Golden Charm - A Speake-Marin Icon in Gold

It saddens me that Peter Speake-Marin no longer is associated with the brand he founded in 2002.

With his background in antique restoration and starting his early years in Piccadilly, Speake-Marin designed the now recognisable and iconic Piccadilly case, with distinctive screwed lug and pleated crown. The Speake-Marin of early years came in either the 38mm or the 42mm case. Featured here is the 38mm example which actually fits in pretty nicely for me. And if I am not mistaken, the range called Resilience only came in later.

Due to the case design, and in particular the lugs, the 38mm actually wears like a 40mm. I do have one of the Resilience in a steel case with a Grand Feu Enamel dial but some also come in gold cases as in this case - a solid rose gold case with a rose gold dial.

The signature case - the Piccadilly and the signature lugs. Each Resilience comes with an anti-reflective coated Crystal on the front and case back too.

But the beauty of this piece is in the centre engraving which is hand done.

Hand engraved Guilloché dial - the number of hours put into this gorgeous beauty is unimaginable.

A close up of the centrepiece.

The sheen of the Guilloché dial in pink gold.

The flame-blued steel hands are particularly well made and classic Speake-Marin "Foundation" style central hours and minutes.

A nice brushed dial on the inside.

The timepieces comes with an automatic winding modified ETA2824 movement. What has been changed in the Calibre FW2012? Well, the bridges, gear train, setting lever spring, main plate and rotor wheel has been either replaced or re-designed and they are all hand polished prior to encasing.

The winding rotor features the Speake-Marin signature motif - the watchmaker's topping tool.

The modified movement also features a solid construction with a large balance for precise timekeeping.

The Calibre FW2012 comes with a 42 hours power reserve, 26 jewels and a balance frequency of 28,800 vph. The rotor is hand polished and the quality is excellent!

Totally, a nice package

The rose gold case and Guilloché rose gold dial coupled with the blued steel hands makes the Speake-Marin a very attractive proposition. Peter makes some awesome timepieces which I have covered before and I have to say my favourite being the Magister Tourbillon. Simple complication.

Speake-Marin Tourbillon - Simple & Elegant

I recently became an owner of an earlier edition of the Resilience by Peter Speake-Marin and I am still loving it. Then I had the chance to meet the man after the acquisition. What a nice encounter too.

The Resilience comes in the Piccadilly case so recognisable as signature of Speake-Marin timepieces. Read more about the Resilience in an earlier post.

Mr. Speake-Marin brought with him two of his new signature pieces - the Magister Tourbillon and the Magister Vertical Double Tourbillon.

First, the Magister Tourbillon... Simple yet complicated and oozes class. Fitted in the signature 38mm rose gold Piccadilly case, the Magister Tourbillon is a beauty on the wrist. The 38mm wears just nice for an Asian (read smaller) wrist. The dial is white enamel as one would expect from PSM. Great proportions and I love those blued hands.

The case back is as stunning as the front. Featured here is an automatic movement with a platinum rotor.

A closer look at the movement.

And the Tourbillon too. A very well finished 60 seconds Tourbillon with the signature watchmaker's topping tool.

Next up the Magister Vertical Double Tourbillon. They say two is better than one. But I disagree - the Vertical Double Tourbillon is nice but truth be told, I prefer the Magister Tourbillon for its simplicity.

The more complicated Vertical Double Tourbillon also comes with a dial made from oven fired enamel, a power reserve indicator above the dial as well as a Day/Night indicator just beneath the dial. The J-Class timepiece comes in a white or rose gold Piccadilly case - 46mm.

The case back features a manual winding movement. The finishing is great.

Personally, the Magister Tourbillon is more appealing to me. Simply elegant. And the 38mm size in a Piccadilly case is just right for me. If only my pocket were deep enough.

Pictures taken with an iPhone 6.

English Maker, Swiss Quality - Peter Speake-Marin

Fact is that English watchmakers are now making their mark in the world dominated by the Swiss and Germans.

Peter Speake-Marin is as English as it gets. A member of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI) which represents all independent watchmakers, Speake-Marin has been member since 2004. The timepieces especially the Resilience series are instantaneously recognisable with their oversized screwed lugs and the case style.

I recently acquired an earlier model Resilience called the Piccadilly PS4E4S. The case type is called the Piccadilly. According to Peter, this Resilience was one of the first two pieces he had designed in 2002 and first made in 2003.

I particularly like this simple three handed timepiece - great proportions and with an oven fired enamel dial to boot. The watch I have is an early Resilience and the dials were made at that time by a company called Donze.

The dial work is excellent as one would expect of an enamel dial. The enamel dials are fired repeatedly in an oven at temperatures exceeding 800 degrees Celcius to achieve a consistent and lasting look. The hands are hardened flamed-blue steel hands.

Another recognisable feature of the Speake-Marin timepiece is the large pleated crown. The Resilience comes in two sizes - 38mm and 42mm. Mine is the 42mm version with a steel case.

The back featuring a modified ETA 2824 movement. The setting mechanism was simplified, the rotor bridge and mass changed as well as hand finished and personalised components. Peter also changed the Canon pinion and hour wheel to a higher version.

One of the feature of the movement is the large balance for precision timekeeping but Peter also spends time regulating the movements to ensure proper timekeeping. And unlike in other ETA movement watches, the Resilience comes to live after just three turns of the crown. The rotor wheel is another signature of PSM - the watchmaker's topping tool.

I have to thank my friend Kevin for pointing out this particular version - the one made with a modified ETA2824 movement which is Peter's earlier works. The current series of Resilience uses a Vaucher movement instead. The earlier Resilience feels heavier and more solid as the case is made in steel. Now this is a timepiece that you can keep for generations to come as the enamel dial will never tarnish and the movement is equally easy to service.