Quarter Pounders and the Art of a Hand-Carved Dial
Catching up with Korea's rising watchmaker; scary good fakes; a unique Chopard with one of the best dials I've seen.
Today, short hits on four very different topics—let me know what you think of the format. In this newsletter:
Checking in with Minhoon Yoo, an exciting Korean indie watchmaker.
Breitling-Gallet, Rolex-C.F. Bucherer, and the Great Reshuffle—behind the scenes as the industry looks to survive a slowdown.
Think you can spot a fake Rolex? A closer look at a couple scary good counterfeits.
Watch of the Week: A unique Chopard with a beauuuutiful straw dial.
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Checking In With Minhoon Yoo, Indie Watchmaker from South Korea
I first DM’d Korean watchmaker Minhoon Yoo in February 2022. A few months later he was featured in Hodinkee (s/o Cole), and eventually, the NY Times. He had just introduced his Carved Piece, defined by its hand-carved dial.
I’d reached out about a potential allocation. The price was $18k, with 50 percent down and delivery expected in about a year. I didn’t end up going through with it, but a few friends did—one has since taken delivery of his Carved Piece.
Recently, Minhoon has been posting more completed watches, so I called him up to see how it’s going. We chatted earlier this week while Minhoon ate a Quarter Pounder with cheese.1
First, he admitted the delivery process has been slower than expected. That estimated one-year wait has been more like 2–3 years.
“I realized that making watches one at a time is very slow, so I needed to start making the parts and finishing them together.”
The Dial. Minhoon CNCs each of the 34 components of the dial, then hand carving a random pattern onto the dial. The carving used to take him two days, but he’s down to about 10–12 hours now.
He offers a white dial bleached with sulphuric acid (the George Daniels method) or the above black dial achieved with titanium electroplating.
The Movement. The Carved Piece uses a reworked ETA 7001. The movement’s standard bridges are too thin for the deep anglage (the bridge’s polished edges) Minhoon wanted to execute, so he made his own bridges of German silver.
As for the hardest part?
“I get nervous during assembly because I know every part took so much time to prepare,” Minhoon says. A single scratch means repolishing. Finishing, however, is more relaxing—he puts on a podcast (watchmaking or tennis) and finds his rhythm.
Minhoon has about 25 clients waiting on a Carved Piece, and he’s still taking orders (“I’m married,” he explains). He hoped to start his next project sooner, but running a business keeps him focused on the Carved Piece.
Minhoon’s order book is open, but clients should expect a 2.5+ year wait. As for growth?
“I’m not looking to expand right now,” he says. “I went to art school–I focus on what I want to create. It’s like making an indie film versus a blockbuster.”
For Minhoon, watches are artistic expression.
The Great Reshuffle: Breitling–Gallet Postscript
Breitling is acquiring Gallet. Rolex shut down Carl F. Bucherer. We’ve been waiting for the relaunch of Urban Jurgensen under Kari Voutilainen’s stewardship. LVMH has relaunched Gerald Genta and Daniel Roth under La Fabrique du Temps.
With the modern watch market struggling, there’s a lot of talk about “consolidation,” consultant-speak for large groups shutting down or selling off brands.
But I think we’re seeing a reshuffling.
So many brands just aren’t working right now. We’ve talked about the temporary furloughs at Jaeger-LeCoultre. Even Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele recently said his workshops have reduced hours by 10-20%, but conveyed a “cautious confidence” for the year ahead.
Rather than double down on struggling brands, some groups are reaching into the past, resurrecting brands they hope customers care about. Of course, if you’re Rolex, there’s no reason to waste even one second on Carl F. Bucherer when you have Rolex. Other large groups might have to make similar decisions.
Even Zenith supplying movements to other LVMH brands is a reshuffling of resources. Similarly, Hermes seems to be acquiring Vaucher and other suppliers from the Sandoz Family Foundation—everything except the Parmigiani Fleurier brand.2
But here’s the uncomfortable part: What does it say about the watch industry if a brand that hasn’t even been making watches might have better prospects than one that has?
Hopefully, this Great Reshuffle reflects an industry adapting to a new reality.
Have a tip or story you want to share? Reach out to tony[at]unpolishedwatches.com or anonymously here.
The Roundup
🕵️ Close up with a fake Rolex and TAG Heuer. Secondary market platform Bezel just sent over its annual Market Insights. The most interesting bits are a few counterfeit watches that Bezel rejected through its authentication process.3 I asked if they could share some photos—here’s what they sent:
First up is a TAG Heuer Aquaracer. Unlike a typical clone, this fake uses an actual Sellita SW-200, the same movement TAG modifies for the Aquaracer—the only real differences are in the engravings, serial numbering, and finishing.
It shows how fakes can even use real Swiss-made components nowadays. And let’s be honest: If a freaking TAG Heuer Aquaracer is getting faked, then nothing is safe. Bezel says it rejects 29% of listings.
Bezel also showed this modern Rolex GMT-Master II with a green dial that sells at about a $5k premium to its black-dial cousin. Here, there were signs the original black dial had been swapped for this green dial, further confirmed under UV light, with the hands glowing a light blue, a signature of Chromalight which isn’t period-correct for this particular watch.
We talk a lot about Franken watches in the vintage world (covering a couple just last week), but it’s become an issue even with Rolex watches less than 20 years old.
🤓 Collector’s review of a Patek 5270 perpetual calendar chronograph. Collector Raoul wrote an honest piece on selling his Patek Philippe ref. 5270R.
On day one of owning it, the chronograph stopped working, so he sent it back to Patek. An overhaul took two months, but two more issues needing service quickly followed. By then, Raoul stuffed it in the safe and tried to forget.
There has been some talk of issues with early 5270s—after all, it was Patek’s first perpetual calendar chronograph movement when introduced in 2011—but these seem to have been mostly straightened out in later versions (and let’s not even mention the “chin”).
Beyond these issues, there’s another reason Raoul sold his 5270: He bought a ref. 5970, the 5270’s predecessor.
“I used to get annoyed at people saying how superior it is, but the second you put on a 5970 you have to agree,” he says. Even as someone who prefers smaller watches, I agree: The 5970 rips. There’s a reason it’s perhaps The Last Great Patek:
😅 Newsletter advertising is turning writers into part-time sales reps. This newsletter hasn’t had advertisers (eBay, Subdial) since 2022—I’m curious to see how the space evolves.
🗼 Frank Lloyd Wright’s mile-high skyscraper. The Illinois could’ve been 2x as tall as the Burj Khalifa.
💡 Scroll Wikipedia like TikTok with this fun interface.
🎧 Pare Pare Podcast. While in Indianapolis for vintage watch meetup NAABS, I recorded a podcast with Trevor of Pare Pare. We talk Pitchfork, Watches & Wonders, Reversos, and finding a niche:
Watch of the Week: Chopard Alpine Eagle ‘Time for Art’
Today’s Watch of the Week comes from Alex Kaiser, a watch collector and founder of Poolie Studios in Germany.
“Last year, I reached a milestone as a Chopard collector with the L.U.C Strike One,” Alex said. “Now I'm happy to expand my collection with something unique.” Alex has been a fan of the Alpine Eagle since its launch in 2019, even traveling around the world to acquire a few.
Last December, Chopard made a unique Alpine Eagle 41 XP for Phillips’ Time for Art charitable auction benefitting the Swiss institute.
The highlight is its straw marquetry dial, a first for Chopard and crafted in-house. The straw pieces have varying sizes, thickness, and shades, meant to evoke an eagle’s view soaring above New York City.
I (Tony) was completely taken by the marquetry dial when I saw it last December, so was thrilled to learn it ended up with a subscriber. In person, it has this organic texture unlike anything I’ve seen.4
“The lot was more popular than I had expected,” Alex said. “I only bid two times: First and last bid :)”
A nice P.S.: Since Alex lives in Germany, he was subject to an additional 19% in fees for shipping, customs, and tax. But Chopard took care of it all, allowing him to pick up the watch at his local Chopard boutique instead.
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Or comment below (my favorite):
In 2022, Agaki (previous Rescapement contributor!) wrote this fun piece about visiting Minhoon in Seoul.
So who do we think will acquire Parmigiani? More to come…
This isn’t a full endorsement of Bezel or its authentication, but I appreciate them sharing the report and additional images.
Maybe a Klings silk dial?
Love the new format, keep ‘em coming! One thing that stroke me right away: “what does it say about the watch industry if a brand that hasn't even been making watches might have better prospects than one that has?”
A dedicated article on this would be invaluable. I think a lot of it has to do with fatigue, and price increases at retail — essentially watches costing more (but delivering less). First thoughts that came to mind but definitely something worth exploring further I think.
Hey Tony - any regrets not going through with the Minhoon Yoo allocation ?