The Naked Watchmaker

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Part 4, The Piercing Saw. A photo study from 1991 by Willy Abplanalp and text by Gil Baillod...

The Piercing Saw

"To saw" is to insist until patience is broken.

The jeweller's hacksaw, which the watchmaker uses only occasionally, is a tool of fracture.

It separates abruptly, cutting material irreparably. But when the thin blade, stretched on the bow, meddles on the bridge of a movement to leave no mark on the piece of a watch, just to leave a shadow of metal between the rubies, then the piercing saw is an act of poetry. It is true that a skeleton watch is a delicate metal poem where space and time unite in the transparency of the movement.


Material reproduced with the agreement and consent of Bergeon SA