Description
Exclusive Limited Edition collaboration between masters
Habring2 by Benzinger 5 Minute Repeater “Floral” – last piece now available!
When Peter Petzold, owner of Define Watches, conceived the idea of creating a Limited Edition Collection of 5 Minute Repeaters that combine technical handmade horological perfection and aesthetic beauty, two names instantly came to mind: Habring2 for the technical know-how and skill of owners Richard and Maria Habring and Jochen Benzinger, renowned master ennobler.
The result of their collaboration is nothing short of stunning and successfully combines the skill and knowhow of each party.
Richard Habring, co–developer of IWC’s patented Doppel Chronograph, is an absolute purist with regards to the technical functionality of a watch. At Habring2 even an engraving on a crown is seen as an unnecessary complication on a mechancial timepiece. Habring2’s watches are strikingly understated and clean. Clear lines and exceptional functionality underlie each tiempiece produced by Maria, Richard and the small team at the awarded manufactory in Austria. Initially, the prospect of an affiliation with a watch ennobler was both novel and challenging for a company that has built its reputation on understated design and technical functionality but both Richard and Maria rose to the occasion and realised that their core competence was exactly what would underpin the collection. Their contribution lies at the heart of each of the exquisite 5 Minute Repeaters.
Jochen Benzinger, world-renowned watch ennobler, having worked for such companies as: Lange & Söhne, IWC, Original Glashütte, and Chronoswiss, was enthralled with the potential of the project and design opportunities it presented. Jochen’s work is painstakingly produced by hand on vintage machines that facilitate the creation of his highly bespoke designs. Each piece Benzinger creates is unique and truly hand-made, no CAD, no laser-cutters just artistic genius and hand-drawn sketches. Whether he is refining a 100 year old Piaget or engraving an exclusive Grieb & Benzinger ($200,000+) Jochen devotes months to each project to ensure the end result is as aesthetically perfect and balanced as it is functional.
Ultimately a philosophy of excellence unites the two houses and makes for a very exciting collection of FIVE, 5-minute repeaters created and built by Habring2 and ennobled by Jochen Benzinger. Such collaborations between independent watchmakers are not common and do rank themselves worthy of mention in the world of Horology.
Define Watches take great pleasure in presenting the Limited Edition of Habring2 by Benzinger Five Minute Repeaters for your wearing pleasure.
Technical Details
Collection: Define Habring2 by Benzinger 5-minute repeater
Edition: 5 pieces worldwide
Movement: Habring2 in-house manual calibre A11 and a Dubois Depraz Repeater Module
Ennobling: Hand skeletonised, hand engraved and guilloched by Jochen Benzinger to order in either a technical (engine) or floral motive
Case: Grade 5 Titanium, matt finished case, polished bezel, 5 bar water resistance. 42mm diameter. Specially designed & manufactured pusher and crown
Hands: Manually flame-blued by Maria Habring
Features: Due to the hardness and quality of the titanium case the tone of the repeater is crisp and clear enough to allow the case to be sealed (normally cases must be left unsealed to allow the tone to resonate). This has allowed Habring2 to seal the case and provide a 5 bar water resistance – unusual for a Repeater and another point of excellence and note.
Design: The design of each timepiece is individual and produced individually.
- Engine design (more contemporary and technical): $54,300
- Floral design (more classical and filigre): $55,250
Availability: The first 3 pieces are in the Floral and Engine designs are sold. Piece 4 is finished in the Floral Design and available immediately. Piece 5 can still be customised in either design and is currently available – allow approximately 6 months for finishing and delivery.
What is a 5-Minute Repeater?
A Repeater is a complication in a mechanical watch or clock that chimes the hours and, in the case of a 5 Minute Repeater, also the 5 minute intervals by using different paced tones to separate the intervals. Repeaters, which can strike on demand to provide the current time at any point, should not be confused with striking clocks or watches that merely strike at regular intervals.
Repeaters originated in the late 1600s before widespread artificial lighting to allow the time to be determined in the dark by simply pressing a button or pulling a cord to activate the chimes. Interestingly, they were also used by the visually impaired for timekeeping. Because Repeaters are difficult to manufacture, they are valued as expensive and collectible complications by watch and clock enthusiasts. Similarly, Repeater Watches are much harder to make than Repeater Clocks because fitting the components such as bells, wire gongs and complicated striking works into a smaller movement is a feat of fine watchmaking. As a consequence of the skill required to create a Repeater, these watches were regarded as expensive luxuries and status symbols and they have survived in this form to the current day with their allure as strong as ever.
First created by Samuel Watson in 1710, the 5-Minute Repeater strikes the hours and then the number of five-minute periods after the hour. The mechanism uses low tones for the hours and high tones for the minute components. For example, 3:15 would be struck as: “dong, dong, dong, ding, ding, ding”.
What is the art of Guilloche?
Guilloché (or guilloche) is a decorative technique whereby a very precise, intricate and repetitive pattern is mechanically engraved into an underlying material. It was developed between the 1600-1700s as part of the “royal craft” of art-reversing. From these princely beginnings, the watchmakers of the 18th and 19th century developed the beautiful Guilloche machines, with which, for example, Breguet cut its unique dials. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the court jeweller of the Russian Tsar, Fabergé, brought the art of Guilloche to its fullest perfection. He used the guilloche technique as a base for his famous enamel work, which culminated in the renowned Fabergé eggs. Today, thanks to the renaissance of mechanical clocks and watches, a limited number of high-quality manufacturers are still offering their products with hand-guilloched dials, which are still unmatched in their classic appearance. Jochen Benzinger is a master in this field.
What is the art of engraving?
Engraving is as old as mankind itself. People used cutting tools at all times to decorate jewellery and utensils. The engraving art in Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries reached its climax when armour and weapons were artfully engraved. In the sixteenth century, Albrecht Dürer brought this work to a new heyday when, using the same tools as Jochen Benzinger uses in his studio today, he cut the copper-printing blocks for his famous prints. Nowadays there are very few specialists who know the techniques of this craft. Hand-engraving in horology is a highly valued attribute on any timepiece. Benzinger watches feature this finish with flourish and skill.
What is the art of skeletonising?
Skeletonising is a refinement method for giving a new, individual character to closed movements. Parts of the movement are removed by a goldsmith’s saw to reveal the direct view into and through the mechanical movement. The view of the movement is made possible by a sapphire crystal, exhibition case back in all models. The imbued creative energy of Jochen Benzinger is brought to the fore in his bespoke skeletonising creations. Each piece is skilfully crafted to highlight the beauty of the mechanical movement beating within – a pleasure to observe and a privilege to wear.
