Turning into an international affair

 

“Hi Nick, I'm not an Australian, but I support your goal to create and nurture a future where Australian watchmaking is a viable and thriving community... Best of luck and I hope God blesses you in this endeavour. Sincerely, and with much respect, Michael W. (a satisfied subscriber) Montana, USA”  Hi Michael - Always great to hear from an overseas supporter! Your donation is appreciated. And since you are an American, this is the perfect excuse to mention two guilloche practitioners from your neck of the woods: Ronald Murphy, a veteran, and Josh Shapiro, a newcomer. We have a great relationship with Shapiro, so this is not patronizing, on the contrary - Josh is making huge progress in the field of dial making, establishing himself as a true independent American watchmaker. RGM Watch Company was founded in 1992 by American watchmaker Roland G. Murphy. It started when he was in high school working half a day for a clock company in the cabinet making wood shop. His interest in timepieces grew quickly, and in the early 1980's he enrolled in the Bowman Technical School in Lancaster, PA. In 1986, he furthered his training in Switzerland when he was accepted by WOSTEP. After WOSTEP he was hired to work in product development for Hamilton Watch Co. in Lancaster, PA. and remained there until he started RGM in 1992. As they say, the rest is history. RGM's specialty is guilloche. Here is a great short video where Ron explains differences between straight line machine and rose engine lathe. An absolute must watch: https://vimeo.com/33538356 Pay attention to Part 2 where he mentions the pattern bars. We have actually made those pattern bars for Josh Shapiro in our workshop which are of his own design, used to create his now famous basket weave pattern.   Joshua Shapiro, in his own words: "In 2013, I became captivated by the arcane art of engine-turning after reading George Daniel’s Watchmaking. For three years, I practiced engine-turning and machining, slowly acquiring better equipment and increasing in skill. In addition to creating dials for others I wanted to leave my own mark on American Horology. The Infinity Series is the manifestation of that goal. A watch that is simple, elegant, timeless, but contributes to the evolution of horology and engine-turning. The complex guilloche or engine-turning of the dial is completely done by hand, in California, using the same techniques masters of the trade have utilized for centuries, A.L. Breguet, Derek Pratt, George Daniels, and Roger Smith." And while we are on the subject: vintage rose engines are extremely hard to find. Here is an example: Holtzapffel was founded in London by French/German migrant in 1793. It was in business until 1928. During the period of 135 years, Holtzapffel and Co manufactured just over 2000 lathes, but only 15 of them were rose engines. And out of those 15, only a handful were made specifically for the watchmaking industry. Here is an example of one of the finest (last traded in 2012, for USD $228,000). To call yourself a guardian of such a unique piece of machinery is a rare privilege. Check out the link, you will be fascinated: https://plumier.org/machines/holtzapffel-no-1636/

Fine Swiss examples rarely appear on the market. I saw one in La Chaux-de-Fonds a few years ago on dealer's display with a sign 'Don't even ask'. The owner told me that he gets offers over one million on a regular basis, but he ‘would rather die than sell it’. Of course, straight line guilloche machines are simpler and more common, but taking all the above into consideration, we are lucky that we are able to 'rescue' Benzinger’ s machine here in Australia for peanuts, a mere $28,000. Once again Michael, we thank you for your support - all the way from cold Montana to sunny Sydney. And yes, the fundraising is turning into an international affair with $500 received from a watch enthusiast and Rebelde ambassador from Switzerland! Humbling indeed.  At the moment, we are well above the half-way mark, with $15,607 raised by 133 donors. I am yet to thank you all individually, but you do know that we are truly appreciative of your contribution.

Dial printing notes

 

If I had these notes 3 years ago, we could have saved time, money and quite a few sleepless nights. Since I strongly believe that one day, there will be another Australian watchmaking business in need of 'inside knowledge', I am publishing this quick version here, in order to save them time and money. Unfortunately, there is no shortcut for sleepless nights. Dial printing (transfer method) is as old as watch dials themselves. The revolution started in the early 1900s when porcelain pocket watch dials were replaced with mass-produced metal sheet dials. With the popularity of wrist watches, printed dials completely replaced all other traditionally manufactured dials. While the printed dials were used by all watch brands, due to the way watches are manufactured in Switzerland, only a handful of companies specialised in dial making. This is still the case, and to this day, only a select few are in the dial making business, specialising mainly in high value dials. The journey into dial making starts with a dial printing machine manufacturer. One industry leading company is Teca Print, located in Thayngen, literally on the Swiss / German border. Teca Print dial printing machines are used to make dials for all the top Swiss brands. They also provide all the accessories and paint, as well as the 'know how' training (AUD $1500 per day).

Good luck trying to import Swiss paint into Australia. Luckily, a suitable dial pad printing paint is already available in Australia. Look for COATES PAD PRINTING INK TP 300. You will also need thinners and hardeners. All supplied by Milford Astor.

WARNING: safety first. Understanding the hazard of dealing with paint and related chemicals is essential.  A cliché is a metal plate that 'contains' your artwork.  The production of pad printing clichés is highly complex and they are typically manufactured only by pad printing equipment suppliers. We've ordered our first cliché from Switzerland. However, we now have clichés made in Sydney. Eventually, we will have them made 'in house'.

In theory, the pad printing process is straight forward: the ink is applied to the cliché, picked up by a silicone pad, and then transferred to the watch dial. In reality, getting the process to work and then to fine tune it to perfection is an art form. Everything from temperature, humidity, cleanliness, to the exact paint formula, to timing and number of transfers is purely a matter of experimentation until a satisfying result is achieved.

To summarize: the machine, accessories and training come from Switzerland, but all the supplies including local support is available in Australia.

Top Swiss quality dial printing is within reach of an independent watchmaker. However, mastering the technique is challenging and time consuming. Except for a handful of Japanese independents, most other watchmakers are more than happy to outsource dial making to specialists. We are very proud of the fact that our MK2 Curl Curl dial is pad printed in-house and we are already looking into expanding our capabilities in this field in 2023. It goes without saying that our facility remains open to fellow Australian watchmakers. We have nothing to hide! On the contrary, it would be our pleasure to assist you in your horological project.

We have uploaded a short video to Instagram showing the Teca-Print machine in action. Here is the link, check it out: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck9PM3Ahh6J/

Another Legendary Dial

And here is another little gem. While working on 1994 Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11, I’ve noticed that the Omega dial is signed in a not before seen manner. SINGER + SINGER + SINGER. Of course, J. Singer is one of the most famous dial makers who made dials for Rolex, Omega, Breitling and many other Swiss brands, but the way this dial is signed is particularly unique.

If you have a couple of minutes to spare, here is my blog entry from 2017 about how I almost met the legend: http://nickhacko.blogspot.com/2017/08/so-what-is-your-dream.html

Your daily dose of horology: What is guilloche?

Guilloché (or Guilloche) is a decorative engraving technique in which a very precise intricate repetitive pattern or design is mechanically engraved into an underlying material with fine detail. The word is French for a pattern making tool like a geometrical lathe.

The most commonly seen guilloche is the one on bank notes. Watch dials, cases and internal components like bridges and wheels are sometimes engraved in such patterns, which is always a mark of quality.

Here is a nice example of guilloche dial: