« ARTS MECANIQUES EN MOUVEMENT »
(Mechanical Arts In Motion)
The approach to mechanical arts requires constant questioning with regards to the integration of new materials, new standards and the increased "performance" opportunities they provide. The new components place their technical complexity in the hands of artists who set them in motion and reveal all their dimensions.
To push the envelope and explore new technical challenges, Pecqueur Conceptuals is developing new concepts engineered for performance rather than fashion. The company strives for legitimacy in all its products, from their historical roots to quality of final completed product, matched by a similarly high-level tone across all communication tools.
By blending metal aesthetics, handcrafted components and technical innovation through the depiction of dynamic motion, “Arts Mécaniques en Mouvement” is more than a brand signature. Leveraging a strong cultural significance, it sets the tone for carving out a new mindset, one in a league of its own, with the aim of designing thrilling, provocative, complex and cerebrally stimulating machines that transcend the word “Performance”.
The Inspiration: Onésiphore Pecqueur
From a new applied mechanical arithmetic to regulatory processes of mechanical equation.
The story of Onésiphore Pecqueur is that of a gifted mechanical mind. In 1814, when he was only 22 years old, Onésiphore published a description of his “planétaire” (planetary device) with a compass that could draw ellipses. A year later, striving for mathematical accuracy that he could apply to his increasingly complex gear mechanisms, he invented an arithmetic machine. In 1823, he won the National Exhibition Gold Medal for his clock that gave both sidereal and mean time. Leading scientists, including Emmanuel Arago, Gaspard de Prony and watchmaker Abraham Louis Breguet recognized the genius of Pecqueur’s work which set new reference codes and influenced many other scientists.
In 1827 Pecqueur, as a watchmaker, introduced a patent that was to become a key element in the development of the automobile. Aware that the wheels on an axle do not rotate at the same speed when turning, he invented a mechanical differential based on watchmaking. This key element enabled the adjustment of the rotational ratio of two wheels on the same axle when turning. Hence, the first automotive engineer was, in fact, a watchmaker.
> Read on
“Performance”
Regulatory Pendulum
Equiped With Synaptic Gears
Why the world needs a regulatory pendulum ?
Horology in a different mind-state motion: in order to transmit the essence of Pecqueur Conceptuals, the company behind the new watch concept asked a young designer to revisit the Regulating Clock functions invented by Mr. Onésiphore Pecqueur in the early 19th century, and to create a physical installation that could bring this mechanical wonder to life. Not many technical components can handle being taken out of their usual technical context to undergo such a transformation. However, the Differential – the very basis of all regulatory mechanisms, and one also used in the financial world – has been reimagined by Pecqueur Conceptuals and assigned a new regulatory role.
Onesiphore Pecqueur’s original regulating clock mechanism was designed to enable people to set their pocket watches. A watch that was out of sync with the pendulum was synchronised with a mechanical regulator. Once regulated, the watch could keep time once more. Today, the artistic interpretation of Pecqueur Conceptuals translates the mechanical regulatory control process from the domain of horology into the world of finance and shows how the adverse effects of financial crises might be mitigated.
In this installation, the specially designed clock contains a regulatory mechanism, or Differential, that remains unaffected by outside influences. The differential acts as a lever that controls and distributes power when changing gears to maintain a constant rate of progression under all circumstances. Thus the notion of ‘performance’ takes on its full meaning, transcending the merely technical notion of dynamic motion.
Using this vision, Pecqueur Conceptuals is wryly suggesting that a mechanical piece of engineering, driven by brain-power, may be exactly what is required to instigate the safe reverse journey of the world of finance on a trajectory back to earth and to greater stability.
> Read On
Differential:
Mechanical art defies time zones
Self-winding Caliber OP 21/1-15
The OP 21/1-15 movement with its differential device borrowed from that of watchmaker Onésiphore Pecqueur is a case of going back to roots. After laying the foundations of automotive development, this invention born almost 200 years ago now returns to its historical essence: horology.
While the principle of its differential goes a long way back, Caliber OP 21/1-15 from Pecqueur Conceptuals opens up whole new horizons in dealing with time zones. Rather than providing a 24-hour dual-time display with a central hand, it simultaneously indicates home time and that of an additional time zone on two dials – yet without involving a double mechanism. It also offers a rare and even unique watchmaking feature by displaying the GMT zone of the chosen second time zone.
> Read on
Watch Design Development
These days, connoisseurs of sophisticated mechanisms remain fascinated by complex horological movements.
For all those mechanically minded, horology remains the field of expertise par excellence. Its historical legitimacy speaks for itself and justifies Pecqueur Conceptuals’ choice of launch product : a new watch complication featuring the regulatory process of mechanical equation invented by Onésiphore...
For all those fascinated by all things mechanical, horology remains the field of expertise par excellence. Its historical legitimacy speaks for itself and explains Pecqueur Conceptuals’ decision to launch their company by introducing a new complication for a watch. The new timepiece features the regulatory process of mechanical equation, as invented by Onésiphore Pecqueur with his Differential mechanism in the 19th century.
In the domain of fine watchmaking, the subtle, artistic interplay of solids and voids is respected on every level. Whether chasing, engraving, case design or skeletonized movements, the love of precision, minutely mimetic execution and attention to detail are always present.
> Read On
