Watchmaking Through Time and Space with Vianney Halter

Source:  Images and content by A Collected Man @ ACollectedMan.com.  See the original article here - https://www.acollectedman.com/blogs/journal/vianney-halter-journey

During his time at watchmaking school, Halter fell even deeper into his obsessions for mechanics, science fiction and space exploration, which would later come to influence his own creations. As he recalls, ‘a friend of mine was really into science fiction and he had advised me on a few books to try, and then I was transported to a different world. These books opened my mind to the prospect of something further, something outside of our small world, a vision.’ Moving to an urban centre like Paris broadened his horizons, shaping his taste and creative affinities in the process. “I wanted to explore alternative culture and underground scenes. Between this experience, the science fiction books and the films, it helps in creating, not my personality, but my vision. Or my feeling for the world and human life,” he tells us.

This process of mental expansion had a deep impact on Halter. He vividly remembers all the characters in these books and films operating otherworldly machines, which allowed them to travel through space or time. The notion of these intricate contraptions first came about in literature during the late 19th and early 20th century, and then carried through to many of the Hollywood movies which Halter enjoyed, such as Forbidden Planet or War of the Worlds. Years later, this would influence Halter’s own approach to watchmaking. As he put it, “when I’m making a watch, I’m working on this small dream, and even if it’s not possible to travel in time, with this tool, or instrument, you can dream.”