A few posts ago, I published a few of Michel’s “Le Garde Temps, la Naissance d’une Montre” sketches from his notebook.

Michel’s notebook plays such an important role in the adventure, such it is worth its own post.

It reminds me of the inseparable notepad that we journalists use to take notes each day. For Michel, it is more than that since it brings together everything which has come into his mind – ideas, reflections and research – on both the functional and aesthetic considerations. It represents a wealth of information that, whether they are used or discarded, will hopefully provide you with an insight into the different options that Michel has at his disposal while creating the timepiece. Always in his hand, the notebook is a daily testament to the creative process!Michel often rereads his notebook and writes up on his computer the most interesting elements, such as the different techniques he is learning, so forming a comprehensive horological archive. This digital document is ultimately more structured, more coherent than the notebook.

Let’s not forget that Michael is a watchmaking teacher, so he is putting into practice the triumvirate: learn, understand and explain.

Come back soon for the next part of the adventure,

Nicolas Maillechort

——

Le cahier d’atelier

Bonjour,

Je mentionnais précédemment le cahier de Michel duquel j’ai extrait certains croquis du projet qui nous occupe.

Ce cahier mérite qu’on s’y attarde et que l’on consacre un papier sur son rôle primordial. Il me fait penser à l’inséparable SténoBloc que nous, journalistes, utilisons quotidiennement pour consigner nos prises de notes.

Pour Michel, il représente plus que cela puisqu’il y rapporte TOUS les éléments qui lui passent par la tête, idées, réflexions, recherches tant esthétiques que fonctionnelles. Cela représente une véritable mine de renseignements qui permettra je l’espère de vous présenter les différentes options que Michel envisage pour la création de son garde-temps, solutions retenues ou non. Toujours à portée de main, le cahier d’atelier est donc le vrai témoin quotidien du processus créatif !

Michel relit souvent son cahier d’atelier et informatise tous les éléments qui ont le plus d’intérêt à ses yeux, tels que les différentes techniques qu’il apprend en vue de l’inventaire historique. Ce document numérique est au final plus structuré et plus documenté. N’oublions pas que Michel est professeur d’horlogerie : il met donc en pratique les trois verbes apprendre, comprendre et expliquer !

A bientôt pour la suite de l’aventure,

Nicolas Maillechort 

Hello everyone,

Michel has worked on the positioning of the different gears that will make up the gear train of the movement. Last week, I published a a sketch showing the flow of energy from the barrel through the centre and third wheels to the regulating organ (escapement). Unusually, neither the hour nor the minutes will be driven directly from this gear train. Quite bizarre!

Michel showed me his notebook in which he is recording all his ideas and sketches. And it all suddenly became much clearer: The “distribution” of energy will also flow to the right side of the movement in a series of gears that will allow hours and minutes to be indicated.

“As for the seconds, we can put them directly on the tourbillon,” said Michel mischievously. “Because it will make a full revolution every sixty seconds, it will be ideal for indicating the seconds!”

Michel added that the option of the additional gear train has been chosen so as to place the hour and minute dials off centre.

Stay tuned for the next episode of the adventure,

Nicolas Maillechort

Le train de rouage

Bonjour à tous,

Michel a travaillé sur le positionnement des différents rouages qui vont composer son garde-temps. La semaine passée, je vous ai présenté un croquis sur lequel on observait l’énergie du barillet qui se déversait dans une roue de grande moyenne et une roue de moyenne pour finalement arriver à l’organe réglant. Or ni les heures ni les minutes ne sortiront de ce train de rouage ! Bizarre… Michel me présente son cahier d’atelier dans lequel il note toutes ses idées et les croquis d’intention. Et là, c’est soudain plus clair : la « distribution » d’énergie se fera aussi sur la partie droite de la montre, dans une série de rouages qui permettront d’indiquer les heures et les minutes. « Quant aux secondes, on pourra les prendre directement sur le tourbillon, précise malicieusement Michel. Comme il tournera en une minute, il servira idéalement à indiquer la seconde ! » Il ajoute encore que l’option du train de rouage supplémentaire a été retenue afin de décentrer le cadran des heures et minutes.

A bientôt pour la suite de l’aventure,

Nicolas Maillechort

We are now getting into the heart of the matter: How does Michel Boulanger go about creating his timepiece? Now that the main parameters have been established, Michel begins by drawing the initial sketches, on which he has laid out different functional elements of the timepiece.

The first of these is the tourbillon, a major element that Michel has instinctively chosen to place at 6 o’clock because, he says, “it seemed really quite natural”. He has given it the largest possible diameter, slightly smaller than the radius of the movement. At this stage, the choice of displaying central or offset hours and minutes is still up for discussion.

As for the main spring barrel, it has been placed around 12 o’clock, opposite the tourbillon. The connection between these two components is determined by the gear train, consisting of two gears, the “centre wheel and the “third wheel”.

But for now, nothing is yet definitive as regards the final layout: This first step just lays the concrete and realistic foundations for the future timepiece.

And since a picture is worth a thousand words, I have attached an explanatory sketch to this blog post.

Nicolas Maillechort

Bonjour à tous !

Nous entrons aujourd’hui dans le vif du sujet : comment s’y prend Michel Boulanger pour faire naître son garde-temps ? Le cahier des charges de principe étant maintenant établi, il commence par dessiner l’esquisse conceptuelle, sur laquelle il dispose les différents éléments fonctionnels du garde-temps.

Le premier de ceux-ci est le tourbillon, élément majeur qu’il choisit instinctivement de positionner à 6 heures « car cela m’a paru tout à fait naturel », déclare l’intéressé. Il lui donne le plus grand diamètre possible, taille dont la valeur est légèrement inférieure au rayon du mouvement. A ce stade, le choix de l’affichage des heures et minutes déporté ou central fait encore l’objet de discussions.

Quant au barillet, il a été positionné vers midi, en opposition au tourbillon. La liaison entre ces deux composants est établie par le train de rouage de finissage, composé de deux roues, la « grande moyenne » et la « moyenne ».

Mais pour l’instant, rien n’est définitif dans la disposition finale: cette première étape pose juste les bases concrètes et réalistes du futur garde-temps.

Et comme un bon dessin vaut mieux qu’un long discours, je joins à ce billet un croquis explicatif.

Nicolas Maillechort

Back to the topic of the day. A few days ago I mentioned that of utmost importance in this project is the preservation of valuable manual watchmaking techniques that are essential to create a ‘hand-made’ watch.

This adventure consists of compiling these techniques, which are danger of disappearing, and perpetuating them, highlighting the fact that we are still able to create a watch by hand, using simple tools.

Robert Greubel, Stephen Forsey and Philippe Dufour state that:

1. The creation of the timepiece will be carried out using simple and rudimentary tools: For example, a watchmaker’s lathe (un tour d’horloger), a milling-machine (une fraiseuse), a pointing machine (une pointeuse), an uprighting tool (un perce-droit), or a mandrel (un burin fixe). 
2. The initial sketches and drawings of the movement will be done in pencil. However, the final designs will be carried out on a computer.
3. The timepiece will be entirely hand-made by Michel Boulanger who will be given all the necessary support and training.

I look forward to following Michel in these coming weeks! Are you familiar with all the tools mentioned above? Not me! That’s why I am going to and find out about them. I’ll then share the fruits of my research with you.

See you very soon!

Nicolas Maillechort

Un grand bonjour depuis un très bel endroit : Lignières en Suisse où le temps est redevenu de saison. Je vous ai d’ailleurs fait une mini galerie photo que vous trouverez également sur la timeline.

Revenons au sujet du jour. Je vous parlais il y a quelques jours de l’importance dans ce projet de la sauvegarde de certaines techniques horlogères du « fait main ». Cette aventure a d’abord pour mission d’inventorier, puis de perpétuer ces techniques promises à l’oubli. Il mettra en avant le fait de pouvoir être encore capable demain de réaliser une montre à la main, avec des outils simples.

Robert Greubel, Stephen Forsey et Philippe Dufour déclarent que:

1. La réalisation du garde-temps se fera avec un outillage rudimentaire et simple : un tour d’horloger, une fraiseuse, une pointeuse, un perce-droit, un burin fixe, etc.
2. L’esquisse conceptuelle et les dessins du mouvement seront réalisés au crayon. Par contre, les plans définitifs se feront sur ordinateur.
3. Le garde-temps sera entièrement réalisé à la main par Michel Boulanger avec tout le soutien et la formation nécessaire.

Je me réjouis de suivre Michel ces prochains temps ! Est-ce que vous connaissez tous les outils précités ? Moi pas ! Je vais rapidement aller me renseigner et partager avec vous le résultat de mes recherches.

A très bientôt !

Nicolas Maillechort

The photos below are some of the tools Michel is using. He has taken all the photos except the one of Philippe Dufour’s perce-droit / uprighting tool, which is from the magazine Watch Around.
Michel Boulanger a photographié quelques uns de ses outils, sauf le perce-droit de Philippe Dufour, photographié par le magazine watch around.

This, my second blog post, looks at the at the basic parameters of the timepiece that Michel Boulanger will make for the “Le Garde Temps, la Naissance d’une Montre” adventure.

Robert Greubel, Philippe Dufour, Stephen Forsey and Michel have defined the principle features of the timepiece and I have the pleasure of revealing them to you for the first time below:

1. Michel will make a round wristwatch – very pure, very classical

2. This watch will have three hands – hour, minute and small seconds.

3.  The movement will be manual winding with the crown positioned at 3 o’clock.

4. The architecture will be in the style of watches made during the Golden Age of horology – the 19th century – by watchmakers such as Jacques-Frédéric Houriet or Abraham-Louis Breguet.

5. The timepiece will feature a tourbillon escapement, a classic complication requiring the utmost skill when made by hand.     

6. This tourbillon will have the largest diameter possible to maximise the visual splendour of this complication.     

7. The timepiece will feature an off-centre subdial indicating hours and minutes and another subdial indicating small seconds rather than a full central dial. This will maximise the visibility and the appreciation of the mechanism.     

8. The finishing of each element of the timepiece will be of particular importance because it plays a significant role in safeguarding traditional and ancestral techniques. In times gone by, watchmakers wanted the bienfacture – the craftsmanship – of each part to be perfect, without aesthetic decoration as practiced today.    

This all bodes well for a great adventure – the bar has been set high, setting our imaginations racing as to what the timepiece will look like!

Best regards,

Nicolas Maillechort

Bonjour à toutes et tous, voici mon deuxième billet qui renseigne sur le cahier des charges du garde-temps.

Robert Greubel, Philippe Dufour, Stephen Forsey et Michel Boulanger ont établi ensemble les caractéristiques principales du garde-temps à réaliser. Les voici maintenant finalisées et je vous les offre en primeur : 

1. Michel devra réaliser une montre-bracelet de forme ronde, très épurée…
2. …comportant un mouvement trois aiguilles à remontage manuel, la couronne étant positionnée à 3h00.
3. L’architecture se voudra très « mécanique horlogère », s’inscrivant dans la grande tradition des horlogers du XIX^e s. tels que Jacques-Frédéric Houriet ou Abraham-Louis Breguet.
4. Ce garde-temps sera doté d’un mécanisme à  tourbillon, complication de référence nécessitant d’excellentes compétences horlogères pour être réalisée à la main.
5. Ce tourbillon sera du plus grand diamètre possible pour rendre un véritable hommage visuel à cette complication.
6. Il n’y aura pas un cadran central, mais un petit cadran déporté qui supportera les heures et minutes et un autre qui indiquera la petite seconde. De cette manière, la partie mécanique devrait être visible au maximum.
7. La finition de chaque élément du garde-temps revêt une importance toute particulière, car c’est un poste important de la sauvegarde des techniques traditionnelles et ancestrales. A l’époque, les horlogers cherchaient à obtenir des pièces dont la bienfacture était parfaite sans pour autant intégrer la notion de décoration telle qu’on la pratique aujourd’hui.

 Voilà qui augure une magnifique aventure tant le défi est élevé et nous permet de rêver à l’aspect qu’aura le garde-temps !

 Bien à vous,

Nicolas Maillechort

Images extraites de l’ouvrage « Frédéric Houriet, le père de la chronométrie suisse » de Jean-Claude Sabrier aux Editions Simonin

Hello everyone,

Recently I happened to meet Robert Greubel, Stephen Forsey and Philippe Dufour who told me about a quite extraordinary adventure that they have recently launched: “Le Garde Temps, la Naissance d’une Montre” (The Timepiece – Birth of a Watch). They have set themselves the mission of documenting traditional, manual, watchmaking techniques that are in danger of disappearing, then teaching these techniques to a young watchmaker so that he in turn can pass them on to a new generation of watchmakers.

The person chosen to ‘pass on the baton’ is Michel Boulanger, a French watchmaker who already possesses excellent knowledge of the watchmaking craft. To assimilate all these techniques, Michel has been set the target of designing and creating by hand a three-handed wristwatch (hours, minutes,seconds) – as well as a tourbillon. No small task!

The adventure begins for me today and so I propose that we follow it together, on this blog as it happens. I will be your eyes and ears on this project. Please join me here regularly for updates.

Best regards,

Nicolas Maillechort

Bonjour à tous,

J’ai rencontré fortuitement il y a quelques jours Robert Greubel, Stephen Forsey et Philippe Dufour qui m’ont fait part d’une aventure tout à fait extraordinaire qu’ils viennent de lancer. Ce projet, « le Garde Temps – la naissance d’une montre », se donne pour mission d’inventorier des techniques horlogères du fait main en péril et de les transmettre à un jeune horloger pour qu’il puisse à son tour les perpétuer.

C’est Michel Boulanger, un horloger français déjà doué d’excellentes connaissances du métier, qui a été choisi pour mener à bien cette entreprise ! Pour acquérir toutes ces techniques, il devra réaliser à la main une montre-bracelet 3 aiguilles (heures-minutes-secondes) doté d’une complication : un tourbillon. Rien que ça !

L’aventure commence pour moi aujourd’hui. Je vous propose que nous la vivions ensemble, sur ce blog, en live. Je serai les yeux et les oreilles de ce projet. Retrouvez-moi donc régulièrement ici, je m’en réjouis déjà.

Bien à vous,

Nicolas Maillechort

A watch movement is a very complicated mechanism that can have hundreds of high-precision interacting components on multiple levels. The components, mechanisms, movement, dial and case all have to be drawn very precisely so that parts can be created and assembled to the high precision required.

But before any of that is done, the basic layout of the timepiece is sketched, simply drawn freehand with pencil on paper so that the fundamental issues can be examined, discussed and resolved.

The preliminary sketches help to understand what is involved in the placement of the hour and minute hands, which in turn dictates the placement of certain components in the movement.

Sketching just these few basics on paper enables discussion and reflection of where the mainspring barrel (which powers the movement) and regulator (which controls the precision) might be situated and how the winding system will pass from the crown to the mainspring.

Hand sketches are quickly and easily drawn and modified and it is only after the watchmaker is happy with the general concept and approximate dial layout that the more time-consuming process of creating more detailed drawings and calculations is undertaken.

This was not my first SIHH – I have had the privilege of attending before, but it was my first time presenting at the SIHH. You always hope that people will be interested in your project, but until the launch you never really know – and I have to I admit to a small anxiety beforehand. But the fair was excellent and I was really impressed with the response of those who were present at the SIHH. All week there were people who came to see us, either on the spur of the moment or by booking an appointment in advance, and everyone seemed universally interested with the adventure and gave their support towards it. I left Geneva at the end of the week reassured that we had chosen the right path, that our cause was a thoroughly worthwhile one.

The project’s universal appeal

It appears from those we met at the SIHH that the Naissance d’une Montre adventure has a universal appeal that crosses different cultures, nationalities and even professions. A decline in skills, knowledge and values can occur in any sector in any country, whether it is in masonry or carpentry skills or even users of a language that is dying out. And so, yes, those in the watch industry were impressed that we were trying to slow down, or hopefully stop and reverse, the decline in knowledge of manual watchmaking techniques and tools, but perhaps surprisingly, also those with little horological know-how appeared to fully appreciate the aims of our project.

Presenting at the SIHH helped to foster new relationships…

One very pleasant aspect of presenting the adventure at the SIHH was that we became aware that there were many other people on the same wavelength– not just those that supported our project with ‘that’s great, keep it up’, but also those that offered to do something practical in preserving and safeguarding traditional watchmaking techniques for the future generations.

…with watchmaking museums

For example, the people from the watchmaking museums of La-Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle who were at the SIHH were delighted to hear about our project and offered to loan us some of the traditional tools they have amassed over the years – which could complement the already copious tools that Philippe Dufour possesses, and which we’re already using.

…with watchmaking schools

The director of the Geneva watchmaking school seemed interested in exploring some form of partnership.

…withwatchmaking enthusiasts

Few experienced watchmakers were familiar with the tools and techniques that we showcased, and it meant that we could exchange ideas on how to use them. One older gentleman said he sometimes configured the mandrel (burin-fixe) vertically; we had just been using it horizontally. It was definitely something to consider and both vertically and horizontally have their uses.

So the SIHH was excellent for ‘networking’ with others who have the same concerns as us.

In general, it was just great to see how what we were doing aroused people’s imagination.

Presenting techniques and tools that were new to people

Many watchmakers who visited had never seen an uprighting tool (perce-droit); all they knew were electronically-controlled machines, CNC machines. So, in a sense, we were opening people’s minds to ‘new’ techniques, even though what we were presenting were actually old techniques!

The likes of the planting tool (outil à pointer), uprighting tool (perce-droit) and mandrel (burin-fixe) showed people alternative ways of creating high-precision components that were different to what they were used to. Some watchmakers haven’t got the financial means to buy a CNC machine or afford their maintenance – the uprighting tool does the same thing at a very reasonable price and you can do so much with it, it’s so versatile. What we had at the SIHH – the three tools and the bench –were pretty much the key essential tools used to create a watch movement from scratch.

Some members of the public tried for themselves, even those that have received watchmaking training– and they saw that it requires a lot of skill and practice! It shows that we all have an apprenticeship to do, that we never stop learning.

Working with Philippe Dufour

It has been great to work with Philippe, since the beginning of the project and during the SIHH. I try to assimilate and acquire his techniques and he quickly corrects me if/when I make a mistake and that enables me to not hesitate in pushing myself that bit further.

SIHH conclusions

It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and I felt that we really brought something different to the SIHH. There were big brands with large stands and many staff . . . and there was Philippe and I, in our little retro atelier. But it felt as though we were really providing some added value – we weren’t there to sell a watch, we were there to show the real roots of horology and how watches used to be made – and how they can still be made. So I felt we really added to the proceedings and offered an extra dimension for those that attended.

http://www.worldtempus.com/fr/actualites/a-la-une/detail/article/1329207288-perpetuer-loperation-garde-temps/