Earlier this year I dedicated a lot of time developing my own watch called the Phoenix Polaris. The concept originally started as a pipe dream and was realized with an enormous amount of help from Frank Heydrich. Originally I became fascinated with the project because I wanted to experience the trials and tribulations other watchmakers encounter. Certainly if you want to create something special it involves a staggering amount of time, patience and financial resources. Most ideas never see the light of day and a lot of people fall at the first hurdle. Fortunately a small percentage of exceptional artisans do follow their dreams and the results are astonishing.
As well as writing about all the exquisite timepieces on show at Basleworld I also wanted to show my Polaris to select group of watchmakers I admire. One of them is the extraordinarily talented Yvan Arpa. In the watch industry he is considered slightly eccentric (in a flattering way) because he doesn’t conform to the norm. Essentially he is renowned for his idiosyncratic designs and anything goes approach. Certainly his timepieces will not appeal to everyone and I am sure they will evoke strong opinions. However as an artist I can massively appreciate the phenomenal level of creativity and skill involved in producing one of these sublime watches.
Prior to Baselworld I had never met Yvan Arpa and only ever communicated by email. Yvan on the surface maybe does come across as a mad artistic type when in reality he is a very savvy businessman. For example he owns his own factory with fully functioning CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machines. This enables him to experiment with concepts that would normally be beyond the realms of many watchmakers. Whilst I was at the show I got to test many of his watches and was incredibly impressed with the overall quality. However they don’t even come close to the highly complicated Arabesque Tourbillon.
Visually the Arabesque Tourbillon has a wonderful gothic appearance that has been inspired by rifles used in old Hollywood western movies. Master craftsman Bram Ramon has meticulously engraved the massive (52.5mm x 40 mm x 14.4mm) titanium case. This amazing feature was very labour intensive to create (involving over 100 hours of work) and mentally challenging. To make this creation even more special the watch is also garnished with 24-karat gold elements. Other details include a wonderful decorative engraved dial, with delicate hour/minute hands and a large exposed flying tourbillon.
Powering the watch is an accomplished mechanical hand-winding movement produced in house. The Caliber comprises 19-jewels and oscillates at a frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour. Each of the components has been fastidiously hand finished and decorated including the wonderful carbon fiber bridges. This entire splendor is visibly showcased through the sapphire crystal exhibition case back. Functionally the Arabesque Tourbillon features hours, minutes and flying tourbillon. The timepiece also has a power reserve of 120-hours and is water resistant to a depth of 30 metres.
The Arabesque Tourbillon is a unique 1/1 piece and has a hand stitched black crocodile strap. Priced for the connoisseur at: 212,000 CHF (approximately $231,843).
