Vianney Halter
From a very young age, Vianney Halter was fascinated mechanics, science fiction and space exploration. Upon graduating watchmaking school, Halter spent the first decade of his professional life restoring vintage clocks and watches, working on pieces from the 16th to the 20th century. In 1990, François-Paul Journe invited the watchmaker to join Techniques Horlogères Appliquées, a collaborative movement manufacture, which also included Denis Flageollet, the founder of De Bethune. In 1998, around the same time as other notable independant watchmakers started creating pieces under their own name, Halter presented his Antiqua wristwatch. This first piece was unveiled in the context of his candidature to the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants, in which Halter was sponsored by Philippe Dufour. A sort of relic of the future, it cemented the style which Halter has come to be associated with since.
Vianney Halter
From a very young age, Vianney Halter was fascinated mechanics, science fiction and space exploration. Upon graduating watchmaking school, Halter spent the first decade of his professional life restoring vintage clocks and watches, working on pieces from the 16th to the 20th century. In 1990, François-Paul Journe invited the watchmaker to join Techniques Horlogères Appliquées, a collaborative movement manufacture, which also included Denis Flageollet, the founder of De Bethune. In 1998, around the same time as other notable independant watchmakers started creating pieces under their own name, Halter presented his Antiqua wristwatch. This first piece was unveiled in the context of his candidature to the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants, in which Halter was sponsored by Philippe Dufour. A sort of relic of the future, it cemented the style which Halter has come to be associated with since.
Independent Watchmakers Reinventing the Future
Discussing the future in relation to mechanical watchmaking is difficult and rather paradoxical. Fundamentally, watches have not changed very much since the days of Breguet and, arguably, every watchmaker creates their pieces with longevity in mind.
The Birth of Ultra-Thin, Automatic Perpetual Calendars
The concept of an ultra-thin, automatic perpetual calendar seems like an obvious one in classic watchmaking – pairing one of the most prestigious complications with a convenient winding system and a slim, discrete profile. However, it would take the complete disruption of the industry, with the advent of the Quartz Crisis, for it to appear. Once the first one was released, it spawned an entire category, which feels distinctly its own.