Sylvain Pinaud ‹ Martin Pulli

April 19, 2019

Sylvain Pinaud

By martinpulli — Comments Off

Sylvain Pinaud – A word from the watchmaker.
Sylvain Pinaud is the son of a watchmaker and spent a lot of time on his workbench since childhood.It was first with his father that he discovered the fascinating profession of watchmaking. Captivated by his work and convinced that it would be a vocation; it is naturally that young Sylvain joined the watchmaking school of Morteau.
Once graduated, there followed years of practice in discrete workshops or large watchmaking factories that allowed Sylvain to forge a solid experience.
Sylvain Pinaud worked with Dominique Mouret on restorations of historical pieces and on many projects as a prototype technician in factories. Often frustrated by the lack of watchmaking consistency and the disappearance of know-how, Sylvain decided to take a different orientation in the practice of his profession.

Sylvain Pinaud decided in late 2017,to begin as an independent watchmaker in the small town of Ste-Croix, on the Jura mountains, surrounded

by friends with many skills, so that he could practice watchmaking in accordance with his own values and dreams.
He is far from the assembly line without soul and he makes the choice of a qualitative watchmaking. Sylvain decided to dedicate all of his time to the realization of single projects or small series, but also to the restoration of old watchmaking objects, which are very inspiring and allow Sylvain to deepen his knowledge and experience. Sylvain Pinaud ~ “I wanted to create a watch, my interpretation … but the task is difficult and long for a watchmaker alone! And then there was the contest! Encouraged by watchmaking friends I registered, past qualifying events and the final subject came up: A chronograph Monopoussoir, it’s magic a time! A pressure on a pusher and everything comes alive … but delicate and complex to achieve. Carried by the challenge I launched to myself, the first ideas lying on the paper, very quickly I decided to completely rebuild the movement to obtain a fully integrated mechanism that satisfied me fully. In the end, after only 1 year of hard work, a complete watch was born! Awarded today at the MOF contest, I love this piece, I really enjoy creating it! … So why not offer it to fine watchmaking lovers?”

Origine 2022= back to basics , Artisanal time-only

“I create this timepieces as an homage to the the most beautiful achievements from the science of Horology, my interpretation of the the heritage I received in my carreer.
An harmonius mix of technical excellence and timeless elegance.
Harmonized with the unique layout of the silver dial, the face of the watch presents timeless proportions.
The silvered dial, of a rare complexity, plays on contrasts and extraordinary finishing to offer perfect readability. Underlined by its polished steel cartouche, it shares the spotlight with the heart of the movement.
There is a large free sprung balance wheel, coupled with its Phillips balance-spring, which allows for precision adjustment.
Only traditional materials are used in this watch in their simplest treatment. These materials allow me to guarantee a perenniality and a great longevity. The wish is for this timekeeper is to guarantee an irreproachable precision and that for centuries.
The movement, is hand wound, oscillating at 21600 v.p.h and guaranteeing 55 hours of operation.
Its robust calibre is housed in a 40 mm case.
The ergonomic shape provides great comfort on all wrists,
Unless otherwise requested, we prioritize steel for the housing, lighter and stronger.
I wanted to create a elegant watch that could be worn every day.”

The Watch-Artisinal and focused.

Sylvain Pinaud says ~ “From the movement imposed by the subject (ETA 6497), only the gear and the escapement are preserved. The rest: bridge, main plate, winding system and balance wheel are completely rebuilt and manufactured to fully integrate the chronograph. The choice of a traditional operation, namely horizontal clutch and column wheel, is for the watchmaker an evidence given that it’s beautiful, simple and effective! The delicate functions, as well others with strong constraints have ruby bearings. Each spring, jumper or lever is designed to harmonize with the whole and ensure optimal operation. In this prototype, a few parts were manufactured by CNC, the vast majority were handmade and with conventional machines. Tempering, bluing, decoration and polishing, all this is entirely done in the traditional way.”

Fine Finishes Highlight the unique chronograph!

Sylvain Pinaud ~ “My choice is to bring the light and the eye into every corner of the mechanism. Each detail is highlighted, each curve is enhanced and at each moment we discover other subtleties. The dressing was conceived around the chronograph. The peripheral sapphire crystal makes it possible to observe it from a new angle. The box, of a simple design, machined in a grade 5 titanium block plays on contrasts between brushed and polished bevellings. The caseback, the watchmaker wished it sober, revealing only the balance wheel and its bridge in the manner of marine chronometers.
The timepiece must respect anonymity for the contest, therefore no engraving appears on it. For the next manufactured chronographs, the words “Sylvain Pinaud Horloger”, “monopoussoir chronograph” as well as the number of the piece and the year will appear on the caseback. On the front face, will only appear soberly “Sylvain Pinaud” on the dial.
In this prototype, a few parts were manufactured by CNC, the vast majority were handmade and with conventional machines. Tempering, bluing, decoration and polishing, all this is entirely done in the traditional way.
The chronograph is layed out in a wide opening allowing to observe the different sequences. The shape of the components is directly related to the conventional manufacturing methods, each component must be able to be made without CNC, by a watchmaker! We come to a result of simple and functional shapes, as in the beautiful pieces of the past. All of the steels are mirror-polished and bevellings by hand. The wheels are also bevellings and circled.
Different surface finish and galvanic processing are combined to accentuate contrast and depth: The anthracite gray and grained mainplate, the upper bridge straight line to contrast with the grained dial.
The piece is customizable, especially dials and rhodium colors. Finally, the presented watch is a prototype, some small adjustments and small modifications are planned on the models to be produced, for instance the crown a little long, and the contrast of the minute counter to be accentuated.”