Horological Meandering

The Hour Glass First Pop-Up in Singapore

 

Banners outside of Paragon Mall


An aerial view of the back of the THG pop-up store at the Paragon Mall atrium ...


Another view from the entrance direction of the pop-up store ...

The layout is like 3 sections -  the front section, upon entering is sort of like the Hall of Fame, showcasing the winners of Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) from 2006.
The middle section will feature the timepieces from the 'SuperHeroes' and artisans, and the last section is like the temple of the GrandMasters, also where the 'mini cafe' is situated.





The main entrance to the pop-up store ...







The brands showcased ...


Upon entering, could admire the pieces which won the GPHG awards since 2006












Walking through the middle section, among the various brands showcases of the 'Super Machines'  ... there are some interesting posters of the 'SuperHeroes' ...




and comics ... yes, they are for sale.


















Going to the last section ... the land of the Greats. ..






Need no introductions for these pieces ...





















More pictures of the interesting VH Deep Space prototype piece ...






















Roger Smith : Series 2




Some snapshots of the exclusive pieces through THG ...


De Bethune Imperial Fountain with the 12 Chinese zodiac animal heads ...



































Some snapshots of the Nitro (C3H5N3O9 Experiement ZR012 Black) ... combined work of Urwerk and MB&F.
Limited to 12 pieces, exclusively through THG in black zirconium.








































HUBLOT Big Bang Ferrari, 50 numbered pieces, also exclusively through THG.



















HUBLOT  Masterpiece MP-05 " La Ferrrari"














HUBLOT Masterpiece MP-02 Key of Time














HUBLOT Masterpiece MP-06 Aryton Senna , titanium case limited to 41 pieces.
















Parmigiani Fleurier :  Bugatti Super Sport, exclusive to THG, limited to 10 pieces.


















Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Quaestor Labyrinthe, a jade dial minute-repeater in Pt case.






ULYSEE NARDIN Freak L.E. - 44.5mm rose gold case, limited to 12 pieces , exclusive through THG.












Moser Perpetual 1 in Rose Gold and Fume Dial, stunning piece!  Limited to 100 pieces.























Regular version of the MOSER PERPETUAL 1, equally elegant.



MB & F joint work with Reuge.



No 1



No 2



RJ pieces on display








Last section, very interesting, got to learn something from artisans. 
For last week, it was with Masters from Parmigani Fleurier and Reuge.   This week will be showcasing Master Watchmakers from Hublot and Ulysse Nardin.


For this post, it was with Mr Pascal Strauss, the Master Watchmaker with the restoration department of Parmigani Fleurier.  He worked with Kari Voutilainen for 6 years then joined Parmigiani Flerieur.
He has worked more than six years in restoration under the guidance of Michel Parmigiani.



One of the restored  'magic box' .  This gold box, circa 1810,  has a series of 6 questions which the owner could ask his friends to choose.
Once the question was chosen and fed into the box, the box will reply with an answer ;-)






These are 3 questions printed on sort of enamel plates ...


One of the questions chosen ...and the box was open unveiling the 'magician' ...


Feeding the question into the box ...



Mr Pascal Strauss, wind the box to activate the mechanism ...


A branch of the tree slided up for a second revealing the answer Sorry too fast, unable to capture.


Answer underneath the branch ...


Note the exquisite for a whimsical box ...





After that, Mr Strauss gave a brief glimpse of what were restored with this gold magic box ...




Every restoration project has a file providing details of the work done ...






Before ... with oxidation and rusted components ...


Clean and with some components replaced ...





Old gears


Replaced with newly fabricated ...



Drawings for the new components ... every details is captured and explained to the clients.


Other restored items he showcased ...






Sort of automata ...the frog will croak (mechanically 3 clicks)  and then slide forward ...  expensive toy for the more than a century ago, but the work done was marvelous.


Next a multi-purpose  piece ... can be a telescope ...


Sliding the side ...


A clock  ....


and also ...


A Carousel too .




A snuff box for tobacco ...



and also a musical box ...like Reuge products.




Exquisite work ... Parmigiani could restore both mechanism and also the aesthetic portion too.




Next is the quiet gentleman who has worked in Reuge for at least 27 years, since 1986.  Artisan Mr Alain Betrand, knows the full process to make any musical box.

A short note on Reuge -  founded in 1865, and it is still the only company in the world which capable of producing luxury mechanical music boxes. Typically, a Reuge music box takes about 3 months to produce.







Starting with just a screw to secure onto the sound-board ...



Mr Betrand finding the balance for proper alignment of  the comb and cylinder.



The regulator of the music box.



Upon asking how he repairs bent pin ... he demonstrated immediately ... using a plier to extract the bad-pin ...


Fitting the replacement pin into a fixture .. and lightly tap it in.  Using the loupe to verify if  it contacts with the comb.



Also show the mechanism which makes the chirping sound ...







A showcase of a prototype of the enchanting Singapore National Crimson Bird ...



Some samples of the figurines with real bird-feathers ... and of course, no feathers were removed from live ones!



Samples of the real bird feathers to make the bird-figurines ...





Lastly before leaving the pop-up store, try your luck to open the lock with your code in your invitation card.



For friends not  in Singapore, I hope this post would provide a glimpse of the actions in The Hour Glass Pop-up Store.  For our friends here, or visiting soon, do drop by.


Kong

 

 

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