The Watchmaker
The Watchmaker
The long-awaited second Digital Business Leaders gathering took place in mid-March and was devoted to mechanical watches. As you can imagine, there was no way I was going to miss it.
As a reminder, our first gathering covered the theory: we explored the history of several watch manufactures. This time, theory was combined with practice. First, Julia Kozlova told us the story of the Breguet manufacture and its famous founder, whose genius for engineering was matched by his talent for sales. She also mentioned the story of Marie Antoinette’s watch. It deserves a post of its own: the watch’s fate rivals that of Mary, Queen of Scots’ prayer book for sheer drama.
After the theory came the practical part. We were each given a mechanical watch, a tiny screwdriver and a pair of tweezers, then allowed to take the watch completely apart. Naturally, nobody managed to put theirs back together—but that was not the point.
Because the gathering was held at the Museum of the History of Science and Technology, once we had finished dismantling the watches, we were given a tour of this fascinating museum. Along the way, we learnt about various applications of mechanical clocks and watches. I wholeheartedly recommend the tour—it really broadens your horizons.
The gathering ended with a Q&A with a watchmaker. It was fascinating to hear the perspective of someone who can professionally appreciate the beauty and ingenuity of a watch’s inner workings. I think I asked more questions than anyone else. His answers about how a modern watchmaking workshop operates were particularly interesting, and in the course of our conversation we arranged another event in the watch series: this time, a tour of a working workshop. I cannot wait!
As a bonus, we all received a textbook for the First Watchmaking School’s core course on mechanical watches and met the school’s director. I found a one-day course on the school’s website that caught my eye. One free weekend, I’ll treat myself to a little intellectual stimulation.
