EVA LEUBE ARI WATCH

As I recall 2011 was a rather good year. If like me you are drawn to unusual watches that is. Models such as the sculpted URWERK UR-110 and the case-bulging Harry Winston Opus Eleven were just breaking cover and grabbing headlines. But, amongst the weird, the wacky and the wonderful stuff which was unleashed into the horological landscape that year, was the unique and utterly stunning Ari Watch by Eva Leube.

Created to follow the contours of the wrist, Eva’s Ari Watch took the form of a substantial arc shape. Not simply a run-of-the-mill cuff watch, the piece was powered by a mechanical movement, with a striking linear arrangement. And, when I call it “Eva’s Ari Watch” this is not a breezy term for some girl and her watch. Eva penned this watch from beginning to completion. She worked on the technical drawings for the mechanisms and the case. Then she built the movement, the case, the crown and even the buckle which secures it to the wrist. By turning hard metal into dramatic arc-shaped forms, Eva Leube quite simply curved the calibre.

But, how do you curve a mechanical watch calibre? The simple answer is you re-write the rules.

To create curved parts you need solid blocks of metal, not flat sheets. To cut and shape the curved parts you need to create tools capable of cutting and shaping curved parts. To finish curved parts once they have been cut, you need unique tools capable of finishing the curved parts. To complicate the process even further when she began the creation process for the Ari, Eva lived and worked in Sydney, just about as far away as you can get from the Swiss watch industry’s comfort zone of suppliers and technical know-how.

Inside and out, the Ari Watch is spectacular. Based on the components of a pocket watch movement, a Record 302, which Eva modified, its calibre appears in a linear form. The large balance is at the top, followed by a subdial for seconds. Taking up a central position is a dial for the hours and minutes which is joined by an engraved ratchet wheel, thus completing this perfectly formal line-up.

In addition to the challenges brought by the machining process of each component, Eva turned the crown wheel, ratchet wheel, escapement and balance, so that they create a visually stunning face-on panorama.

Flowing gently over the 52.44 mm x 21.6 mm case, the curved sapphire is a feature is in itself, and one which allows for an in-depth appreciation of the calibre components. And, allowing for a pure, uncluttered profile, the crown is tucked away tidily beneath the 6 o'clock.

As with many of our watchmaking friends, so often the ideas which engender some of the most beautiful timepieces ever made begin with a subtle thought, followed by gentle musings of “What if…?”

When Eva began the four year-long development of her Ari Watch, it is likely that she, like many before her, must surely have been driven on by her visions of what the piece would look like, long before it became a working timepiece with a ticking heartbeat.

The theory of holism can be firmly applied to the end result of the thousands of hours invested by an Independent Watchmaker at her, or his bench. The Ari Watch is not simply a single timepiece it is evidence of Eva’s already-rich career, which began as a watchmaking apprentice at just sixteen years old. By applying the knowledge which she gained at Rolex, Ulysse Nardin, and in Thomas Prescher’s Atelier and the valuable years which she spent restoring and repairing antique timepieces, Eva stubbornly took her vision to reality.

Tiptoeing over the line which divides the world of corporate watchmaking and that of the Independent Watchmaker is a giant step which requires persistence, patience and a touch of bravado too. But then, at the Watch Press.com we have always felt that Independent Watchmakers think differently. Are different.