machine already installed, do some structural re-engineering of the available floor space, upgrade the electrical lines, and undertake long overdue maintenance on our cooling system. This is a major job that will take 2-3 months to complete. A special 'thank you' goes to our strap maker James B Young. The new crocodile strap for NH3 took quite a while to develop and deliver (the skin was sourced from an Australian supplier more than 3 years ago!) but it was surely worth it. An Australian Watch, on an Australian Crocodile strap, in an artisanal Australian Silky Oak box. It really doesn't get more Australian than that. The new crocodile strap would fit not just NH3 but all titanium case Rebelde and NH models (24mm spacing between the lugs). Extra long (to fit up to 21cm wrist) straps are in stock, price $525.

NH3 update:

Despite the many New Year wishes across the state for just the opposite, Sydney crawled over the start line for 2022 - Omicron is sweeping through the city (and country) at a ravenous pace, completely devouring any productivity brave enough to stay in it's path. Several staff members, even in our small family team, have over the Christmas break and early January been side-lined due to contraction or close contact isolation. Unfortunately this has affected both the manufacturing side of the business in Brookvale, and the assembly and testing, here in the city. However, despite the setbacks, the team in Brookvale is almost fully back on track and making the last few components required to complete our assemblies. The team in the city is now out of first gear and beginning to make a dent in the backlog of repairs, and NH3 assembly and delivery to our customers. Whilst it would be easy to give in to our own internal deadlines, we simply will not accept allocating less than one hundred percent of our energy, concentration, and perfectionist attitude to the NH3 project. If your NH3 isn't on its way already, it will be soon. Thank you to our ambassadors. The biggest compliment for us is a happy customer. Without your support in times both good and bad, we would surely not have been able to keep going.

NH3 project update

 

Finally, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  The mainplates and bridges have been manufactured, finished, and gold plated. Most screws are done as well. Dial and hands are still in progress but we have 10 sets already for assembly. And as I type this, the first 3 watches are completed, adjusted and tested, ready to go. Assuming no major interruptions, the batch of 25 pieces should be completed by the end of December. I am very pleased that we can offer more than we've promised. We are proud of the titanium guilloche dial and titanium hands - all manufactured in house.  And as a final touch to our 'manufactured in Australia' watch, the NH3 comes in an Australian Silky Oak box, hand made by woodsmith, David Deambrogio from Victoria. Like NH3, no two boxes are identical.

We are not taking orders for this batch since all pieces have been spoken for. However, if you are interested in NH3 feel free to send us an email and we'll keep it on file, just in case. Overall, 2021 has been a tough year. Thanks to COVID, Andrew and Michael have been out of action for 93 days. Delayed shipments, disruptions in supply chain and an inability to travel overseas made the project significantly more difficult. Yet thanks to your feedback and support, we are pleased with the end result.  Here is a link to a short Insta video of the first NH3 ready for delivery: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWpap_apF9S/

Gear polishing part 2

 

A little refresher in case you have forgotten part 1: The technical hurdle of polishing the teeth of the gears we make seems insurmountable. No one is around to help, our cries of anguish fall on deaf Swiss ears, the darkness approaches as we realise that our NH3 project cannot progress, alone in the void of watchmaking purgatory, we wait.... Enter James, our new toolmaker. A knight in shining... engineering overalls comes to our rescue. A micrometre in one hand, safety glasses in the other, he stands in front of the milling machine smiling - as if the impending doom of a failed project isn't looming. I explain the situation. "James, we can't polish the teeth of this gear, we can't do it manually, we can't buy a machine that will help us, and I don't know who to ask to help!" That's more or less as much as I said. A week of research: looking at photos of antique machines on the internet, scrolling through video tours of Swiss workshops frame by frame, looking through blogs and books and horological bibles. Even the great Daniels is remarkably silent about this dark art (read, he kept the secret to himself). James emerges with a concept, an idea. "Let's build this machine ourselves!" I've always wanted NHW to do this - building machines for individual, specialised tasks that would make the process of manufacturing a part easier. All the famous ateliers, from Pratt to Breguet, were littered with small desktop sized machines that helped their users execute one task and one task only, but to perfection. Some machines would only drill accurate holes, others would create a snailing pattern on a barrel lid, others would burnish the surface of a pinion to a mirror. In our case James proposed a modern take on a 1940's machine called a Prata Type 11. This machine would handle the polishing of the teeth with the ancient method of a split wooden disk that auto-indexes the gear whilst polishing the flanks with a fine abrasive paste. I felt relieved! Having a way forward meant that we could progress and make not only this specific set of parts, the ratchet and crown wheel for the NH3, but also all hardened steel gears for futures watches. But, the road would not be easy.... In fact it would only get harder. Stay tuned for Part 3. Josh

NH3 Project update

A very productive week! As I type this, the seventh NH3 mechanism is just to be assembled. Eighteen to go!  My role is assembly; as individual parts arrive from the workshop, movements are assembled and adjusted. The main problem is that I am handling components which take days to manufacture and hours to hand finish, so there is no other way but to go slowly and carefully. A slip of a screwdriver could turn a perfect part into a write-off, which does happen occasionally. Hand finished parts are quite different to handle than mass produced, mass finished parts. The other problem is deteriorating eyesight. But what really drives me crazy is that constant pursuit for perfection: under the eyeglass even the smallest imperfection is impossible to ignore. No customer would ever see such a minute imperfection, but I know it's there. Think of it as one bad pixel on a screen: invisible, until pointed out; and once seen, it becomes something that can not be unseen ever again. To be perfectly honest with you, not one evening I went home feeling completely happy and overly satisfied with my daily performance. Yet this is precisely how every honest singer, painter and sculptor must have felt about their own work. Many artists sabotaged, ruined or destroyed their artworks as a result of displeasure. Claude Monet allegedly slashed at least 30 of his water lily canvases.  On the other hand, if watchmaking was easy, then everyone would do it. There is a limit to scrutiny. No one in his right mind would go over a model's face with 10 times magnification. That would be inappropriate, disrespectful and intrusive. Even the most beautiful faces on the cover of Vogue magazine have tiny wrinkles, facial hair and pimples hidden by layers of makeup, photoshopped away.  Settling for imperfection is not just s sign of maturity. In the real world, this is the only possible outcome because perfection simply doesn't exist.

Yet, we have nothing to hide. It is all here: https://www.instagram.com/nicholashackowatch/ Under magnification, open to public scrutiny and for your enjoyment.

NH3: A major step towards true independence

What is NH3? A quick overview: a few years ago, our journey started with our 'rebelde' project—the creation of a small Australian watch brand. The second phase of this project was a desire to design and make watch components in Australia, which culminated with NH1—the first watch ever "Manufactured in Australia". This was then followed by our NH2—an exotic Timascus watch mechanism. While the NH3 follows the same blueprint, it contains even more components manufactured 'in house', including a newly-developed guilloche titanium dial and titanium hands. As such, it is a major step in our journey. What else is new? A new dial and hands are the most obvious feature of the NH3. In addition, it contains numerous components developed and machined in our workshop, especially those in the winding system. All these components required us developing and manufacturing fixtures, jigs and holding tools in-house, as well as unique processes like gear hobbing and gold plating, to name just a few. What makes the NH3 so special? Titanium guilloche as well as internal timascus parts are not just a first in Australia, but at this point in time, to our knowledge, no other watchmaker—small or large—offers such a special 'threat' to watch collectors and enthusiasts. It is also the culmination of years of research and development, or as we like to say: this is our best, most independent watch to date. Taking orders now As of August 1, 2021, we will have our first, fully working NH3 watch. We are very close to finalising our design, and mainplates and bridges are already in production. The first watches from the batch of 25 are expected to be ready for delivery in three months, with the final pieces reaching their new owners by Christmas. Our price: $A7900 including GST. To secure your watch, a 50 per cent deposit is required upfront, with balance payable before delivery. Securing your serial number If you wish to secure a particular serial number, full payment is required upfront. Numbers 02/25 to 25/25 are available on a 'first in, best dressed' basis. Technical details The NH3 features a brass gold-plated movement, manual winding, and a Timascus crown wheel 'hat'. Hand-polished screws and components are featured in the winding section. It also boasts a guilloche titanium dial and titanium hands, titanium case with see-through case back, and sapphire crystal. Case size: 45mm. The watch comes with black and brown croco calf leather straps. Water resistant to 10bar.  Power reserve 36 hours. Customization and personalization  While creating a custom guilloche pattern and hands style is a possibility, our goal is to offer the NH3 at a very attractive price. However, should you wish to have a custom guilloche dial, custom hands or hands/indices in a colour other than blue, we are happy to discuss your individual requirements. If you prefer to have the mechanism finished with rhodium rather than gold, the additional rhodium plating process would cost A$500 per watch.  Please keep in mind that custom watches will require full payment upfront and will be subject to additional manufacturing and assembly time. Ready to order? The best way to place your order is via email: nick@clockmaker.com.au Placing your order sooner rather than later is appreciated. Our watchmaking machining capabilities are shared with other contract manufacturing projects. For that reason, even under 'normal' conditions, machine time allocation has to be planned at least two months in advance. As always, we appreciate your support for 'Manufactured in Australia'. Thank you for your patronage.

The River of Life

For those who follow our NH3 project: a major break-through. Last night Josh completed the first successful guilloche dial blank in Titanium. This is a quite big deal for a number of reasons: the guilloche pattern generation and creation is no longer a mystery - we now have a very good understanding of how guilloche 'works'. Also, we are able to shape the profile of the carbide cutter to create perfect cuts. Thirdly, we are very pleased with the fact that the guilloche in titanium is not just possible, but the end result is eye-pleasing. Guilloche is a different kind of cutting process to milling or engraving because the cutter is scribing the surface, forming a constant and consistent chip. The sharpness and edge quality of the cutting tool directly correlates to the finish of the pattern. The pattern in high grade guilloche should be a mirror finish. Cutting a mirror finish in brass, silver or gold is relatively easy, but guilloche in titanium is very difficult - almost unheard of.   Quite frankly, we don't know of any other watchmaker who offers titanium guilloche dials so this is, at the very least, another 'first in Australia' for NHW.   The dial numerals, batons and maker's name plate are next - so sooner or later, perhaps in a month or two, we will have a complete in-house titanium guilloche dial.   Josh said that the dial pattern on this particular dial reminds him of 'the waves of Curl Curl beach'. Curl Curl is the closest beach to our workshop, at a distance of precisely 1970 meters. Its name is derived from the Aboriginal "Curial Curial" meaning river of life.   If you happen to know of any other Ti-guilloche dial project, please do let us know.   Like to learn more about the project? Here is a link to yesterday's recording of dial making in progress: https://youtu.be/buYhCUHwtgQ

An Annual General Meeting - all welcome

We owe you. It has been 13 months since the last project update - and you, our loyal supporters, have the right to know what is going on with our 'Manufactured in Australia' project.   The past year was tough, and as I type this, the future is equally uncertain. This is true for any business - small or large; and especially so for start-ups and micro brands who run on dreams while burning hard earned cash.   The title of our live stream is "How to make a watch without going bankrupt". The question mark at the end of sentence is intentionally omitted. This is not a question we would be asking ourselves. It is a statement, company credo and a policy.   Josh, Andrew and I will do our best to present you with the facts and answer all of your questions in real time, unscripted. As we call it: Horology Live and Uncut.   Check out the YouTube video:   https://youtu.be/g3OLSr9JqIw

NH3 project update

The main 'body' of the watch has been assembled last Friday. The components you see on the photo have been manufactured entirely in our workshop - all except the ruby jewels. The 3/4 bridge has been finished with our custom design 'woven guilloche', straight graining, anglage (chamfering), and high gloss black polish. With another 'all time, in house first', the gold plating. Gold plating is a trade in itself, getting an even surface layer that will not interfere with tolerances, neither to thin or too thick, without any blemish is quite a challenge. But we've got it! The next step in the project is the manufacturing of our crown wheel, ratchet wheel, click and click spring. Stay tuned for more! At this stage we are not sure about dial and hands, but the movement will be cased in a 45mm titanium case, the same one as with the previous NH1 and NH2 Timascus models. NH3 will contain the most number of Australian made watch parts, in house gold plating and unique finishes. In other words, it will be our "most Australian made" watch ever. Right now we are not taking orders because the final price is still to be worked out. Our price target is $5,900 for standard dial and hands, and $8,900 for our own in house dial and hands. The total production run will be 25 watches. Expressions of interest are welcome, but no orders yet. Thank you for your ongoing support.

You can find more about NH3 on our Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/nicholashackowatch/