Magazine “Insight” No.6 (PDF) - Carl F. Bucherer

new products
“The Manero Collection”
Whereconsummatecraftsmanship
and aesthetics meet.
Back in antiquity, the Greek Xenophon
defined the concept ofcraftsmanship and
the advantages ofspecialization within certain
areas thus: “For example, one craftsman
makes men’sshoes, anothershoes forwomen.
There are also places where one man can
make alivingfromrepairing shoes, onefrom
cutting the leather, another bysewing the
uppers, and yet another who has nothing
to do with any ofthis but simply putting the
separate bits together. But, ofcourse,
it’s logical that aman who works within a
restricted area will do his job best.”
awealth ofspecialists
for asingle cause.
This idea applies perfectly to the skills and
craftsmanship involved in watchmaking.
Numerous specialists, including watchmakers,
engineers and designers, are responsible
for the individual steps in the process
of producing awatch. The watchmaker,
for instance, isboth specialist and artist: the
skilled individual who adjusts the micromechanical
components sothat they fit
together perfectly and then assembles them
all by hand, i.e. “manually”.
Manufacturing: inthe
literal sense of the terM.
The word “manufacture” originally derives
from the Latin manus, hand, and factura,
make. Referring to watch production, the
same word –manufacture –inFrench
describes acompany that designs, develops
and produces its own movements from start
to finish. Originally founded to do precisely
this, amanufacture is often, to this day,
the diametrical opposite ofindustrial mass
production. The production process in a
manufacture is divided into numerous steps
between numerous specialists, just as the
10 –InsIght by Carl F. buCherer Nº6
Greek Xenophon correctly defined it. When
we consider the detailed manual labor involved,
the meaning and significance of the
word becomes clear.
iMpressive…
The consummate, tradition-steeped craftsmanship
found at Carl F. Bucherer goes
all the way back to 1919, the year inwhich
company founder Carl Friedrich Bucherer
launched his first watch collection. Itis
demonstrated toimpressive effect inthe
Manero line from Carl F. Bucherer. “Manero”
itself literally means “that which is
guided by hand”. And, as the models inthe
watch line confirm, the name says it all.
Prime among them is the Manero Chrono-
Perpetual. Its outstanding features include
aperpetual calendar with correction-free
display ofthe date, day of the week, month
and moon phase. The mechanism is able to
recognize the lengths ofthe various months
and knows precisely when the next leap year
is due. In view of its mechanical intricacy,
this technical complication remains amajor
challenge, but one towhich the specialists
at Carl F. Bucherer are equal. Clearly: be-
cause in 2012, the Lucerne-based manufacturer
unveils what isalready the third version
of this model.
…anD branD new.
But the other models inthe Manero family
are noless convincing: the Manero Perpetual,
for instance, has acorrection-free
mechanism that overcomes the vagaries of
the Gregorian calendar and will only require
correction in 2100. Orthe Manero
CentralChrono, which has an eye-catching
new central chronograph display and was
likewise unveiled by Carl F. Bucherer at this
year’s Baselworld. Last, but not least, we
should mention the Manero RetroGrade.
Apart from the hour, minutes and seconds
hands, the designers have cleverly arranged
four additional displays and seven hands
for maximum legibility.
No matter whichmodel in Carl F. Bucherer’s
Manero family you look atmore closely,
they all combine sophisticated mechanics,
aesthetic elegance and precision craftsmanship.
It is good to know this combination
still exists. And even better toknow that it
comes naturally atCarl F.Bucherer.
Making of: The illustrations of the Manero line were produced with the help ofwell-known Swiss artist
Stephan Schmidlin inhis studio.