Day 1 of our tour began with a very excited group of people, all eager to begin the weeklong journey across watchmaking regions in Switzerland and Germany. After meeting our coach driver Eric (who has the uncanny ability to fit a full sized bus into areas designed to accommodate Smart cars), we departed the hotel and took the brief ride to the home/atelier of Paul Gerber in Zurich. We our group was met there by Paul himself, along with his wife Rut, and Beat Weinmann (who works with the Swiss retailer "Embassy"), which is responsible for the marketing of the MIH watch (more to follow on this special project).

 

Herr Gerber began by presenting the group with a little history on his company and his accomplishments over the past 30 years as a watch/clockmaker. He began his career in the mid 1970s, working first on miniature clocks, and subsequently moving to wristwatches. As you will see, he has also done work on a number of Faberge eggs, and he did significant design and development work on the world's most complicated wristwatch (one of a kind - see third image below).

 

In addition to designing and building his own movements, Herr Gerber has done development work for a number of well known companies, including Glashutte Original (tourbillon), Perrelet (retrograde seconds) and Fortis (alarm chronograph complication). He also developed the first prototypes for the new Porsche Design Indicator chronograph, shown below.

 

His double rotor design is also well known amongst collectors. When questioned about the reason behind the rotors, he responded with a wry smile "I have two rotors. Nobody else has two rotors." He went on to explain that this was as much an exercise in art as it was an exercise in utility. It was simply a different interpretation of design.

 

We were then given a brief introduction to the MIH watch project, and Herr Gerber's collaboration with Ludwig Oechslin and the Musée International d'Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each MIH watch is donated to the museum to aid in the restoration of an extremely complex (astronomical indications and other mechanisms) clock built by Daniel Vachey over a 30 year period beginning in 1938. I will write much more about the MIH watch later, as our lunch included a detailed presentation on this interesting project.

 

We were then ushered into the actual workship, which comprises much of the lower level of the small home. Three watchmakers work here, along with Herr Gerber and his wife.