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History in Time goes East: by Marcus Hanke © text and pictures (if not indicated otherwise) M. Hanke, 2006 |
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As already stated in the first article of this series, the Armory Museum is one of Russia’s most important museums. While the building was erected in 1851, long before already there was the workshop of making and maintaining weapons and armoury. When tsar Peter I. the Great transferred Russia’s capital to Saint Petersburg, he decided that all works of art that were important for Moscow’s history should be stored in the armoury building. In 1806, it became accessible as a museum. Currently, this house of tradition and national importance is headed by Madame Gagarin, a daughter of the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, and celebrates its 200th anniversary.
It is a pure coincidence that Ulysse Nardin is celebrating its 160th anniversary this year, but the very active Russian UN team initiated this noteworthy collaboration with the museum. As a milestone in UN’s history, an exhibition of 116 extraordinary timepieces was installed in the premises, among the museum’s exhibits, like the crowns of the tsars. Since Ulysse Nardin still does not have a museum that is open to the public, this exhibition was the first opportunity to see many of the historical watches and clocks that made Ulysse Nardin renowned. Additionally, there were some special pieces that were acquired by the company only recently. The exhibition met the interest of the Russian media, and the hall was really crowded.
The event’s importance was further underlined by the presence of Juri Yakovlev, Russia’s deputy minister for cultural affairs. Following the speeches of Rolf Schnyder and Madame Gagarin, he cut the symbolic ribbon and officially opened the exhibition.
One of the most important exhibits, which unfortunately seemed not to get the attention it deserved, is the so-called “Dondi clock”. In fact, this timepiece is far more than a clock, and one of the most important testimonies of human thought and medieval physics. Originally, it was constructed around 1380 by Giovanni Dondi dall’orologio, for the prince of Padua. The “Astrario” displayed all astronomical indications that were important and calculated back at that time, together with the time of the day. Typical for the era, the minutes were not considered important, so only the hours were displayed. A French author, J.-P. Verdet, said very eloquently: “Dondi gave him the sky to touch.” Very important also was, that Dondi’s masterpiece drew all astronomical indications, up to the Saturn’s revolution, that needs 30 years, from one single source of movement, turning once in 24 hours. Ludwig Oechslin did the same when he developed his marvellous planetarium, that contributed to Ulysse Nardin’s glorious reappearance in the 80s.
Unfortunately, Dondi’s ingenious clock vanished somewhen during the 16th century. However, he left a manuscript showing detailed illustrations of all parts, as well as specific assembly stages, but not the end result. Since there are no hints about the dimensions of the parts, and no constant scale of the drawings, it was considered impossible to reproduce Dondi’s clock with the use of the old manuscripts. It was the merit of the Italian clockmaker Luigi Pippa to study the drawings for decades, and finally to undertake the reconstruction of the medieval marvel. Since the 1960s, he made three reconstructions, each of them a little bit different, since the interpretations of Dondi’s drawings allowed different conclusions. One these three Dondi clocks is in the possession of the Musée International d’Horologie (MIH) in La Chaux-de-Fonds since some years, and prominently displayed. The following pictures show this piece of the MIH, since the tightly packed crowd during the opening of the UN exhibition in Moscow did not offer the space and silence necessary to take good pictures.
Only two years ago, Rolf Schnyder succeeded in purchasing one of the other two Dondi reconstructions, which is now the pride of Ulysse Nardin’s collection of astronomical timepieces. As a side-note I like to add that earlier this year, Luigi Pippa was awarded the prestigious “Prix Gaia” for his achievement. Another very special timepiece that normally is not shown to the public is the so-called “Chicago”. In 1983, Rolf Schnyder took over Ulysse Nardin, and among the documents he bought with the company, he found an illustration of a huge watch - I hesitate to call it a “pocket watch”, since you would certainly need a very large and strong pocket to wear it. Responsible for its weight of a pound (463 grams) was a finely chiselled and engraved case of silver and pink gold. To make the case took the artist (C.H. Jacot) about 1,200 working hours, and the two sides of the case displayed allegoric illustrations of Switzerland as a traditional (back) and a modern (front) nation. The rear side shows Switzerland’s self-understanding as Christian constructor of a new age, while the front lid displays the “glory of labour” with the tools of the modern times.
Not only the case, but also the watch itself, was a masterpiece: a chronometer with minute repeater. According to the documents, this watch was exhibited during the “World’s Columbian Exposition”, the World Exposition held in Chicago in 1893 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus discovering the New World (the exposition’s opening had to be postponed for a year, hence the wrong date; the ambitious building projects could not be completed in time, something not uncommon until today.). The watch presented by Ulysse Nardin was the only one in the category watches that was awarded with a gold medal. Those of you possessing a current UN Marine Chronometer, Marine Chronograph or Marine Annual can see the gold medal of Chicago listed on the back of their watches. However, somewhen before 1983, both, the watch and the gold medal had disappeared without a trace. Apparently, they vanished in the late Seventies, when Ulysse Nardin had a very difficult time. It became a personal mission for Rolf Schnyder to find that particular watch, and as a matter of pure luck, he was able to purchase it at an auction in October 1996. It is displayed only rarely outside the company buildings, but now, for the Kremlin exhibition, it got a prominent place in the display case.
While the other exhibits did not incorporate that much of historical importance, they are nevertheless rare and priceless masterpieces themselves: repeaters, chronographs, tourbillons and perpetual calendars, and of course the marine chronometers that were so important for the manufacturer’s history.
They are complemented by a display of the contemporary watches responsible for Ulysse Nardin’s current fame: the mighty “Genghis Khan”, the “Royal Blue” mystery tourbillon, the astronomical “Trilogy of Time” of course, an extensive display of cloisonné enamel dial watches, and finally, the new masterpiece that was dedicated specifically to the Kremlin exhibition and the city of Moscow: the “Saint Basil Red Square”, the finest and most detailed cloisonné enamel watch ever made by Ulysse Nardin. But you will have to wait for the third part to see more of this ...
The astronomical "Trilogy of Time"
Gallery of repeaters with automatons
"Royal Blue" mystery tourbillon - now without diamonds between the hour markers. In my humble opinion, it looks better now.
Gallery of cloisonnée enamel watches, introducing the new star ...
... the "Saint Basil Red Square" |
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ll Copyright July 2006 - Marcus Hanke ThePuristS.com - all rights reserved |
