Maître du temps – Masters of Time

When a Patek just doesn’t cut it anymore, then maybe it’s time for you to look at Maître du Temps. Translating into “Masters of Time”, this brand tells a beautiful tale of horology dividing its collection into chapters. At this year’s Basel I had the opportunity to visit the brand and experience horology at its finest.

The Chapter 1 which marked their entry into the watch world was released in 2008. As a product of a collaboration with Cristopher Claret and Peter Speake-Marin, it prides itself on being a wristwatch featuring a tourbillon with a mono-pusher column wheel chronograph, retrograde date, retrograde GMT, as well as a moon phase and day of the week on their iconic rolling bars.

 

 

The chapter 2 focuses more on wearability. This was achieved with a more minimalistic approach, and allows the brand to highlight its defining rolling bars. Additionally, an automatic winding mechanism was included, as well as a very tasteful paddle system for easy change of date and month.

 

 

What completely hit the ball out of the park though was the Chapter 3, created by Kari Voutilainen in collaboration with Andreas Strehler. As soon as I saw it, and lifted it from the vault, a massive grin was stapled on my face. This watch was unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. Coming in a round case allows it to be considerably more wearable than its elder brothers. This elegant fusion of haute horology and a “low” profile is achieved by being able to set aside the 6 and 12 from the dial to expose two cylinders beneath, indicating a second time zone and a day/night function.

 

 

Just when I thought I had seen everything, I was in fact in for one more treat: the fine arts collection. A unique pocket watch for Baselworld 2016. The dial was hand drawn by a Japanese artist, and is simply the most beautiful watch face I have ever seen, a sight to lose yourself in.

 

If you want to learn more about the brand I encourage you to have a look at their website here.