Horology's Next Generation

Equilibrium, An Expression of the Balance Between Forces

Since 2015, the Young Talent Competition allows discovering the next generation of most talented young watchmaking apprentices in the world, and supports them in their route to independence by identifying their achievements and putting them under the spotlight.

Organised by F.p.journe, who brings more than 30 years of expertise in authentic haute horology, the Young Talent Competition receives the support of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH) and since 2019, The Hour Glass luxury watch retailer in the Asia Pacific region. Each 3 organizations aim to perpetuate and support the art of haute horology and the appreciation

of horological craftsmanship. The 2019 winner receives a diploma and a CHF 10,000. grant from The Hour Glass, which will allow him to purchase watchmaking tools. He also has the privilege of presenting his creation at the SIHH in Geneva.

The jury of the Young Talent Competition 2019 is composed of key personalities from the international horological scene and their selection criteria for the Young Talent Competition have been based on technical achievement, the search for complexity in their realization, and sense of design and aesthetics.

This year’s winner Tyler John Davies, a graduate from the School of Jewellery of Birmingham University, impressed the judges enough above all other contestants with his creation Equilibrium “An expression of the balance between two or more forces” .

Davies’ idea was for the creation of a clock to be more than a timepiece, to draw people in, be expressive and portray a message. Balance was always a central thought, consistent across all aspects of the design, as he describes it, “the clock needed to be both functional and scientific, whilst remaining to be creative and artistic”.

The piece encompasses principles such as polarity, vibration and gender. This mechanism utilises the laws of the universe, simultaneously reflecting its true nature and beauty in form. The final design and manufacture was for a mechanical clock with a visible escapement, with the addition of a complication at the designer’s discretion.

Crafted of American black walnut, inside the case sits an 8-Day weight driven wall clock, with a deadbeat escapement that is more critical and less forgiving to manufacture. 90% of the components are made from raw material with the use of both traditional and modern manufacturing techniques where suited. The dial is a large chapter ring which encompasses the movement, engraved using a gravograph, then finally waxed and silvered for the finish.