There's a particular elegance to rowing—the disciplined rhythm, the perfect posture, the singular focus required to move a racing skiff through water with precision and power. L'Epée 1839 has captured this quiet grace in La Regatta clocks, and now reimagines it through a series of Métiers d'Art unique pieces that elevate the vertical clock into wearable sculpture through the ancient art of Grand Feu enameling.
Posts filed under Clocks
Experience: Bern's Zytglogge Clock Tower—Where Swiss Horology Truly Began
There exists a peculiar pilgrimage undertaken by serious watch collectors, one that has nothing to do with boutique openings or manufacture tours. It leads instead to a tower erected in 1218—27 years after the founding of Bern in 1191—by Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen. Here, in this structure that predates Swiss watchmaking by centuries, a clock has been marking time since 1530—nearly three centuries before the first Vacheron Constantin left the atelier of Jean-Marc Vacheron.
Introducing: Vacheron Constantin La Quête du Temps Mécanique d'Art Clock. 6,293 Mechanical Components and 7 Years in the Making.
Vacheron Constantin marks its 270th anniversary with perhaps the most ambitious horological creation ever conceived: La Quête du Temps Mécanique d'Art. This extraordinary astronomical clock represents seven years of development, bringing together master watchmakers, artisans, engineers, astronomers, and renowned automatier François Junod in an unprecedented collaborative effort that transcends traditional watchmaking boundaries.
Experience: Flip Clocks are a Timeless Trend. All About These Timekeeping Objects.
Flip clocks operate on the principle of flipping or rotating tiles to display the time. Each minute or hour is represented by a series of numbered or patterned tiles that mechanically flip to reveal the changing time. This dynamic movement creates an engaging and interactive way of reading time, transforming the act of checking the time into a captivating experience.
Introducing: Reuge Camel Race Musical Box
Reuge is an iconic Swiss company specializing in the production of high-end music boxes. Founded in 1865 in Sainte-Croix, in the canton of Vaud, it is now world-renowned for the quality and beauty of its creations. The Maison has remained true to its Swiss roots by using local materials to make its music boxes. Reuge’s artisans have in-depth knowledge of metal, wood, and art mechanics, enabling them to create music boxes distinguished by excellent precision, incomparable sound, and undeniable beauty.
Introducing: The Unnamed Society x L'Epée 1839 Winchester Reimagined Chapter V. A Collection of 87 Unique Piece Clocks.
The Unnamed Society unveils Chapter V of The Unnamed Society’s unfolding story. Following the resounding success of the first collaboration with famed Swiss clockmaker L’Épée 1839 on the rifle-as-a-clock concept introduced last year, demand had been growing for a follow-up. Winchester Reimagined Chapter V is the fascinating fifth chapter of a continuing journey that explores the unknown behind the known. It captures this spirit for today, uncompromisingly respectful of what it symbolizes yet daring to open new perspectives.
Introducing: The Unnamed Society Golden Boy Clock by L'Epée 1839
Today, the partnership between The Unnamed Society and l’Epée 1839 opens the second chapter of its unfolding history. With Golden Boy comes the second stunning creation imagined for those who set the bar for the Art of Gifting a bit higher than the rest, for appreciators of the finer things, and for visionary collectors. The Golden Boy clock remains true as ever to the spirit of “creating the impossible that defies the imagination” by looking not just at a timekeeper as an expression of aesthetic, engineering and artisanship excellence, but as a true witness of its time. Golden Boy is the logical sequel to the Pancho Villa’s Bisley Colt clock.
Insider: Hysek Design La Colonne du Temps Mechanical Clock. A 55-Piece Limited Edition with an Incredible Mechanism.
After decades designing some of the most iconic watches including the Breguet Marine, the Vacheron Constantin 222, the TAG Heuer Kirium and the Seiko Kinetic Actura, Jorg Hisek decided to launch his own agency named Hysek Design in the late 1990s, after four years working at the Rolex design department. After launching his own watch brand and selling it years later, Jorg Hysek marks his comeback to the watch industry with the release of a very special 50-piece limited edition clock called 'La Colonne du Temps' —the column of time.
Experience: The Gastown Steam Clock. The World's First Steam Powered Clock and a Must See When Visiting Vancouver BC Canada.
Designed and built by Canadian horologist Raymond L. Saunders and located in Vancouver BC, Canada, the Gastown Steam Clock is the world's first steam powered clock and a must see for those in love with city clocks and horology. Situated at the northeast corner of Water Street and Cambie Street, this beautiful clock whistles the Westminster chimes every quarter hour and a single whistle every hour. One of the few steam powered clocks in the world, the antique-looking Gastown Steam Clock was inaugurated only 40 years ago on September 24th, 1977.
Experience: Chicago's Father Time Clock at The Jewelers' Building. A Chicago Icon and a Gift by Elgin Watch Company in 1926.
Dating circa 1926, the Father Time clock situated at the Northeast corner of the iconic Jewelers' Building in Chicago —35 East Wacker Drive— is without a doubt, the most beautiful clock in the Windy City.
The Jewelers' Building is a 40-story historic landmark facing the Chicago river. The building was completed in 1926 and it was once considered the tallest building in the world located outside of New York City. The building was originally conceived for the city’s diamond merchants and fitted with a central car elevator that could lift cars as high as the 22nd floor in order to reduce the chances that its tenants would be mugged walking between their cars and their offices.
According to the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, the bronze base of the Father Time clock weighs eight tons and it was a gift presented by the Illinois based Elgin Watch Company to the Chicago Jeweler's Association.
The octagonal domed top of this iconic clock is topped with a five feet tall sculpture of Father Time. This character was the symbol for the Elgin Watch Company which, at the time of the building's completion in 1926, had general offices in the building. While the Father Time sculpture on the clock is somewhat different to the actual logo used by the Elgin Watch Company, it's been confirmed by historians, that the logo was indeed the inspiration for the sculpture on top of this magnificent clock.
Father Time is usually depicted as an elderly bearded man, dressed in a robe and carrying a scythe and an hourglass —which represents time's constant one-way movement. This character derives from the Grim Reaper and Chronos the Greek God of Time. It is also known that a number of copies of this winged sculpture were produced by the same unknown artist; however, nobody really knows where these could be located.
This magnificent clock is composed of four white dials —each of them approximately five feet in diameter— with black Arabic numerals, black adorned hands and black minute markers. Each dial is fitted with a bezel with fifty-six red lights and four amber lights that light up after dusk. The top of the structure where the sculpture of Father Time stands, is intricately adorned with three bald eagles —each eagle is located between the top of two dials— and at the base of the clock structure, right underneath each dial, we find the word 'Time'. The word 'Time' just like the lights on the bezel, lights up after dusk.
Next time you are walking around the streets of Chicago make sure you pay a visit to the iconic Father Time clock and make a wish. Remember "the clock of life is only wound once and nobody knows when it will stop". The estimated value of this clock remains unknown; however, to us, it is just 'priceless'.
Lastly, enjoy a picture of the famous Jewelers' Building in its full splendor.
