Fraser Timepiece Company - ONE44 Concept

[Gordon Fraser]

p.s.


The intensive study of watchmaking is already underway.


All the best


Gordon

[KyleA]

I am unbelievably excited for the ONE to be done and finished! Your project gives me serious inspiration!

My copy of George Daniels' book is on its way! I can't wait to immerse myself in it!

[stevend101]

Yamyambiker,

Im not sure where you are with the machining of the prototype case but in the past I used an Edinburgh company to produce stainless steel fittings manufactured to very tight tolerances and they were receptive to producing one off items. You mention that you currently work for an architects practice so if you are based in the central belt of Scotland I could point you in the direction of some of their work. For myself they manufactured spider fittings for bolted glass as well as tension rod connectors which require both internal and external threads not dissimilar to a watch case. I used to keep some examples of their work on my desk cause theres nothing like an engineered precision sculpture in stainless steel as a paper weight. Might be worth a look anyway so I have provided the details below.

Lazer Engineering (Scotland) Ltd.
Unit 5,
Newhailes Industrial Estate,
Musselburgh,
EH21 6SY

Tel: 0131 6533500
Fax: 0131 6653800
Email: info@lazerscot.com

Looking forward to the next instalment!

Steve

[CADstraps]

Wow - really like the new iteration. Lime on grey is an awesome combo, and I've got the perfect strap mapped out for it. Looks like you've moved to a sandblasted finish on the case, very cool. That signatuire is just a watermark to copyright the image, right? Not part of the dial?

I am confused with the 9 o'clock sub dial - why does it start at 4?

[Gordon Fraser]

Yamyambiker,

Im not sure where you are with the machining of the prototype case but in the past I used an Edinburgh company to produce stainless steel fittings manufactured to very tight tolerances and they were receptive to producing one off items. You mention that you currently work for an architects practice so if you are based in the central belt of Scotland I could point you in the direction of some of their work. For myself they manufactured spider fittings for bolted glass as well as tension rod connectors which require both internal and external threads not dissimilar to a watch case. I used to keep some examples of their work on my desk cause theres nothing like an engineered precision sculpture in stainless steel as a paper weight. Might be worth a look anyway so I have provided the details below.

Lazer Engineering (Scotland) Ltd.
Unit 5,
Newhailes Industrial Estate,
Musselburgh,
EH21 6SY

Tel: 0131 6533500
Fax: 0131 6653800
Email: info@lazerscot.com

Looking forward to the next instalment!

Steve

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the heads up! I will give them a call tomorrow and have a chat. I work at the west end so am close enough to Musselburgh to nip down if I need to. I agree about the paper weights! Because we get tonnes of samples in, there's always stuff hanging around that in isolation are beautiful objects. We had an example of a solar shader in the other week and it was like a giant drill bit, 4ft long. A beautiful sculpture in it's own right but might be lost when put on a building.


It's also the reason that the ONE watches are the way they are. I see so many samples of ways metal can be treated to celebrate the material itself, its not surprising my timepieces lean heavily on the beauty of material rather than the beauty and visual impact of say a rose turned face.


Anyway,


Thanks again and will update once things have been resolved.


All the best


Gordon

[Gordon Fraser]

Hi CADStraps


Thanks for the message.


The sig is just a watermark you're right. Not part of the face.


The 9 o'clock sub starts at 4 because I'm an idiot and photoshopped this at midnight last night... It's meant to be a the hour sub and thus a 4 hour max, but why it starts at 4 is beyond me... The 4 would have been at the 9'oclock position on the sub but the longer slit is taking that place...so really what I'm getting at here is that I'm an idiot and forgive me?


The lime/beadblast is a personal favourite. I've got a bunch of other combos but this one is the ONE....see what I did there?



Fancy sharing the strap combo?


Cheers


Gordon

[dacattoo]

A selection from my library that would expand your knowledge of your endeavor. The first is one of the most famous horology books in print "Saunier's Treatise on Modern Horology" written in 1861 and still considered the bible of sorts of horology. The second is the WOSTEP textbook " The Theory of Horology". The second, third and forth are well respected works on complicated watches. The fifth is a solid textbook from the Joseph Bulova school of watchmaking. I recommend this book to all those amateurs out there as it is very clearly written and understandable.
It is often available on the internet. The sixth is required reading by all watch enthusiasts. It was also a film on PBS i believe. The story of the watch and the watchmaker that made the first watch accurate enough to determine longitude. After reading it, go to the Royal Observatory in London and see the actual watches. The last is one of several books written by Donald deCarle, a treasure of information on complicated watches.
He also wrote number three. Read and understand all these and we will call you ​Master.

[Gordon Fraser]

A selection from my library that would expand your knowledge of your endeavor. The first is one of the most famous horology books in print "Saunier's Treatise on Modern Horology" written in 1861 and still considered the bible of sorts of horology. The second is the WOSTEP textbook " The Theory of Horology". The second, third and forth are well respected works on complicated watches. The fifth is a solid textbook from the Joseph Bulova school of watchmaking. I recommend this book to all those amateurs out there as it is very clearly written and understandable.
It is often available on the internet. The sixth is required reading by all watch enthusiasts. It was also a film on PBS i believe. The story of the watch and the watchmaker that made the first watch accurate enough to determine longitude. After reading it, go to the Royal Observatory in London and see the actual watches. The last is one of several books written by Donald deCarle, a treasure of information on complicated watches.
He also wrote number three. Read and understand all these and we will call you ​Master.

Hi Decattoo


Thanks so much for this comprehensive list of reading material, it definitely looks like the perfect library to have if you are going to be dealing with the movements themselves. I will absolutely have a look.


All the best to you and yours,


Gordon

[dacattoo]

Speaking of the best and Scotland, this usually goes well with reading any of the selections.

[Gordon Fraser]

Speaking of the best and Scotland, this usually goes well with reading any of the selections.

Ha, yep you're on the right lines now. Christmas for me this year will be spent on the West Coast, a cottage on the edge of Loch Fyne.


Daniels is coming with me and there'll be plenty of singles to keep us going. Good times.



Cheers



Gordon