Watchestv makes a roadtrip to Italy in order to discover the amazing ‘Celestial Infinity Clock’ a Collaboration between Meccaniche Orologi Milano (MOM) and Benjamin Chee Haute Horlogerie (BCHH).

Visiting Meccanique Orologí Milano

As you know at watches tv, we love to talk about creative mechanical devices, which stimulate our passion for watchmaking, and that's why we talk about the clock known as the 'Celestial Infinity Clock' an amazing timepiece produced by Meccanique Orologi Milano (MOM) and Benjamin Chee Haute Horlogerie (BCHH).

This time, however, our curiosity was not limited to an appreciation of the final product, but we wanted to take a closer look at the process, the work, the components and the creative minds behind the 'Celestial Infinity Clock'. So we took our equipment, our ‘watchmobile’ and we went to the ‘atelier’ of Meccaniche Orologi Milano, in Italy, in the province of Varesse, very close to the fashion capital Milan, and we had the absolute pleasure to meet Alessandro Rigotto, the founder of this innovative Italian company.

Alessandro, who is an exceptional creative artist in the world of mechanics and watchmaking, answered all our questions, explained to us how his company works. What his philosophy and working methodology is like, and gave us some great details about the manufacture of this latest watch, in which we were so interested.

Alessandro tells us that in Meccanique Orologi Milano, he has worked to create his own style, under the idea of combining his personal idea of watchmaking with a modern idea of design to create new and avant-garde styles of watches, which break with the most classic styles and adapt perfectly to the high range of watchmaking.

Alessandro started his career more as a mechanic of parts and designs than as a clockmaker. He built up his 'know-how' and expertise in watchmaking by self-taught, with instruction from the British Horological Institute in the UK and by studying traditional watchmaking texts such as 'watchmaking' by George Daniels. He is a member of the AHCI (Academie horlogère des createurs Indépendants), A group that tries to maintain the art of independent watchmaking. Its members attempt to rebuild the rules of watchmaking when they create new clocks.

The hallmark of the Meccanique Orologi de Milano combines watchmaking and miniature enamelling, creating complex and eye-catching shapes. Creating modern, diaphanous designs, exposing the inner parts of the models, leaving little room for the imagination.

At the same time, they are creations that fit in very well, both in the personal space of a home and in the professional one. Being, besides being a good collection pieces, an instrument that when contemplating it suggests relaxation and meditation, they can be perfectly useful, since if you stay a while observing its mechanical movements, it allows you to abstract yourself. It can help us to reduce the stress of the day when we get home. Here in the workshop of meccanique orlogerie de milano they create absolutely all the pieces of his clocks.

Celestial Infinity Clock

The idea of the 'Celestial infinity clock' arose from a special request from a collector in Singapore, who was interested in having a table clock with a spectacular astrological map.

So the Meccanique orologi milano with the help of Benjamin Chee Haute Horlogerie, set to work and designed a map, composed of constellations in diamond, representing the starry sky of Milan. In total, five such watches were made. However, they are customisable pieces, an interested client could request a design of the sky map of any place (New York, London, Singapore, Geneva,...). Everything is possible!

When working together with BCHH, they wanted to adapt the new product to Benjamin Chee Haute's latest creations, such as the model developed together with Sven Andersen, a watch with the earth's times, which has a differential component in the time zones. So they tried to create something that would generate a dialogue with the sky and the stars and generate a difference in this type of design.

As Alessandro explains, the idea of the 'Celestial infinity clock'. It was to create something with a strong visual as well as emotional impact, brings an elegant futurism. The challenge was also for the piece to possess a high quality of chronometric functionality, but without compromising that all-important astral design,

Another important aspect of this watch is the independent system of hands defining the time. This way of separating the elements suggested the orientation of the planetary movements, It’s name derives from the movement of planetary gears similar to the epicyclic motion’s of the solar system. An ancient system on which William Strutt already worked in the 19th century for it’s application in watchmaking. In the way of the Meccanique Orologi Milano use, It worked with three wheels, which are connected to the movement of the other wheels and work as a thrust radius. It is complicated to build.

I hope you have enjoyed this exclusive dissection of Meccanique Orologi Milano at their place of work. We look forward to visiting other workshops, so that you can enjoy the fine art of watchmaking from the inside. Don't miss the video, Viva Watchmeking!

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