As January 2023 is already behind us, I thought I would publish a short update. I would first like to wish all my clients, followers, suppliers and fellow horologists a very happy and healthy new year.
Looking back at the past year it is fair to say that 2022 has been an exciting one. Busy times, and many watches went through my workshop. I always enjoy some variety in the work, and last year certainly delivered that. I included below a couple photos of watches that I serviced in 2022. They are quite typical of my workload. Most brands are represented, predominantly vintage watches, but also some modern watches. Projects range from manual wind to automatic and chronograph watches, and also from mechanical to quality quartz watches.
The end of the year was particularly eventful. In November 2022 I had the honour to receive the BHI prize for best serviced chronograph for 2021. COVID prevented the ceremony from taking place in the previous years, but it was definitely worth the wait! We had a fantastic day at the British Horological Institute in Upton Hall, which I was very thankful to share with friends and family.
I also moved into new premises in December 2022. Having outgrown my previous workshop, I had been on the lookout for the right space to take the business forward for some time. I am delighted to have now moved to the new workshop. The space was designed and built to my own spec, with a clean room for watchmaking, and separate machine room, cleaning and polishing rooms.
More room means more space for machines and equipment, and I am pleased to report that I recently acquired a high precision CNC milling machine.
My CNC programming experience dates back from the early 2000s, so it is nice to get to use my mechanical engineering skills in my horological career. I always thought there are a lot of crossovers between engineering and horology.
This new addition to the workshop is an exciting prospect as I will soon be able to manufacture some watch parts, opening the door to more varied and complex projects.
As always, thank you very much for reading, and do not hesitate to get in touch!
All the best
Olivier
