Raúl Pagès
The craft of turning hard metal into things of beauty is indeed a gift, one which Raúl Pagès has in abundance.
Once upon a time, there was a tortoise with a precious gold and enamel shell. The enchanting little fellow had one purpose in life – to delight all who gazed upon him. As if by magic, the creature came alive, and could walk upon his diamond-toed feet while gently weaving his neck and head twinkling his sapphire eyes as he went. This is no fairy tale. “La Tortue” was the result of a full year's work by master watchmaker Raúl Pagès, and its gentle motion was entirely powered by wizardry of the mechanical kind.
As a young boy, Raúl had a deep appreciation for beauty. While he wondered how things worked, he also liked how things looked, and took particular pleasure in the aesthetic craftsmanship.
Like many watchmakers, he started young. Four years spent at Le Locle learning about watchmaking was just the beginning. He remained at the prestigious school for a further two years to become absorbed in watch restoration and one more still, in order to learn about horological construction.
While working at the restoration workshops of Parmigiani Fleurier, many historically important automata would be placed on his bench. Under his meticulous attention and steady hand their intricate inner workings were refreshed, renewed and revived. Only when perfection was achieved would they be pronounced perfect enough to return to their owners, the museums or the auction houses. It’s no wonder then, that having spent thousands of hours restoring the miniscule mechanical cams and switches of these historically important items, Raúl would be inspired to create his own mechanically powered, key-wound marvel, La Tortue.
In 2016, Raúl unveiled his first timepiece, the Soberly Onyx, named after the polished black gemstone used for its dial. Characterised by clean styling the profile of the piece evokes the tortoise shape-form but that is where the similarities end.
The Soberly Onyx is abound with subtleties, evident of an individual who has an intimate appreciation of fastidious design touches. Details such as the white gold segment inlays for the hours, and the hands which are high-set so that they cast a perfect reflection against the polished dial surface. And, of course the barely-there “mysterious seconds” an almost invisible, illusory feature.
Adhering to his affinity for restoration, Raúl chose to power his Soberly Onyx models with restored vintage pocket watch calibres. Once again the maker’s attention to how the finished calibre would look was of paramount importance. The Cyma calibre 586K he chose has a traditional layout, an eye-pleasing large balance and, it fills up the case in a most satisfying and beautiful arrangement.
Once sourced, Raúl re-worked the complete calibre and replaced the screwed balance of the original with his own proprietary balance, a four-armed structure with gold regulating weights. Referencing George Daniels in order to construct it, Raúl’s balance is even larger than the original calibre balance, and despite the added challenges, he chose to incorporate a blued free sprung balance spring, shunning modern technology in favour of traditional aesthetics. His exemplary handfinishing and calibre refinements can be appreciated when viewed through the sapphire case back.
While some people in the watch industry are striving for precision, others are seeking out lighter yet stronger materials with which to construct their models. Increasingly, the components which make up a wristwatch are created in the laboratory and not in the workshop. While all this is going on, Raúl Pagès works quietly, meticulously and purposely, creating in the traditional way, using traditional methods. And, La Tortue? the little creature is still charming everyone he meets.
More information on the work of Raúl Pagès can be found on his website.