The perfect watch for the well-heeled globetrotter might feature the following: time, date, moon phase, and a second time zone and day/night indicator. Indication- rich timepieces have always been a compromise between functionality and refinement. Even so, the independent master watchmakers Kari Voutilainen (on the right in our photo next page) and Andreas Strehler (on the left) have created a stunningly elegant timepiece that displays hours, minutes, seconds, date, and phases of the moon, all set on a sumptuous blue guilloche dial.
But that's not all, and this is where mystery, suspense and surprise come in: Kari Voutilainen and Andreas Strehler have also kept a couple of intimate secrets in reserve, to be revealed, and perhaps even shared, at the owner's pleasure. A pusher set into the crown lowers two invisible panels in the dial to reveal two more hitherto hidden indications: a second time zone indicator and a day/night indicator, both displayed on Maîtres du Temps' signature rollers.
Solid 18K gold hands and large Roman numeral hour indices are exquisitely and legibly juxtaposed against the majestic blue dial, which is finely engraved with a radiating sunray pattern. With the secret panels closed, the central hours and minutes are complemented on the dial by a small seconds sub-dial at 8 o'clock that is aesthetically balanced by the date sub-dial at 2 o'clock and a moon phase indicator at 4 o'clock. Both the small seconds and date sub-dials are subtly distinguished from the main dial by Clous de Paris guilloche and are clearly marked with neat little nameplates.
Opening the invisible panels reveals the day/night indicator at 12 o'clock and the second time zone indicator at 6 o'clock. The day/night roller rotates in 24 hours and features engraved, polished, printed, and hand-painted icons: the sun to symbolize day and the night sky to represent night. This indication is of particular benefit when using the second time zone, which is why it is revealed at the same time, as it enables the user to keep track of the hour at home and to know at a glance if it is day or night there. The second time zone is adjusted by means of the ergonomic quick-set pusher at 9 o'clock, which aesthetically follows the form of the case. Each push advances the second time zone roller by one hour. These time zone and day/ night rollers are permanently synchronized with each other and can adjust both forwards and backwards in time through the crown. To maximize legibility, the second time zone at the bottom of the dial is displayed on two separate rollers: hours 1–6 on one and 7–12 on the other. When transitioning (forwards or backwards) between 6 and 7 or 12 and 1, the superseded roller slides horizontally out of the way and the new roller moves into place. This innovative mechanism has been awarded a patent. Using two rollers instead of one means that only six numbers have to be displayed around the circumference of each roller, enabling them to be twice as large, so twice as easy to read.
The Chapter Three Reveal movement, developed by Kari Voutilainen with refinements and technical solutions by Andreas Strehler, is both Maîtres du Temps' first completely in-house movement and the first movement Kari Voutilainen has developed for a brand other than his own. Kari Voutilainen also specified to be responsible for the high-level finish of the movement. To incorporate so many indications and mechanisms in such a slim, elegant case necessitated more than three years of collaborative work.
As might be expected from two of the world's best watchmakers, rich functionality and stylish good looks were not enough: a superlative watch should also be an accurate timekeeper. To that end, the movement is regulated by a Straumann escapement, featuring a lightweight energy-efficient escape lever and balance spring with an isochronismimproving Breguet overcoil.
Founded in 2007 by Steven Holtzman, an important watch distributor in United States, Maîtres du Temps is a pantheon in which today's greatest master watchmakers collaborate on the most innovative horological projects imaginable. Maîtres du Temps promotes, brings to the fore, and celebrates the watchmakers at the very pinnacle of haute horlogerie, those who develop and craft the timepieces, those whose influences, strengths, and accomplishments shape the watchmaking of today and tomorrow. Maîtres du Temps launched in 2008 the collection Chapter One by Christophe Claret and Peter Speake-Marin, which features a worldfirst combination of tourbillon, monopusher column wheel chronograph, retrograde date, and retrograde GMT, as well as moon phase and day of the week on rollers. In 2009, Maîtres du Temps presented the world's most legible triple calendar wristwatch, Chapter Two, by Daniel Roth and Peter Speake-Marin.
