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Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerAccording to me, talking about the golden age of something is necessary a subjective matter, because we are talking about an ideal and from a particular retrospective point of view. I assume my point of view, but I know I have my criteria and some people may have other.
If I had plenty of money and could collect Vianney Halter ´s or Philippe Dufour ̀s watches, maybe I would chose the present time!
To follow up Acher ´s posts, I think the idea of an artistic and "artisanal" creation of watches in some "old good time" is most often a legend. But it is an intersting ideal as there were few real watches produced that may, and many others that got close to that ideal. I know pretty well 18th c "French" watchmaking (theory and practice): yes, we can talk of Bréguet´s watches and innovations, Caron ´s (Beaumarchais) "double virgules" escapement, Romilly ´s and Berthoud´s important writtings, Berthoud´s marine ´s chronographs, etc. But there were also and mainly simple watches, "ébauches" comming from Swiss cantons - Swiss made movements and gold cases were the cheap stuff at that time! - that French watchmakers used as a basis or sold as less end watches. At the end if the 18th c, there was also the begining of the watchmaking industry - which will end the French short leadership in watchmaking as French industries will not really succeed. So even at that time, watchmaking was not only an "artisan artiste" craft.
As far as I know, if you want watchmakers making there movement from a to b (or alpha to Omega!) on a regular basis, you have to look at 16th and 17th c... And watches were not that good at that time...
So maybe we have to aknowledge that the ideal of a nice piece of hand made craft is previous, and sometimes have met and still meets reality, but is most often a legend. And also that we can like well made industrial products (what is Omega if not that?) with some kind of true watchmaking Spirit.
As you will hear Mr. Dufour explain in this video, what he knows he learned from others (older people). So if his current work represents a Golden age, then there must have been another Golden age where these techniques were initially developed and employed.
I personally don't really subscribe to the "Golden age" theory much, in watches or anything else. I think it comes from a longing to go back to a past time when things were perceived as being better, but the mind has a way of focusing on good memories and leaving the bad behind. In every era you pick there are good and bad watches being made, so in the commonly selected range here for the Golden age, pin lever movements were in widespread use...not exactly what I consider a Golden age type of movement. Cheap Timex wrist watches, and dollar pocket watches were common, and there were "Swiss fakes" that were made to look like, for their time, the superior quality US made watches. You can cherry pick a brand here or movement there, but every era is a mixed bag of quality IMO, including now.
I'm pleased to see Mr. Dufour being funded to document the techniques he uses, because they are being lost as more and more makers use short cuts. Having stood in that workshop and received the same sort of details that he is demonstrating, I can tell you what is not shown in the video is his frustration with the short cuts that modern makers are taking. He was quite vocal when I met with him about the fact that many makers (including Geneva seal watches) are taking liberties with how things are done, and many collectors don't understand enough about watch finishes and how they are accomplished to understand what they are buying. Hopefully the videos produced will be available for collectors to view as well as for watchmakers, because understanding how something is done lets you recognize a finish done in a truly traditional way, compared to one done on an automated machine.
Cheers, Al
