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/

To Jim, from Dad & Mum - Christmas 1934

 

Broken and discarded, then found by Jim's grandson, this 1930s Swiss A.S. watch is now ready for a new lease of life. Without any doubt this was the most difficult restoration project so far.  A. Schild S.A. was a watch movement maker operating from the 1890s through to the 1970s. Adolph Schild began producing watch movements Grenchen, Solothurn after 1896. Schild produced many different movements and became one of the largest movement makers in Switzerland by the 1920s. Schild movements were used by many manufacturers in the 1950s through 1970s, including such familiar names as Harwood, Fortis, Enicar, and even Jaeger-LeCoultre. The quartz crisis of the 1970s hit Schild especially hard, as inexpensive Japanese and quartz watches cut into the market for volume-produced three-handed watches. By 1979, in order to survive the Japanese onslaught, Schild merged with ETA. What made this restoration painful is the fact that there was not a single component that was not either affected by rust, broken, out of shape or simply worn out. Thanks to two other AS554 donor movements, the end result was luckily a success. Make sure to watch until the very end to see what's coming next! Check it out here: https://youtu.be/iJv5vGt2Us0