SJX Watches
Highlights: Notable Independents at Phillips Hong Kong
Phillips’ spring auction season wraps up with The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XXII on May 30 – 31. As is now the norm, independent watchmakers have carved out a significant section of the catalogue including the usual suspects from F.P. Journe and Philippe Dufour, as well as rare showings from under-the-radar makers like Oscillon and Yosuke Sekiguchi. Lot 878 – Oscillon L’instant de Vérité Despite how hot the indie segment has become, Oscillon has largely stayed under the radar, perhaps due to its intensely cerebral nature, or because the brand only produces about five watches per year. The duo behind the brand, Dominique Buser and Cyrano Devanthey, are collectors of pre-computerised watchmaking machines. Their collection is so extensive that they can produce all movement parts – save for the jewels and shock protection – under their own roof using these machines. Even putting this context aside, the watches themselves are still mechanically interesting. The most striking detail is the bowtie-shaped balance, which is harder to poise and less aerodynamic than a conventional annular balance, but looks much cooler. L’instant de Vérité uses an unusual tensator constant-force spring. To explain this, consider a tape measure. The force required to pull more length from a tape measure doesn’t noticeably increase regardless of the length already paid out. Now imagine hooking the end of the tape to a pulley, so that turning the pulley (winding) pulls tape out, and ...
