The Naked Watchmaker, a venture by legendary watchmaker Peter Speake and Daniela Marin after retiring from his namesake brand Speake-Marin has been an entertaining and educational site well loved by the industry and devotees of watchmaking. They have released a series of Masterclasses on watchmaking, beginning with a foundation course – “Understanding Watchmaking”. We took the class, and are happy to report that it is indeed a splendid introduction by a top level master watchmaker.
Press release with commentary in italics.
Commentary
We spent the last couple of weeks viewing the course materials quite extensively. And found the foundation course to be fun and very educational. The course structure covers the basics to understanding watchmaking, and is very clear and wide in its coverage.
The style is a set of videos based on Powerpoints, photographs, more videos and animations with narration in English by Peter Speake and Daniela Marin. The explanations are very clear and easy to understand. Almost like being in a conversation with Peter and Daniela. One can pause, rewind and re-watch any part on one’s own time, and as many times as one wishes. Peter and Daniela make an excellent team, and the vibes of the conversation is light, relaxed, but informative. I have known Peter personally for a long time. He is a passionate and very highly skilled watchmaker, and one will be hard pressed to find an instructor as knowledgeable and as capable. Daniela is also equally passionate, and have also had a very long involvement in the watchmaking community in Switzerland, and is a brilliant collaborator.
The Foundation Course, now live, comprises of 6 modules, each lasting about an hour. And at the end of each module, a quiz allows the participant to evaluate how much has been understood and to identify where the gaps are. Questions by email consultation is also available during the course. On completion, a Naked Watchmaker Certificate is issued. As this is a foundation course, there will be further, more in-depth courses offered. We have also taken a peek into those, and are happy to report that they are indeed very comprehensive.
The Foundation Course is now availalbe at USD 600. Click here to register. Deployant readers get a USD 100 discount by using the code “deployant100$off”, valid till end of business on Saturday, October 23.
The Naked Watchmaker – Understanding Watchmaking Masterclass
Founded in 2017, The Naked Watchmaker has become a popular educational resource, much loved by watch industry professionals and devotees of horology. Visitors to the company’s website can see mechanical timepieces, both in assembled and deconstructed form. Indeed, the deconstruction process often culminates in a myriad of parts being neatly arranged on a watchmaker’s bench, indicating the complexity of a mechanical timepiece.
Deconstructing a timepiece is a time-consuming process and necessitates the skilled hands of a master watchmaker with vast experience, especially when the watch is complex, expensive or rare. Each step of the deconstruction process is recorded with a macro lens and shown on The Naked Watchmaker with accompanying text.
From the outset, the objective of the company’s website was to educate and inform the visitor. Now, The Naked Watchmaker is pleased to announce it is offering a new service, a series of distance-learning courses designed to fulfil the needs of individuals who crave more knowledge of horology.
There are a multitude of professions within the watch industry beyond making components or assembling timepieces. Those personnel working in marketing, public relations, sales etc within the watch industry, will undoubtedly benefit from understanding more about the world of horology. The Masterclass Series from The Naked Watchmaker guides the student from elementary instruction to an advanced level.
Alternatively, some individuals may be drawn to the course because horology is their passion and they wish to delve further into a world of levers, pinions, pivots and springs. The Naked Watchmaker is the perfect vehicle for sating their curiosity.
The foundation course
The first course to be unveiled is the foundation course entitled ‘Understanding watchmaking, the beginning of a journey’. It comprises six modules, each lasting approximately one hour. The student can remotely access the course, pausing at any stage and returning to it at an opportune moment, thereby working at their own pace.
Initially, the course introduces the history of the wristwatch before discovering how a timepiece works. This instruction looks at key components and also covers some of the terms widely used within the watch industry. Thereafter, precision timekeeping and popular forms of decoration are covered, again touching on some of the terms widely used.
The term ‘complication’ refers to watch functions over and above just displaying the time.
The foundation course guides the student through various complications, ranging from the comparatively simple to highly complex mechanisms, eg minute repeaters and tourbillons. At the end of each module, the student is invited to complete a simple multiple-choice quiz to validate understanding and, where applicable, highlight gaps in their knowledge.
However, rest assured, the foundation course is simple to follow and it’s also fun.
The foundation course is just the start
The Masterclass series dovetails with the numerous deconstructions shown on The Naked Watchmaker website. The foundation course provides an accessible insight into watchmaking and with future courses planned provides a superb basis for amassing further knowledge in the future. Furthermore, the student can also enjoy email support for
additional help. With the advent of the Masterclass series, the Naked Watchmaker reveals even more.
