The first club watch from one of Hong Kong’s preeminent enthusiast groups is every inch what you’d expect of a collab between an incredible indie brand and a crew of impressively discerning collectors
In a development which we at Wristcheck welcome with open arms, crossovers between watch brands and collectors’ clubs have been growing at a steady pace these past three years. Following the release of special pieces for enthusiast groups in a variety of locales across the globe (e.g. Singapore, France, the UAE) Hong Kong is getting its own moment in the sun, courtesy of a new collaboration between local collecting crew, The Horology Club (‘THC’) and Habring².
To celebrate THC’s first anniversary—the group was started by three Hong Kong-based collectors in early 2021 — Richard and Maria Kristina Habring, the watchmaking duo behind the eponymous Austrian brand, have crafted a small run of complicated three-handers. These glean their basic design cues from Habring’s family of ‘Erwin’ models: taking that time-only watch’s classic good looks and robust wearability; and marrying it to a “rather obscure” complication in the form of the deadbeat seconds.
Easily misidentified as evidence of a quartz movement, the deadbeat seconds (sometimes also referred to as ‘jumping’ seconds) is peak mechanical watchmaking, causing the seconds hand to tick at a precise frequency of one beat per second. In the metal, this gives the impression of a movement that is regulated using a quartz oscillator, but by crafting a more complex escapement (in which the number of vibrations per second is reduced from 5-6 to just one) an identical effect can be achieved, without the need for any piezoelectric wizardry. “Part of what we love doing at The Horology Club is to highlight some of the watchmakers we think are doing great things within the industry. Habring is definitely one of those brands we noticed early on. The reason why we wanted to do this watch was because we just love how stealthy the ‘deadbeat’ seconds complication is to an unknown person. You really have to be in the know to recognize Habring and understand what it is. Having a ‘deadbeat’ seconds is quite an obscure thing, something that’s not very common in the industry and we love that aspect of it. This is why we chose Habring as our first collaborator,” says Helbert Tsang, co-founder, The Horology Club.
The seamless implementation of a true ‘deadbeat’ seconds is no easy thing. Fortunately, the Habrings have a great deal of experience in this area: so much so, that they’ve become synonymous with technologies like the split-second chronograph and foudroyante. A lot of the innovations of mechanical watchmaking that are of interest at Habring are what we’d politely call ‘anachronisms’ — but over the years, the brand has cultivated a loyal following for these because of the thoughtful and surprisingly cost-effective way in which they’re made.
According to The Horology Club itself, with this inaugural club watch, the rationale behind selecting such a throwback complication was rooted in the (unabashedly romantic) desire to “observe the precise passage of each second”. The release’s ‘School Piece’ moniker is also a veiled reference to the deadbeat second’s fundamental importance in the history of mechanical watchmaking.
Even if all this talk of complications and beats-per-second doesn’t strike a chord, the ‘THC School Piece’ offers a cogent visual representation of what The Horology Club’s members are all about. As in many of the great enthusiast communities of the world, an appreciation for watchmaking’s heritage is a strong throughline; while there’s an equal emphasis on incorporating contemporary technology and aesthetic mores where it’s beneficial to do so.
That combination of modernity and tradition is plain to see. The visual heft of the 38.5mm case and its concave bezel are amplified by the dial, with the latter being subtly reminiscent of the executions found on vintage Calatravas. Calling to mind Patek Philippe’s illustrious Ref. 565, each individual sector is used to showcase a different finishing technique: the outer track is printed with a classic chemin de fer, while the segment closest to the hands is vertically brushed (with that finishing working effectively against the metal backdrop).
In the middlemost sector, The Horology Club opted to decorate the ‘School Piece’ dial with Breguet numerals — another trope of classical 20th century watchmaking. Cleanly set and raised ever so slightly above the surface of the dial, they’re a fantastic means by which Habring is able to inject variety into the dial, without going the unimaginative route of adding more primary colors or —heaven forbid — a date window. In fact, the only real accent is the use of matte olive: The Horology Club’s very restrained hat-tip to the green watch craze that dominated seemingly every release back in 2021. Granted, that’s not a reference you need be aware of in order to ‘get’ this watch, but like so much in horological culture these days, context is king.
Specifications
Habring2 for THC Erwin 'THC School Piece'
Reference Number: THC01P
Movement: Manufacture in-house A11MS
Case: 38.5 mm stainless steel
Dial: Applied Breguet numerals, hours, minutes, jumping seconds
Power Reserve: 48 hours
Frequency: 4 Hz (28,800 vph)
Strap: Grey calf leather strap
Price: HKD 70,000
Limited to 10 pieces
For more details, visit The Horology Club.