Earlier, I wrote about the innards of the Hoptroff No. 10 Atomic Pocket Watch; this post is about the dial and complications of the watch – the dark side of the moon**. Perhaps.
If you take a look at the photograph below, you might recognise the Space Travellers’ watch, which sold last year for £1,329,250. I’ve probably committed horological sacrilege by even comparing these two pocket watches, let alone over-laying them, but I think there are some very obvious likenesses between Dr Daniels’ 1982 meisterwerk and the Hoptroff No. 10. Obviously, they are both cased in gold and even share many of the same complications, but looking beyond the sidereal, past the moonphase, it’s the styling, the aesthetic that is so similar.
Overlapping sub-dials, the use of blued and gilt hands, the pushers and even the pocket watch chain itself appear to have stepped right off the Daniels drawing board, and into a small atelier by the Thames. Take a look at some of the other quartz models that Hoptroff have revealed this year – and will hopefully be revealing at SalonQP 2013 on Thursday evening – and you’ll see share price indicators, meeting reminders, and even a completely new alphabet.
The fantastic thing about these Hoptroff watches is that the brand is taking analogue dials into a completely new realm, where #smartwatch functions are effortlessly translated into old school designs. Some might argue that these are a little too close to some of the originals, but it is great to see this fusion of the new and the historic.
Richard is speaking at SalonQP on Saturday 9th November in the Seminar Theatre; when I last checked, there were still a few places left for his talk, entitled “From the vision to the atomic core”. According to the blurb, Richard will explain why he believes “that watchmaking thrives on tradition, quality and innovation, and will talk about how he moved from a background in physics and electronics into watches”. The talk is free, by the way.
I’ll be there. Hopefully, a few of you will be too.
the #watchnerd
**I promise that there will be no more Pink Floyd references. Probably.
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