Author Topic: EHF-Horlogere Blog  (Read 21855 times)

Offline danny

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EHF-Horlogere Blog
« on: April 12, 2012, 10:51:06 PM »
EHF-Horlogere is a new independent watch company based in Le Locle, Switzerland.
They maintain a blog which contains some very interesting articles on real watchmaking.

Do check out the blog: EHF-Live!

Offline EHFwatch

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #1 on: April 12, 2012, 11:21:04 PM »
Thank you Danny and the Malaysian Watch Forum for allowing us the opportunity to post here.

Unlike other micro or small brands, we are made up of watchmakers entirely in Le Locle. And watchmakers do not have thousands or hundreds of thousands to do advertising. All we have are our hands, google and friends. But other than sales, our other main aim is to educate emerging and developed markets outside of Europe and the USA on classical watchmaking and the truths in the watchmaking industry. We hope all watch lovers and collectors will have a look at our blog and see what we have to say, direct from the watchmakers and without a 2nd voice through the marketing department. Sales of our watches would of course sustain us and let us do what we love to do, but most importantly, even if watch sales are not rosy, we hope you'll visit our blog as often as you can. 

We really want to try to bring the mystique, the tradition and the art of classical watchmaking from Le Locle to the whole world, WITHOUT the  marketing and half-truths.

Yours sincerely,

EHF @ Le Locle

P.S : If anyone has any questions about watchmaking, we would gladly try and answer them ! Fire away ! Of course, if its a question of whether this brand or that brand is better, we've been told by a lawyer friend that we best not answer them. As long as we don't get sued and become poorer than we already are, we'll try and answer your questions.  Also, we are watchmakers and we are not good at computers so bear with us if we are late in replying. Cheers !

Offline am_sober

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #2 on: April 13, 2012, 01:26:55 AM »
Liking the blog~  :thumbsup:

N welcome EHF to MWF~

tc cheers~ ^^
 :Cheers:
"People who says it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it~ ^^Y"

Offline EHFwatch

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #3 on: April 13, 2012, 01:30:46 AM »
Thank you for liking the blog !

:)

Offline takashi78

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #4 on: April 13, 2012, 06:11:00 AM »
What modifications or extra finishings do you guys do to the unitas movt to stand out from the competition?

Offline chrisyen

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #5 on: April 13, 2012, 07:15:04 AM »
What modifications or extra finishings do you guys do to the unitas movt to stand out from the competition?

i saw perlage on base plate, some edges beveled, blued screws, cote de geneve on bridges.... rhodium plated???

but i will expect maybe some modification on bridges, maybe a swan neck, screwed gold chaton set stone.....
to make the watch look better drastically 

Offline EHFwatch

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #6 on: April 13, 2012, 12:04:08 PM »
Ah, this is one of the best questions anyone can ask of us and which we gladly would answer. Give me some time though to organize it.

But for a pretty good idea, you would need an eye loupe and i'll take a few pictures of before and after if i can later today, and post it here.

Oh yes, Barrel + Geartrain + Balance bridges are all Black Rhodium coated.

And for the rest, its in the bevels and i need to take some pictures to demonstrate what i'm talking about.


What modifications or extra finishings do you guys do to the unitas movt to stand out from the competition?

Offline EHFwatch

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #7 on: April 13, 2012, 12:12:45 PM »
I hope there are more questions like these. Keep them coming.

Yes, there is perlage on the main pate but thats quite standard and not difficult to execute at all. All edges on Barrel, gear train and balance bridges are bevelled. Cotes de Geneve comes standard with the movement. And yes, Gear train+barrel+ balance bridges are all Black rhodium plated.

Other micro/small brands won't touch the balance bridge. Too complicated and too time consuming to dis-aseemble and re-assemble for all their movements.

For the suggestions, we are going to do that on our classic models actually. The reason is a matter of style of our watchmakers. They felt that swan neck bridges with glycudur balance paired with a DLC case and Black Rhodium didn't go well hand in hand. The Mk 0 and Mk 1 is partially high tech coupled with classical beveling. Its hard to explain but putting on the watch and looking at it from our pictures are entirely 2 different things at the same time. We don't ultimately hope that our watches sell because of the pictures. We would really like for buyers or interested collectors to see and feel the watch. Also, we seek to educate people on the "Pop-in-case-up" products and our products. We really do not leave the movement alone and then sell with alot of fluffy marketing.

What modifications or extra finishings do you guys do to the unitas movt to stand out from the competition?

i saw perlage on base plate, some edges beveled, blued screws, cote de geneve on bridges.... rhodium plated???

but i will expect maybe some modification on bridges, maybe a swan neck, screwed gold chaton set stone.....
to make the watch look better drastically

Offline JOS2012

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #8 on: April 13, 2012, 12:33:23 PM »
Interesting...
Of course some of us I'm sure have long been aware of the marketing hype of some 'manufactures' and even some 'revived' brands...
Nevertheless coming from a Swiss watchmaker makes it even more credible rather than google searches and our reading between the lines of advertisements which may not always be 100% accurate...

Would be great if you eventually came up with your own movement but we all know how expensive and time consuming it is from development to prototype to production and testing for long term reliability...but still we will wait...
after all there is also the other Swiss maker that is now in Austria...

A great start nevertheless...congratulations..
« Last Edit: April 13, 2012, 01:18:55 PM by JOS2012 »
Personal taste and preferences evolve over years, hopefully not 1 full circle otherwise it means we haven't learnt a single thing.

Offline EHFwatch

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #9 on: April 13, 2012, 08:40:41 PM »
Interesting...
Of course some of us I'm sure have long been aware of the marketing hype of some 'manufactures' and even some 'revived' brands...
Nevertheless coming from a Swiss watchmaker makes it even more credible rather than google searches and our reading between the lines of advertisements which may not always be 100% accurate...

Would be great if you eventually came up with your own movement but we all know how expensive and time consuming it is from development to prototype to production and testing for long term reliability...but still we will wait...
after all there is also the other Swiss maker that is now in Austria...

A great start nevertheless...congratulations..


Actually, why we decided to sell our own watches is really to accumulate funds to start our own movement. We have all the knowledge and skills but its really expensive as you put it. Amongst us, we have an ultra talented movement constructor due to his experience in restoration. We have more or less R&D-ed ways to even make our own hairsprings, which is the most troublesome component in the movement. We need money to fund that and we even thought of Kickstarter but thats for later.

But yes, we are so annoyed with marketing ! We think marketing is needed but not overhyped or frivolous marketing. We want to do it the educational way ... We think people should know ...

Thanks for the encouragement ! We hope to see you as one of our buyers some day though and we're quite sure you won't be disappointed .. :)

Offline TheHobbit

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #10 on: April 13, 2012, 09:05:27 PM »
Congratulations on your brand and blog. It makes very good reading. I am sure you (and your team) will do well and be successful.

Offline EHFwatch

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #11 on: April 14, 2012, 03:44:21 AM »
Congratulations on your brand and blog. It makes very good reading. I am sure you (and your team) will do well and be successful.

Thank you for the compliment. Well, we don't know if we'll be successful but we'll be mightily satisfied if we are able to create some kind of an impact on buyer knowledge. Seriously, its an insult to watchmaking if all you do is to pop in a standard ETA movement into a case and call it watchmaking. And if one does, don't charge people thousands for it and definitely don't call it a tribute/honor to swiss watchmaking.

Offline rusminag

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #12 on: April 14, 2012, 07:42:16 AM »
How to order? Please pm the price list.
Don't Waste Time, Go for Rolex

Offline hanz079

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #13 on: April 14, 2012, 08:24:23 AM »
Congratulations on your brand and blog. It makes very good reading. I am sure you (and your team) will do well and be successful.

Thank you for the compliment. Well, we don't know if we'll be successful but we'll be mightily satisfied if we are able to create some kind of an impact on buyer knowledge. Seriously, its an insult to watchmaking if all you do is to pop in a standard ETA movement into a case and call it watchmaking. And if one does, don't charge people thousands for it and definitely don't call it a tribute/honor to swiss watchmaking.

We do agree on the same thing though.
If you think it's an insult to pop a standard ETA movement into a case and call it watchmaking, I guess alot of us here are on the same page.
If the product you're offering provides good value... I am sure I will support.
If no one supports upstarts, then I guess there will be no advancement in watches and technologies...
Good Luck and I hope your venture succeeds. :Cheers:
Terrenceterrence "seriously, i think buying a watch for it's secondhand value is like getting married and thinking about divorce at the back of your mind."


watchionable.blogspot.com

Offline ck77

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #14 on: April 14, 2012, 09:16:13 AM »
standard unpolished unsigned 6497 in pam 318 that cost $6000
 :HammerHead: :HammerHead: :HammerHead:

Offline pexus

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #15 on: April 14, 2012, 10:36:30 AM »
book-marked this page for future visits... ;D
`Learning to appreciate my watch as a tool, and not some fancy branded jewelry'

Offline Laktos Kid

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #16 on: April 14, 2012, 11:28:45 AM »
interesting sites you have there :thumbsup:
welcome to MWF, hope ya enjoy the stay  :Cheers:

Offline EHFwatch

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #17 on: April 14, 2012, 02:40:22 PM »
Congratulations on your brand and blog. It makes very good reading. I am sure you (and your team) will do well and be successful.

Thank you for the compliment. Well, we don't know if we'll be successful but we'll be mightily satisfied if we are able to create some kind of an impact on buyer knowledge. Seriously, its an insult to watchmaking if all you do is to pop in a standard ETA movement into a case and call it watchmaking. And if one does, don't charge people thousands for it and definitely don't call it a tribute/honor to swiss watchmaking.

We do agree on the same thing though.
If you think it's an insult to pop a standard ETA movement into a case and call it watchmaking, I guess alot of us here are on the same page.
If the product you're offering provides good value... I am sure I will support.
If no one supports upstarts, then I guess there will be no advancement in watches and technologies...
Good Luck and I hope your venture succeeds. :Cheers:

Thanks for encouragement but i think our biggest obstacle is awareness and marketing. We do not have a massive marketing budget at all and we are all new. And after all, when it comes to a watch, its all about the feel and looks. We are not designers unfortunately but we know how our watches feel on the wrist. For value, i think absolutely no one can beat us on that. DLC case and hand touched movement below USD 3000 ? That is unheard of and we are pretty confident of what we offer since all one needs is a 10x eye loupe to see the difference. We strictly don't do pop-in watches.

Thanks for the words of encouragement and yeah, you're the 2nd person here to talk about advancements in watches and technologies. We're ultimately trying to do that but we need the funding first. If this is successful, we are 100% going to construct and sell our own truly in-house movement and not charge hundreds of thousands of dollars for it.

Offline EHFwatch

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #18 on: April 14, 2012, 02:41:29 PM »
standard unpolished unsigned 6497 in pam 318 that cost $6000
 :HammerHead: :HammerHead: :HammerHead:

Ah, i see that incident is well known and not forgotten. :)

Offline EHFwatch

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #19 on: April 14, 2012, 02:42:55 PM »
book-marked this page for future visits... ;D

Thanks !!!! Do look up the blog often !! We're going to do full scale education on the parts of watchmaking which is much less publicized !!

And keep the questions coming !! We're actually pretty surprised at the level of knowledge and passion here in the MWF for real and classical watchmaking. You guys should be as big as WUS ! :)

Offline EHFwatch

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #20 on: April 14, 2012, 02:48:03 PM »
interesting sites you have there :thumbsup:
welcome to MWF, hope ya enjoy the stay  :Cheers:

With all the right questions here, we're having lots of fun. On our side, it has been interesting. Malaysia is relatively unknown to us and we got in here with a suggestion from an asian friend. We're really glad for the recommendation !! :)

I hope everyone would continue to fire questions at us on watchmaking ! It gives us the opportunity to explain and to educate !
« Last Edit: April 14, 2012, 03:43:55 PM by EHFwatch »

Offline EHFwatch

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #21 on: April 18, 2012, 08:30:34 PM »
Hey guys !

The boys/girls in Le Locle would like some ideas about what topics in watchmaking people might be interested in and they could blog about them. Lets hear some suggestions ! :)


Offline takashi78

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #22 on: April 19, 2012, 11:54:54 AM »
I think more info on how you guys make the "normal" UNITAS "special" to your own standards.
How you do each parts finishing and if you modified any existing parts.

Any improved accuracy after you guys/gals finished the movement.

Offline hanz079

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #23 on: April 19, 2012, 12:03:20 PM »
I think more info on how you guys make the "normal" UNITAS "special" to your own standards.
How you do each parts finishing and if you modified any existing parts.

Any improved accuracy after you guys/gals finished the movement.
Yeah, I agree.
Maybe a pictorials on your work and the detailed finishings, changes or improvements done.
We always read the sentence "a movement that has passed thru the hands of our master watchmakers" from other brands and we are wondering what did their "master watchmakers" do?
It will be an eye opener I am sure. :Cheers:
Terrenceterrence "seriously, i think buying a watch for it's secondhand value is like getting married and thinking about divorce at the back of your mind."


watchionable.blogspot.com

Offline rusminag

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Re: EHF-Horlogere Blog
« Reply #24 on: April 19, 2012, 01:38:58 PM »
Hey guys !

The boys/girls in Le Locle would like some ideas about what topics in watchmaking people might be interested in and they could blog about them. Lets hear some suggestions ! :)

The impact of swiss movements short supply (Swatch's ETA) to the watchmaking industry.... maybe...
Don't Waste Time, Go for Rolex