Maîtres du Temps Chapter Three Reveal

A first for us at Esperluxe, it’s our pleasure to present a piece unique Chapter Three Reveal from Maîtres du Temps. Opening their doors in 2005 and operating through 2014, Maîtres du Temps was a collaborative platform for the world’s best watchmakers to create highly complicated, avant-garde timepieces. Each timepiece released as a “Chapter,” One & Two featured collaborations between Peter Speake-Marin, Christopher Claret, Roger Dubuis, and Daniel Roth. Here, Chapter Three Reveal, the final timepiece from the brand, was created in collaboration with Kari Voutilainen and Andreas Strehler. 

The Chapter Three Reveal is a quiet and conservative timepiece on the surface of the dial with a subtle moonphase and subdials for date and seconds. But there’s much hidden beneath the surface. By activating the pusher at 3 o’clock, windows first become slightly recessed and then slide open at 12 and 6 o’clock to reveal large rollers for both day/night indicator and a second time zone. Unusual in watchmaking, rollers were one of the hallmarks of the Maîtres du Temps and used in each of the brand’s three watches. Beyond sheer rarity in the use of rollers, both  are notable for their technical prowess and finishing. The day/night indicator is relief engraved and hand painted on both sides while the second time zone indicator is composed of two separate rollers, one for 1-6 and the other for 7-12, that instantaneously jump with the change in hour between 6 and 7 o’clock AM and PM. 

Through the open caseback, collectors can find even more appreciation for the rollers in their carriages through the movement’s architecture. The in-house caliber SHC03 is extraordinary, centered  ⅔ plate movement with spacing for the rollers at top and bottom. Kari Voutilainen’s fingerprints are all over this movement from the Straumann balance spring and Breguet overcoil to the impeccable finishing of broad striping on the plate, beveling, and polished screws. Andreas Strehler’s influence revolves around developing the mechanical integration for case and movement as well as the manufacturing requirements and processes for the custom components. Truly something outside of the norms of haute horlogerie, the Chapter Three Reveal is a thoroughly creative timepiece. 

With short lugs and a 42mm case, this is an exceptionally comfortable timepiece on the wrist, both big and small.