Hanhart
From D-Day to the Watches Project
This Hanhart Military watch was commissioned by Joe Savage.
I asked him about the story of the watch and all he gave me was this link from the Daily Mail. Honestly I thought it was a bit lazy but as I began reading I was immediately intrigued.
The account told here is taken directly from the article in the Daily Mail written by Mark Duell.
The premise of the article was looking at four German Military watches that were being placed at auction.
‘My father was an RAF intelligence officer and his job was to interrogate German airmen who had been captured.
He spoke German and pressed the men for worthwhile information such as the equipment the Luftwaffe were using.
He had to search them and one prisoner had his watch wrapped around something that wasn’t his wrist because he was so desperate not to lose it.
My father ended up having it and kept it as a souvenir or as part of the spoils of war. When my father died over 20 years ago we had a clear out of his things and acquired his four watches.’
Auctioneer Richard Bromell said,
‘The vendor’s father, from Manchester, was of Dutch origin and spoke fluent French, German, Dutch, and towards the end of the Second World War Russian too.’
‘As an officer in the RAF, and as a linguist, he is believed to have worked in MI19, the division formed from MI9 as the enemy prisoner of war interrogation department.
‘He arrived in France 11 days after the D-Day landings and interviewed rounded up German prisoners, which is when it is believed he “acquired” these four Luftwaffe pilots’ watches.’
The vendor, who is from the Somerset area, said,
‘If you wind them up they do start to tick but they would need to be repaired as they haven’t been properly used for 70 years. These watches have been locked up in a drawer for many years.
You can’t go on hoarding things forever and I don’t have any romantic association with them, so I think it is best to pass them on.’
Mr Bromell, of auctioneers Charterhouse in Sherborne, Dorset, which is selling the watches, said,
‘They are four high quality wristwatches used by German pilots and navigators in the war.
They need some work doing to them to get them going again. However, with all the watches being quite similar the vendor isn’t sure which one was recovered from the PoW’s underpants.’
The owner’s father worked in Lloyds Bank before the war, and after it had ended he joined the family business which supplied animal feeds.
To read the original article and see photographs of the four German watches that were at auction then click HERE.
Stay updated on everything Watches Project by signing up with your email below.
Eterna Vintage
This Eterna watch commissioned by Cyrux.
When I asked Cyrux to tell me a story about his Eterna this is what he had to say,
'It is an Eterna that my Grandfather purchased during his first business trip abroad in the 60's. It has never been serviced and nothing has been replaced. It's all original and I love the fact that it's scratched and cracked.
My Grandfather gave it to my dad and my dad gave it to me when I moved to Australia in 2003.
It is not worth much but it's very sentimental to me. I thank you for doing the painting for me so that I can share it with others when they come and visit.'
The aging and wearing was important for Cyrux. It was made clear to me that the crack over 11 and the scratch over 3 be made apparent.
Cyrux and I share a love of story. Every watch has a story. Every watch has something to share with it's owner, whether it is newly manufactured or has been through a war, or is simply being passed from father to son.
I love watches like this Eterna. One where the price doesn't matter.
It could have been a $30,000 watch and with the same story and I would have loved it the same.
Watches passed down through the generations maintain a value that is simply priceless. It could be sold at auction but no amount would do history the justice it deserves.
Sign Up to get Watches Project updates in your inbox.
Omega Seamaster Fashion
This Moda-Horlogerie style Omega Seamaster painting was commissioned by Nick.
Nick wished to be identified only by his first name. This is what he had to say about his Omega Seamaster.
'My first foray into horology began when I was given a high-end Hublot counterfeit timepiece as a gift in college (gasp) and was told that even discerning individuals would not be able to tell the difference.
As a curious person, this immediately caused me to wonder 'well, then what is the difference?'
This led to me various watch blogs and over time I came to appreciate what an art-form horology is and that in reality, any discerning person would immediately be able to tell the difference between a counterfeit and a legitimate timepiece if, save other tells, they were to look at the movement.
I became fascinated with watch movements as I began to view horology as one of the last bastions of hand-crafted machinery that practically speaking, cannot be bested by fully automated production lines, nor should it be.
As I continued to develop an appreciation for high-end watch movements I came across the Omega 8500 movement, which was built from the ground up around George Daniel's co-axial escapement.
I began to fall in love with the intrinsic value of the fully in-house, utilitarian movement that in my mind, was an example of the culmination of hundreds of years of human innovation.
After lusting after this watch for some time but never being able to afford it, I resolved to one day purchase it when I had "made it" in my respective industry. This day came much sooner than I had expected, and I wear the watch to remind myself to set goals, achieve them, and then to continue setting new ones.
The clock keeps ticking, if you will.'
-Nick
Here is a side by side of the Omega Seamaster and the Moda-Horlogerie Perpetual Moon it is modeled after.
The Moda-Horlogerie style paintings are my favorite. There is more artistry in creating a scene and story than simply capturing the architecture of a watch. A watch, in my estimation is meant for its utility and everything else about it is developed to tell a story.
Sign Up to get Watches Project updates.
Boca MMXII
Watch-making or rather watch-painting has become a favorite past-time of mine.
After painting my first 100 watches, which you can see in the 100 Watches Gallery, I just couldn't stop.
There are so many watches, so many companies and so many passionate people that stopping would mean missing an entire community of amazing people.
Boca MMXII is a part of that community.
Alessandro of bocatime.com approached me with two of his watches to recreate. What is particularly special about Boca is the watch straps. These beautiful leather braided straps are hand woven with quality Mexican craftsmanship.
Boca matches Italian design with Mexican craftsmanship to provide a unique watch experience.
Below you will see the Grand Traveler with the bright Tobacco wristband on the left and on the right is the Riviera Black with Black wristband.
Grand Traveler in Beige
Riviera Black
WristPorn: Tissot Visodate
Here's the Wristporn Tissot Visodate.
I've painted a Visodate before and it was an amazing watch to see completed (see it here). Approaching the same watch again was a bit daunting as the previous one was so beautiful. I'll let you do your own comparison.
Follow the process of this Watches Project painting in the images below.
Rolex's of the William Brown Project
The William Brown Project is the work of Matthew Hranek. Here is more on Matthew, pulled from his site matthewhranek.com.
'Photographer and Director Matt Hranek has spent the last 20 years of his life traveling to the corners of the globe on assignment. Photographing and writing about some of the world’s most desirable destinations, Matt’s images capture the people, place, and objects that embody the American spirit. His work has appeared everywhere from editorials in Bon Appetit, Conde Nast Traveler, Esquire, GQ, Martha Stewart Living, Town and Country, and Travel and Leisure to commercial work for J Crew, LL Bean, Orvis, Sony, Target, and William Sonoma.
Matt created "The William Brown Project" as a visual diary of his photographic sojourns. He says he had the idea to turn his photographs and stories into the widely received blog because "there was so much residual content leftover from every photo shoot that it needed a place to go, so I made one". "The William Brown Project", where he tells of his elusive findings and exotic tastings was the inspiration behind the Esquire Network’s newest series, "Alternate Route", capturing the spontaneous adventure behind every photograph. The six episode first season follows Matt on the road less traveled as his passion and curiosity take him through Maryland, Chicago, Everglades, Charleston, and Montauk. Immersing himself in each society, Matt explores the local vernacular of the food and craft that personify his destinations.'
I had the pleasure of painting two of Matthew's watches. His Rolex GMT and Rolex Submariner.
Hranek- 'These are two beautiful example of 60's rolex sports model and as far as I am concerned the glory days of Rolex. I am proud and lucky to own them.'
Hranek- 'The GMT required endurance. I had a 16750 that I bought , then sold then bought a real shitty 1675 ( I loved the insert - perfect fade). Well my buddy jacek at HQ Milton in SF did me a solid and let me trade it in on a really lovely 1675 GMT that was actually traded in by a good friend of mine (who's GMT I coveted). It took a few moves to get there and well it's mine now and not going anywhere.'
Hranek- 'The Sub was my first Rolex purchase (my dad had left me a datejust). It was the early days of ebay and I had no idea what I was doing the watch was $1800 and the guy i was buying it from didn't trust ME... (early days).
I was very lucky - everything about the watch was perfect the lumes, the patina the pre-tropical (brown) dial. I will die with this watch.'
Tissot Seven Automatic
This Tissot Seven Automatic was submitted by Filippo Soddu. -instagram @filter