The Felipe Pikullik Mondphase One - The Most Complicated Yet

The Felipe Pikullik range of timepieces started off with using generic base movements artfully and skillfully finished to an exceptional level. Then came the Moonphase....

Using the UNITAS base movement, Felipe designed a module for the moonphase and inverted it to the dial side for easy visuals and adjustments.

It's not just any moonphase but a 3D moonphase to start off with.

Yup, that's right, a 3D Moonphase built into a UNITAS movement! Brilliant! The spherical 3D moon is located at the 10 o'clock position with the gear train at the 9 o'clock.

And to make it a little more complicated, the 40mm piece comes without any pushers. So how does one change the moonphase without having to wind the timepiece endlessly? That's when Felipe designed a quick change mechanism.

The moonphase mechanism is built with gears and levers and in this case the second wheel (higlighted as red ring in picture below) is where the control is.

Then there is the lever that turns with the time and is the quick change lever.

How to check if the lever is at the AM (morning) or PM (afternoon) cycle? When the lever (arrowed) is pointing right, it is at the AM (morning) cycle.

In this picture above, the lever is pointing left which means we are closer to midnight. So how does one change the moonphase?

The ingenious idea of using the pinion markers (see the 4 arrows in above picture) on the chapter ring for easy reference. The pinions hold the chapter ring to the dial.

When the lever is pointing left and the crown is pulled out, turn the crown to advance the hour hand to beyond the first marker (close to 1 o'clock) and the minute hand to beyond the second marker (just before the 5 o'clock). At that point, you will hear a click and when you do, turn the crown backwards for the hour hand to past the fourth marker (close to 11 o'clock) and the minute hand to past the third marker... then turn the crown forward again. Repeat and you will be able to see the moonphase advance.

Now for the backside which is equally captivating...

In his signature style of finishing, the UNITAS movement is skeletonised and finished to an extremly attractive level.

The view from the back showing the 3D moon and the details of the moon itself.

And the balance cock?

Nicely hand engraved... Mine is the Number 9 of a limited run of 20 pieces.

The full view from the back and the front below...

As I understand it, Felipe has developed his own Moonphase with an in-house developed movement and that will be released later part of 2025. For now, I am happy with my Moonphase One.

IAMWATCH - What I Managed to Photograph

IAMWATCH organised by The Hourglass brought together many independent watchmakers and brands and the event was held across 4 days in October.

Held at The Singapore Edition hotel along Cuscaden Road, Day 1 was invited guests only and the next three days were for registered guests. On top of exhibiting watch brands and watchmakers, there were roving ambassadors - social media personalities, watchmakers who do not have a booth or even watchmakers who are not represented by The Hourglass. On top of meeting watchmakers and brands, the event also hosted talks discussing a variety of topics.

This is one event where one gets to see the top of the range indie pieces in one location. But due to the format of the event, I was not able to capture all the pieces on display. I attempt to share with you what I saw and captured and hope you like the photo essay. First up, the Akrivia AK06.

The Chronomètre Contemporain white enamel dial...

The Tourbillon Heure Minute...

Equally impressive are these few Chopard LUC time and art pieces. This is the L.U.C Full Strike ‘Year of the Dragon’ featuring a minute repeater built on a Grand Feu Enamel dial with a dragon motif.

The details of the enamel dial is out of this world!

As with the Chopard L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 Year of the Dragon

This LUC comes with the L.U.C 98.06-L jumping-hour complication and from what I understand, the head of the dragon is hand decorated with wooden elements. The 4 barrels (double stacked) provide 8 days of power reserve.

Another amazing brand is De Bethune. This DB Kind of Two is a fully reversible timepiece.

What about this DB25 GMT Starry Varius?

One of the invited guest watchmaker is Felipe Pikullik and he brought along his Moonphase 1 timepiece.

Build on a UNITAS base, this Moonphase 1 is several years in the making.

One of the highlights for me is this Girard Perregaux Quasar Light Tourbillon with Three Bridges.

Then there was the classic Three Bridges Tourbillon

What about Kari Voutilainen? Some of the most well made independent tiemepieces out there.

This is the 20th Anniversary Tourbillon...

And this Chronometre 27 - a timepiece Kari was wearing at the event.

And the KV20i Reversed.

I was also able to meet Anton Suhanov and photograph his Chronotope - a day date timepiece with an unusual adjustment mechanism.

The snail shaped mechanism is for the day change and to make the change, there is a pusher at the 6 o'clock position.

Next Up, two very interesting gentlemen - Mr. Petermann and Mr. Bedat with their creation under the Petermann Bedat brand. Start with the Reference 2941 Chronograph.

And the reference 1967 dead beat second timepiece

I also managed to photograph the Remy Cools Tourbillon - both the current Tourbillon Atelier and also the Souscription Tourbillon.

And the Souscription piece

What is independent watchmaking without the mention of MB&F? My favourite of all times is the LM Perpetual - what a marvel!

And the HM6 with a "central" Tourbillon on top of the timepiece.

To round off the shoot, I had the pleasure of meeting Stepan Sarpaneva and these are the two watches I photographed:

And the SUF Moomin

There were many more very talented and amazing watchmakers and brands but this was as much as I could muster given the time constraint and enormous crowd.

It was a hugely successful event and congratulations to Mike Tay and the Hourglass for organising such an event. From the people I met, most agree that the whole event was very well planned and executed and are looking forward to the next edition.

For enthusiasts like me, such events allow me to get up close and personal with the watchmakers and brands and feel and touch the timepieces which would otherwise not be accessible to me. Kudos to IAMWATCH and the Hourglass and looking forward to the next one!