Loading...In my early time I met Jacky Epitaux, founder and creator of Rudis Sylva. Back then, he invited me to his party in Geneva and I was introduced to one of the most amazing Tourbillon timepieces I could imagine, the socalled “harmonious Oscillator” about which I wrote in my blog long ago.
Now there is a new watch. A pocketwatch. Not just a pocketwatch, but a very special pocketwatch.
I expect to see it in a little over a week. And will share live pictures with you. From my experience and my visits at Rudis Sylva, I can tell you one thing. This is made with a lot of manual work, fine guilloche work, a representation of century old skills which are becoming increasingly rare and fewer and fewer companies are using it. But these skills truly give a watch its face, and make its aura and beauty.
Rudis Sylva: 10 years of exceptional watchmaking
Rudis Sylva, the former name of the village of Les Bois, nestled in the Franches-Montagnes area of the Swiss Jura, was created as a brand in 2006, in the heart of watchmaking farmer country.
Why name the brand after a village, rather than one of the skilled watchmakers of the time? In 1900, this village had a population of 1400, 600 of whom were watchmakers! Finishers, assemblers, hunter case spring-makers… these skills and many more were practised in winter, when the hard ground lay beneath a mantle of snow.
Rudis Sylva harks back to the clearance of the high mountain pastures. Around 1400, Jean Ruedin travelled from the shores of Lake Neuchâtel to become one of these land-clearing pioneers, lending his name to this tiny village, perched at an altitude of 1000 metres, close to the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds. Its inhabitants, mostly farmers, sought work to keep them busy during the long winters. They performed a range of tasks until around 1750, when they took up residence at the workbench to create watch components. Over the next two centuries, countless thousands of country folk turned into winter watchmakers.
The Watch
Rudis Sylva has built its legitimacy not only on strong historical foundations, but also through the creation of exclusive products which pay tribute to the skills of the watchmaking farmers.
A watch should combine technology, artisan techniques and fine workmanship. From this principle was born the Harmonious Oscillator, a mechanism adorned with guilloche work, engraved and bevelled enamelling, hand-worked by local artisans whose skills are recognised the world over.
Fluting
Created to mark the brand’s 10th anniversary, the pocket watch released this year is nothing short of majestic. Equipped with the Harmonious Oscillator, the movement developed and patented by the brand in 2006, this piece will go beyond the finishes normally found on wristwatches, featuring something exceptional.
Cases from Le Noirmont, one of Rudis Sylva‘s neighbouring villages, have always enjoyed a high reputation and the sheer number of pieces produced each year drove the Swiss authorities to set up a central office for precious metals control in this tiny place. In 1884, 48,000 precious metal cases were inspected; by 1906, this quantity had exploded to 636,000 pieces.
Amongst the heirs of this era of the “case fitter” is an artisan, based a short distance from our site, who still practices the art of fluting (or knurling) using a machine he made himself.
This machine is equipped with a profiled hardened steel wheel which compresses the outer edge of the case to give it a regular, structured pattern in relief. This technique is rarely used these days, as the tools and expertise it requires have all but disappeared. Georges Cattin, founder of the watch case museum in Le Noirmont, is one of the few remaining craftsmen able to create this kind of decoration.
The Harmonious Oscillator: a global benchmark in the fight against gravity.
When vertical, this tourbillon movement with 2 interlocking toothed balances does not need the usual minute to compensate for the effects of gravity, as it instantly counteracts the Earth’s gravitational pull.
When it was unveiled at the Baselworld watch fair in 2009, some of the world’s most renowned master watchmakers declared this innovation to be as significant as Breguet’s invention of the tourbillon in 1901.
To mark its tenth anniversary, Rudis Sylva is releasing a rose gold pocket watch, equipped with the Harmonious Oscillator movement and adorned with the most beautiful decorations watchmaking can offer.
There is no doubt that, one day, pieces like these will be amongst the most sought-after at auction, since the number of artisans capable of creating such masterpieces dwindles with every passing decade.
Rudis Sylva Pocket watch
Limited edition of 10 pieces.
Retail price: CHF 280,000