Antoine martin watch

Antoine martin.

Alpnach, february 2011. With his own watch manufacture at the heart of switzerland, in alpnach near lucerne, master watchmaker martin braun has realized his vision of establishing a new and unusual brand featuring his own movements in the luxury watch segment. The name of the new brand is antoine martin, and the man appointed to manage it is bruno jufer, who has enormous experience of the international watch market. The first watch collection, developed and manufactured exclusively at the company’s modern workshops in alpnach will be unveiled at baselworld 2011 from 24 to 31 march.

A watchmaker of exceptional talent, Martin Braun founded his company MHO AG in 2009 with the declared aim of realizing his idea for his own watch movement, featuring the Swiss club-tooth lever escapement he had developed himself. After almost two years of intensive work, the first ANTOINE MARTIN movement developed and manufactured entirely in the company’s workshops is ready. It is a fascinating hand-wound movement with an integrated perpetual calendar, large date display and six-day power reserve. Development of the second movement, an automatic, will be completed by mid-year. Both movements, featuring unprecedented technical innovations, are absolute highlights in watch design and are available exclusively to the new brand, ANTOINE MARTIN.

AN INDUSTRY EXPERT AS CEO

The man appointed to manage the brand is CEO Bruno Jufer, who has enormous experience of the watch industry. He has previously held positions with Maurice Lacroix, Jaquet Droz, Zenith and, most recently, as a member of executive management with Carl F. Bucherer. The new ANTOINE MARTIN watch collection was born under Bruno Jufer’s management. “Our watches are a distillation of all our expertise, our desire to create something totally unusual, and our passion for exquisite design, technology and topquality materials,” he explains. The brand and its first watch collection will be presented to the industry and the general public at Baselworld, the world’s largest watch and jewellery fair.

A CLEAR VISION  According to Bruno Jufer, the brand has a clear vision. “We aim to establish ANTOINE MARTIN as a luxury watch manufacturer of worldwide renown. The brand will be a benchmark for innovative technology in movement construction and stand for unique watch design.” Master watchmaker Martin Braun and entrepreneur Antoine Meier jointly founded the manufacture and provided its name. The combination ANTOINE MARTIN has a pleasing ring and has a similar pronunciation in all the world’s major languages. The decision not to resurrect and relaunch an existing brand name was a conscious one. “What we’re doing now is making use of all the expertise we’ve amassed in the past and gearing it entirely towards the future. We aren’t drawing on a tradition established by long-gone founders: our developers and master watchmakers all live in the present and are under no obligation whatsoever to follow predefined routes. Our independence as regards technology and design is reflected in our current and future products,” says Antoine Meier.

THE BRAND VALUES: INNOVATION, UNIQUENESS AND THE SPIRIT OF THE TIMES

The force driving ANTOINE MARTIN forward is that of innovation. “We set out every day in search of new ideas and ways of incorporating them in watch movement design: we aim to go beyond existing boundaries and to give unconventional ideas a chance,” adds Martin Braun. The individuals behind ANTOINE MARTIN plan to develop state-of-the-art wristwatches featuring complications that make sense for a demanding target group: people who take an interest in technology, have high expectations as regards quality and are looking for unusual luxury products. No more. And no less. The upcoming world premiere at the Basel Watch and Jewellery Fair is sure to create a sensation. Within the industry itself but also among individuals in search of a luxury watch of a very special kind.   


Tourbillon Quantième

When designing the tourbillon, Antoine Martin's head of development – who is also well versed in theoretical matters –drew on all the experience amassed during the development of the escapement assembly for his perpetual calendar. And he has remained true to his philosophy of slowing time down. The tourbillon revolves around its own axis once a minute, while the escapement in the rotating cage ticks away steadily at 2.5 Hertz, or 18,000 beats per hour. This is a good deal more leisurely than the 28,800 beats per hour currently en vogue, but in no way less precise. On the contrary.

Martin Braun chose silicium as the material for the pallet lever, escape wheel and impulse pin, and opted for a balance of nickel silver. Precision adjustment is achieved via the two half-round-head screws made of 18-carat gold, while the tourbillon cage is poised using two gold rings. The result is a tourbillon consisting of precisely 65 parts and weighing a total of 0.62 grams. Not only that, the rotating cage has the breathtaking diameter of 14.1 millimetres. Which means there is no overlooking it.

Another reason why the Antoine Martin tourbillon is difficult to miss is the fact that Martin Braun has positioned it so prominently under the glass. Between the tourbillon (which also serves as a small seconds) and the glass, there is just enough space to accommodate a slim minute hand. This necessitated a number of design modifications, and the end result is a regulator-like display. Minutes are shown by the large central hand, while the hour display is found in a selfcontained subdial. With this timepiece, Antoine Martin is launching the largest and most eye-catching tourbillon available; combined with the perpetual calendar, it is yet another masterpiece from the innovative young watch manufacturing company in central Switzerland.


Source of this content: www.antoinemartin.ch