One of European watch making's greatest artists is Kees Engelbarts (Dutch born) who has mastered the technique of Mokume Gane - a traditional Japanese artistic technique that literally means wood grain metal. The technique utilizes an incredible level of effort and hand engraving to achieve such pictured results. You see metals such as platinum, gold, and silver, as well as chemically colored steel used together in the creation of his mostly piece unique works.


As the level of effort in each of these watches is so high, Kees Engelbarts only makes a few pieces each year. Earlier in his career Engelbarts was called upon to work on watches for other brands - decorating movements, and creating his beautiful dials. He still does work for a limited number of brands, but most of his efforts are involved in his own brand, as well as the related Cornelius & Cie watch brand whose Chronosome watch is based on Kees Engelbarts flagship creation (pictured at the top) "The Dragon Gate Legend" watch. A few notable brands that have had piece unique timepieces with Kees Engelbarts iconic efforts are Harry Winston and Peter Speake-Marin.

Kees Engelbarts prefers to include NOS (new old stock) watch movements in his timepieces. A. Schild movements are popularly found in his creations. Movements from the 50s, 60s, and 70s are acquired, highly finished and decorated in his watches. Sometimes he uses even older movements such as the 1935 A. Schild Calibre AS 690 movement found in The Dragon Gate Legend watch. Each of his watches have sapphire crystal caseback that provide views to his beautifully hand engraved movement work.


One of Kees Engelbarts preferred subjects are dragons. Many of his watches and engraving work display the fascinating mythical beasts that most always appear proper on a watch dial. Multifaceted in his approach, you will find Dragons images in both Oriental and European styles. Such variety is a clear message that Kees Engelbarts is interested in representing the iconic beast as it has been captured in many different cultures. Note that the pictured watches are but some of his many dragon-themed creations. He also enjoys engraving other powerful mythical or real beasts such as unicorns, horses, and tigers.

For example, The Dragon Gate Legend watch depicts a Chinese style Dragon and a legend where a carp fish turns into a dragon through a tough swim upstream. The allegorical story is a message about the necessity for drive and effort in life. The large Ref. 0667 piece unique watch features a 49mm wide 18k rose gold case, movement with 8 days of power reserve, and a solid gold dial with silver as part of the special engraving work. Kees Engelbarts used uncommon cayman alligator leather for the strap.



Other watches in the Kees Engelbarts family share similar design aesthetics and comparable levels of detail and decoration. Both manually wound and automatic movements are employed by Kees Engelbarts, who also provides all the after service work on the watches. Given the extremely complex efforts and time involved in the luxury watches - as well as the fact that most of his pieces are one-of-kind watches, prices are predictably high (and via request only). Kees Engelbarts also performs custom work for those who have specific desires, as well as the means to afford them. For most people, Kees Engelbarts watches remain untouchable pieces of art that epitomize a beautiful yet masculine engraving and decorative design aesthetic.

By Ariel Adams

With splendid grace a new collection of timepiece from Chronoswiss and Jochen Benzinger combined, fully realizes the beauty potential of guilloche and hand engraving. These are the new Zeithzeichen watches, with three models and strictly limited numbers. The often admired art of dial movement engraving is easy to come by these days, but true masterwork is often reserved for the larger manufacture houses who can dedicate whole departments to such styles of decoration. Cartier, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and others each have models with engraved decorations, but they often choose between hand engraving or machine engraving (which in a sense is also done by hand as they are manually operated). For this reason I am so pleased to see that this line of watches actually uses both styles of decoration combined together for stunning results.

I've mentioned this in the past, but continue to be amused at the ironic name of Chronoswiss, as it has "Swiss" in the name, yet is a German watch brand. They have worked together (no doubt not for the first time) with the work shops of Jochen Benzinger - also in Germany - for the Zeitzeichen watch line. There are many models in the Zeitzeichen collection (limited to 33 pieces total) while the pictured watches are the CH 6721ZWV "V"(fully skeletonized floral design), the CH 6721ZWVI"VI" (retains some of the dial with floral designs on exposed areas), and the CH 6721ZWVII"VII" (fully skeletonized with dragon and stars decoration. Not only is each beautiful, but they showcase the roles that such styles of decoration can take in a luxury timepiece. For example, the Zeitzeichen epitomizes the results of a fully skeletonized watch using abstract decoration (typically floral or arabesque) designs cutting away as much of the movement as possible, while the Zeithzeichen VI retains a chapter ring with hour and minute markers that is itself guilloche engraved as well a ring for the subsidiary seconds dial. Here the functional elements of the watch are preserved while all unnecessary areas are reserved for engraving and movement visibility. Lastly there is the Zeitzeichen VII that presented a different execution of the theme. It uses movement engraving to illustrate a distinct scene or object. Here, it take the form of an Oriental style dragon again a backdrop of further decorated components much of which are in blued steel, some of which is coated with blued platinum. Other types of decoration include polishing and finishing such as the perlage polish which has been applied.The machines that Benzinger uses for such decoration are either highly maintained antiques, or specially made by their workshop. The base movements used for decoration are ETA 6498-1's that are modified and use material such as blue steel or platinum coated steel. The dials, if there are any are in sterling silver. The watches comes in 44mm wide cases that are in either 18k red or white gold, and diamond bezel decoration is also available. The watch case is standard Chronoswiss in design with straight lugs and the "onion" crown.

Each version of the limited edition of 33 pieces Zeithzeichen watches have the elaborate decorated movement, while some have more "complete" dials allowing for a more classic look. While a fully skeletonized dial is beautiful, it is not always easy to read. The collection is beautiful and a testament not only to German watch making, but the incredible results that can be achieved from guilloche machine and hand-done engraved decoration. Chronoswiss is a master of classically styled timepieces, while Benzinger is the clear champion of this type of decoration.

By Ariel Adams