Hands-on – Atelier de Chronométrie AdC #1 and AdC #2 – As Hand-Made As Possible
Hand-made… these two words are too often misused in the world of watches, but not so when talking about Beat Haldimann as we recently did, or when talking about Atelier de Chronometrie. The latter, a small independent watch brand from Barcelona, rebuilds or revives vintage Omega’s, entirely by hand. Approx. a year ago, our managing editor Brice Goulard wrote about Atelier de Chronometrie and their (at that time) latest creation, the AdC #5. Today we’re taking a look at two similarly hand-made, rebuild timepieces based on vintage Omega wristwatches from the 1950’s, dubbed AdC #1 and AdC #2.
Rado had a great year of releases in 2018, with a diverse mix of watches that played to their traditional high-tech material strengths, as well as to some of their traditional designs. And while ceramic naturally played an important part, it was used in some surprising ways — like when it was mixed with bronze to create a very cool HyperChrome, and mixed with other metals to create the new alloy Ceramos. And then there were the brand’s tributes to their historic Captain Cook models, two similar but different takes on a great old internal bezel diver. And while the small version is cool, my heart really sings for the 45mm version.
The remarkable Hora Mundi ref. 5717 made its first appearance in 2011, to an enthusiastic reception. Then, in 2016, when Breguet launched an updated version (ref. 5727) they spoke of it as a replacement for the original. But some things are simply too special to discontinue. Thank goodness – for we rarely encounter a watch that combines technical genius, great beauty and immense charm in the way that this version of Hora Mundi does. For those of us who are constantly on the move, a multiple-time-zone complication is one of the most useful things to have in a watch – and, unsurprisingly, it’s offered by almost all of the top makers. More surprising, though, is how little variety there is in the style of display: a pointer hand or a sub-dial and that’s pretty much where the choice ends. Breguet, however, chose to give a highly original visual expression to its very different version of the complication. More on the brains later, but first let’s focus on the beauty – because, really, the design and the quality of execution are exceptional. The case is classic Breguet, with the kind of attention to detail that you know only if you know:…
