A Crazy Time At M.A.D Gallery, Geneva

Our final day saw us with stunning blue sky again and free time until our departures.

I set off for a walk around the main part of Geneva with plans to stop at the Patek Philippe boutique and the Vacheron Constantin boutique.

Looking back across the bridge.

My first stop was the Patek Philippe Boutique. Located on Rue du Rhone and facing the lake, the salon has maintained the heritage feel of the building and the interiors. Gorgeous embossed and gilded wall paper and many antiques fill the space. 

Watches are elegantly displayed and service is impeccable.

After Patek Philippe I headed to the Vacheron Constantin Salon where I was wanting to see the vintage pieces they had for sale. It was great to see a high end brand actively buying, servicing, restoring and reselling their own historic pieces.

While the salon is housed in an old building the interior is thoroughly light and modern with subtle references to the past.

Then it was time for a bit of exploring. Walking the cobblestoned streets was an exciting experience and great way to see the town.

I found Christie’s Auction house.

Perched on the hill above the city is the Cathedral of Saint Pierre. Builtin the 12^th century, the Cathedral became the local seat of the Protestant church in the 16^th century when it also underwent some modifications. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to climb the 157 steps of the north tower for the views over the city and lake.

The Palais de Justice, the courthouse of Geneva and the street out front of it. The cafes were quite busy.

Then it was time to head to M.A.D. Gallery and visit Max Busser.

The items for sale in M.A.D. Gallery are very eclectic and quite visionary. The Machine Lights by Frank Buchwald are quite amazing and I could see some of these looking great on a mantlepiece.  Prior to making these unique lights Frank Buchwald was a freelance artist and science fiction illustrator. He then moved on to making metal furniture and in 1993, entirely self taught, he started producing the lamps.

Machine Light Type No. 1. I could see this in a movie featuring a mad scientist.

Machine Lights Type No. 3, this would sit nicely on a mantelpiece.

While the art is important at M.A.D. Gallery, Max Busser also has the fantastic mechanical wrist art that is M.B&F Watches. It was great to again see the HM6, also known as Space Pirate, that I saw in Singapore earlier this year. Max was inspired to design this watch by a cartoon he used to watch as child called Capitaine Flam.

The front two bubbles tell the hour on the left and the minutes on the right. The central sapphire crystal dome houses a tourbillon which has an articulated titanium cover that can be raised and lowered by the wearer. The rear two bubbles contain the twin spherical turbines that automatically regulate the winding system in case of excessive speed to reduce stress and wear.  Very technical and very complicated.

Watches like this continue to astound me due the amount of research that goes in to the design and the movement. The sapphire crystal is incredibly hard to do as each dome is shaped from a block of crystal. Out of every 100 there is a 80 % reject rate. Incredibly time consuming and costly. Makes you appreciate why mechanical timepieces like this cost what they do.

Who doesn’t love robots, especially these Melchior ones. These are table clocks that put boring run of the mill table clocks to shame. The dome on the head houses the movement . The body has jumping hours and minute indicators and the eyes are retrograde seconds indicators. The left forearm detaches to become the winding key. The good thing? With 40 day power reserve you don’t need to wind it too often.

And Max’s latest idea was a clock in the shape of a spider. Called Arachnophobia, Max Busser’s over active imagination was inspired by the giant spider sculpture “Maman” by Louise Bourgeois and bought to life by L’Epee. The legs are articulated and it can either sit on a desk or be mounted on a wall. 

Arachnophobia on the wall and Damien Beneteau’s  kinetic sculpture ‘Spatial Variation’ in front.

Some of myfavourite pieces were the ‘comma men’ by Chinese artist Xia Hang. These delightful, highly polished stainless steel sculptures are quite whimsical and fun.

Hanging on one wall was one of the most unique musical instruments I have ever seen. UlrichTeuffel began making and designing guitars when he was 14. At age 30 he radically changed his approach to guitar making by focusing on conceptual design. His BirdFish design is now ranked among the best guitars in the world and used by people such as Billy Gibbons(ZZTop), David Torn, Kirk Hammett(Metallica) and many more.

I have a thing for steam engines and had previously looked at these Bohm Stirling pieces on line. They do not rely on water to generate energy but heat from a small flame that heats up the engine and gets it going. There was even one that can be placed over a mug of coffee and is activated by the heat rising off the hot liquid, also acts as a coffee insulator.

Also on exhibit were the works of Damien Beneteau. Originally a photographer, Damien began working with light and creating kinetic ‘light sculptures’. Moving parts within the pieces change the way light plays on them. Quite mesmerizing and somehow hypnotic.

Videos of the pieces can be found at the following link: http://www.mbandf.com/mad-gallery/creators/damien-beneteau/

For more on the artists featured at M.A.D Gallery including ones I haven’t mentioned visit their websitehttp://www.mbandf.com/mad-gallery/

After a look around the gallery it was great to enjoy a catch up and lunch with Max. 

I had a wonderful 5 days in Geneva and were very glad to have had the chance to go.

I would like to thank James Kennedy and the wonderful team from LK Boutique for inviting me on the tour, Patek Philippe for their wonderful hospitality and the opportunity to visit the factories and learn more about their watch making and design processes. 

A Perpetual Legacy

Unless you are an individual that does not need to be connected to the rest of the planet, the isolation of Australia, from the rest of the world, has its challenges. One positive is that the tyranny of distance makes the degree of commitment to this market rather obvious.

Most watch brands just pass by hoping for a quick uplift in sales, others have been here for many years with quite successful per capita sales (remember the tourist bonus given the weak $A) but do very little in terms  of reaching out to actual collectors. By inviting the media and rent a crowd, large stage showmanship whilst impressive, may get them a short flurry of headlines but no real connection with the actual end buyer. An experienced player knows this is not how lasting business is done down under.

Luckily there are a few what brands such as MB&F can sense the relatively restrained but deep passion for watches that this country possesses.

True to style it is great to see that this pioneering brand is not only walking a different path in terms of product design but also in terms of marketing strategy.

We have had the pleasure of Max Busser visiting our shores previously and this year Charris Yadigarolou made the special effort for what is to be one of the strategically most important launches for the brand this year (and they have had so many).

Great watch brands are created by a differentiated uncompromised end product that in my view endures and is nurtured by the passionate drive and connected vision of the people.  Upon reflection I have also come to the realisation that a brand is not just about the product but the journey it took to reach its elevated status.  

For a brand to become truly great it has to have been tested at its core. The easy road whilst tempting is never the path to great success. It is this point that makes the launch of the Legacy Machine Perpetual such a compelling story. 

I will spare the technical details of this ground breaking watch and rather remark on the fact that throughout the presentation one gained a very strong sense of the drive of Stephen McDonnell and his trails in pursuit of the unconventional that ultimately proved ground breaking.

Legacy Machine Perpetual is the watch that puts MB&F on the map even with the most dismissive traditionalist.

Reflections on Rebellious causes

Being invited to a rebellious cause will stir emotion in most of us, as we all have dreams of lashing out our creative energy into our passions. I suspect that the reason why most of us fail in this endeavor is our inherent need to often seek the approval of others. 

En masse globalisation is standardising value systems and the mega brands increasingly seem to have the same look and feel despite their best efforts to instill the ‘disruptive mantra’.  Maybe it’s a symptom of the fact that corporate marketing departments like to play it safe by developing watches the current trends suggest rather than taking a risk creating a potential object of desire.

Now and then there are glimmers of hope, like this year’s Patek Philippe Pilot Watch controversy which got the world talking, but more on that later.

It was with particular joy to find out that I was invited to join in the celebrations of three rising independent watch brands, namely, De Bethune, MB&F and Urwerk.

I have to say that watch events in Singapore are of a different league in terms of standard and level of sophistication not just from the organiser but also the end collectors.

The knowledge base is astounding, as is the uncompromising critique when a new piece is launched. The HM6 Space Pirate is one watch that manages to spark in instant reaction from people, the initial reaction is confronting which is then followed by fascination and a deep respect of the craftsmanship and design complexity.

Ironically even Max thought that I would never buy a HM given that my watch collection is very classic. Intriguingly I’m drawn more to the Horological Machines now despite my earlier and most would think more rational preference for the Legacy Machine particularly given Kari Voutilainen’s input into the movement.

The HM2 is my personal favourite machine I just had to have one.

A true mechanical sculpture unique, technically complex and with strong elegant lines. I suspect that even H.G Wells and Leonardo Da Vinci would approve.

A good friend of mine remarked on the fact that, “for a watch to have true inherent value to the collector, it must be an object of the highest quality, rare and relevant”. The last point is of particular interest as the vintage pieces that achieve auction records are all historically ‘relevant’ icons.

A large number of these now considered ‘ classics’ were not that popular when first produced as they were often ahead of their time. This makes it even more exciting to be part of these pioneer’s journey and watch them create the horological icons of the future.