I have known this genius of a watchmaker for 7 years now, having met him on that serendipitous visit to Dublin in July of 2006. See my article from that trip under the "Watchmaker & Workshop visits':
http://www.independentintime.com/watchmakerworkshop-visits/2009/5/27/ireland-land-of-guinness-and-true-genius-watchmaking-talent.html
Here we are now, delivering to my mind the most elegant and sublime Tourbillon made by anyone. The execution in rose gold with the darkened rhodium plating on the mainplate under the synthetic sapphire crystal dial, really works well together to create this:
Photo courtesy of McGonigles
Stephen, together with his brother John, have been creating their next generation of McGonigle watches, this model is a time only piece, skeletonised for the intitial variation. The Tuscar cased in white gold, with a sapphire crystal dial sits atop the open bridge work to reveal the stunningly hand finished german silver. This long sold out subscription series of 10 watches are close to being completed and will adorn the wrists a little later this year. In the meantime, here a couple of images of the prototype Stephen brought with him.
Notice the circular grain fine finish on the balance bridge, which is centered on the balance wheel bearing. A very large free sprung balance of John & Stephen's design, beating away at 18,000bph, it is a lovely caliber to observe.
This is the official picture of the serially produced One of Ten Tuscar.
The back revealing the now solid main plate, where previously in the proto's they had an opening.
As is the typical path of these Independent watchmakers, the desire to design and execute one's own caliber is a big goal, with many obstacles in the pathway. However, those that do persevere and realize their ambition, will be rewarded and acknowledged by a select few aficionados who recognize the blood, sweat and tears that go into this process. I find myself on many occasions spending a lot of time explaining to watch collectors, unaware of the real difference between an Independent watchmaker, Independent watch companies and big brands, the staggering differences in the process of bringing these seemingly similar products to market.
This semi-skeleton initial series of ten pieces cased in 18K WG is long sold out and being delivered slowly but surely. The Tuscar in person is so much more than the pictures and one can see and feel the efforts put into creating this lovely watch. The good news is that there will be another execution of this Tuscar, now in 18K RG with a darkened sapphire dial, that reveals the balance wheel beating at 18,000vph, called the Banu. This is to my mind actually a better looking watch, might have something to do with it having a RG case and a dark dial, which is one of my favourite combinations!
Here is the Banu, love the massive balance wheel free sprung with gold weights slowly oscillating. Held in place by the pincer claw balance cock. Pic courtesy of McGonigle Watches.
As is our way, I had a fun evening with Stephen in Solana Beach, where friends and collectors could really get to see why Stephen and his brother John, create what they do, touch and feel his proto Tuscar and see a local collector's superlative and to my mind, most lovely McGonigle Tourbillon cased in 18k RG.
Collector's Tourbillon in RG.
I was able to spend a fun day showing Stephen and Cathriona around some of the local sights. He is quite an avid nature watcher, so the seals and sea lions in La Jolla provided several hours of amusement:
In closing, I invite you to take a look at these truly stunning watches created by two of the world's most lovely fellows. Honorable and easy to work with, Stephen and John will I hope in years to come get the recognition they so deserve!
Cheers,
Tim
