Photoessay: The Maitres du Temps Chapter Three
Disclaimer: The watch photographed was an early production prototype. I’m told there will be a number of changes to the final version, they’re also looking into the possibility of additional/ alternate dials…
The Maitres du Temps Chapter Three is an interesting piece because it carries clear DNA from its creator – Kari Voutilainen (the dial) – whilst at the same time retaining the brand’s own DNA (the rollers). It’s a substantial but not oversized watch at about 42mm in diameter; contained inside are time functions, small seconds, date, synodic moon phase indication, day/night indicator and second time zone display. The latter two functions are hidden under panels on the dial at 12 and 6 that retract slightly into the plane of the dial and rotate out of the way, activated by the button concentric to the crown; the fact that they sit flush when hiding the functions is a neat touch.
There’s a button at 9 to advance the second time zone display, on two rollers (normally hidden under the panel at 6). You can see the action of the panels in the final two images. The more time I spend with their watches, the more I feel that Maitres du Temps is definitely a brand to watch because it collaborates with famous watchmakers to create the various ‘Chapters’ – they do have an in-house execution and assembly facility headed by the noted Andreas Strehler, but each project always lands up different because it carries the DNA of the master watchmaker in charge of the project. (I’ll probably get shot for saying this, but in many ways, it feels like a more classical version of MB&F.) Chapter 3 looks nothing like 1 and 2; they were of course designed by completely different watchmakers. Personally, this piece is by far my favorite – I think of it as classical, with a twist. MT
This series shot with a Nikon D800, AFS 60/2.8 G Micro, and several SB900s. As always, clicking on an image brings you to the Flickr landing page, from which you can view a larger version.
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