Tim,
In the age of mass marketing and production, the image of a watchmaker hunched over his stool, peering into a magnifier assembling hundreds of tiny parts has been replaced by the scene of robotic machines with outstretched arms of steel sandwiching bridges, plates and nails at the direction of a computer driven Master. Not so, however, in the world of the Independent Watchmaker. Small by definition, unique in character, and unrestrained by the corporate conglomerates' demands for scale and speed, the Independent creates his masterpieces one at a time. In doing so, he imparts elements of his own personality into his creations, perhaps with the purpose of achieving his own sense of immortality.
The sacrifices each of these individuals endures when abandoning the safety of the big producers to become entrepreneurs is, by no exaggeration, gut wrenching. In the words of one independent:
"My passion for watchmaking and need for creative freedom has put an enormous strain on my marriage and wallet. But I have no regrets, for I am doing what I do best."
For the collector looking to own a handmade mechanical timepiece, limited not by the marketers’ "special edition no. xxx," but by the temporal reality of an artist's lifespan, possessing a watch made at the bench of an Independent is the purest prize of horological pursuit.
OK Tim - maybe I have read too many watch magazines!
Next, I'll submit a testimonial for you.
Regards,
DR
