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Letter from Biel
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This issue’s favourite watch-friendly Instagram account @watchfigures WatchFigures is an instagram channel that brings one man’s two great passions together: premium watches and Lego. Run by Andrei Stihi from Indianapolis, USA, his photos feature ‘minifigs’ (as policemen, firefighters etc.) interacting with a fine selection of timepieces – including those from Christopher Ward. Hi Andrei! Tell us about WatchFigures… I wanted to do something slightly different and just happened to have some Lego minifigs nearby (I’m a huge Lego fan). So I thought it would be fun if the minifigs were in the shot, seeing things from their perspective and interacting with watches.
Why do you like Christopher Ward? I love CW for the originality of its designs and the fantastic quality of the pieces. I’ve handled a few CW pieces over the years, but the C60 Sapphire is the first I’ve owned, and it’s every bit as good as watches costing three or four times the price. What’s your favourite CW watch? The C1 Moonglow is by far my favourite: it’s just a bit out of my price range at the moment!
How do you set up the photos? I try to take most shots from the eye-level of the minifigs and see the watch as they’d see it – or have them playing with it in some way. I’ve picked up many tips over the years by checking other people’s shots on instagram (especially when there are fantastic behind-the-scenes shots included like @enjoythewatches).
The last few weeks have seen us working on the new C60 Concept watch, which is out in October. While it’s been complicated – the machine of a key supplier was out of action for a few weeks – things have gone well, and the watches look amazing. As in any watch manufacture, there were some difficulties. With the C60 Concept, it was hard to match the orange of the triangle with the orange of the hand. The triangle’s orange is SuperLuminova, whereas the hand is pure paint. So it took us ages to get them to match up. Thankfully, the problem has been solved. Everyone here is thrilled about the C60 Concept. The production has a ‘tree’ of tasks, and we went through 179 items and operations with each watch. It’s like conducting an orchestra – to see it work out was incredibly satisfying. On this watch, you see every part, so the quality standards have to be perfect. The C60 Concept is the best showcase for our Calibre SH21 so far and enables it to use the movement to its full potential. It also shows what we’re capable of and that we can still offer value in the higher echelons of watchmaking. Away from the C60 Concept, we’ve hired a new watchmaker from Greubel Forsey as we wanted someone with extra expertise at the high end of the industry. He’ll be able to tackle the most complicated projects alongside Frank Steltzer, the technical director. As the pandemic (hopefully!) fades, there’s a feeling of optimism in the air around Biel. Though the lockdowns weren’t as hard as those in the UK, it’s still great to see things getting back to normal. And there are some inspiring projects ahead. More about those next time! Jörg Bader Jr, product manager, Biel
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