Preserved in exceptional condition, and consigned by the original owner with its hardly-ever-seen original accessories, Phillips is delighted to present this fresh-to-market, Halter Barnes Perpetual Antiqua in 18K yellow gold, with the earliest known serial number ever seen publicly.
With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably. – Captain Jean-Luc Picard
When beholding the Vianney Halter Perpetual Antiqua, one cannot help but wonder what kind of mind produced, a quarter of a century ago, such a wristwatch as their first endeavor as an independent watchmaker. To put one’s name on a watch is more than a claim of ownership, it is an invitation for criticism as well as admiration. A watchmaker’s first watch says as much about himself as the mechanics that he has studied and perfected, and thus, the Antiqua is perhaps where one can begin to learn about the horological legend of Vianney Halter.
Born in a Parisian suburb near the Bois de Boulogne to a mechanically-inclined but horologically-averse family, Halter struggled – like many who have not yet found a passion – to focus on traditional studies. He entered the École Horlogère de Paris at 14, and blossomed in his chosen métier. Equally as fundamental to his future endeavors was his love of science fiction and space travel, namely films and books by such names as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, and most importantly, "Star Trek." Visually, many of Halter’s watches channel elements of retrofuturism and steampunk, which were first identified as genres in the 1980s but draw their inspiration from the Victorian era and the American Wild West. Most obviously, the riveted porthole apertures for the elements of the perpetual calendar display that comprise the Antiqua are purportedly inspired by Captain Nemo’s submarine from Verne’s novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Unlike Patek’s Nautilus, Halter’s porthole-inspired design is far more direct in addressing its inspiration. Vianney has his own interpretation of his style, naming it “Futur Antérieur” or “Past Future”, a tongue-in-cheek nod at the French grammatical tense (which correlates to the English future perfect tense) used to discuss a future action that will happen by a certain moment in the future (e.g.; He will have finished the watch before he sells the watch).
After time spent in Paris working at a watch and clock repair store, Halter emigrated to Switzerland, where he met contemporaries Francois-Paul Journe and Denis Flageollet. Together, in the independent watchmaking desert of the late 1980s, the three future masters created a movement development manufacture named Techniques Horlogères Appliquées (THA). The Cartier Tortue Monopoussoir is a notable watch containing a THA movement. Later, in 1994, Halter would establish his own atelier, Manufacture Janvier SA, to pursue his own interests and take on work for larger companies.
It was during this work at Manufacture Janvier SA that a financial crisis halted much of Halter’s work. With an unforeseen amount of time to devote to his own pursuits, Halter decided to turn his talents to the creation of his own masterpiece. He had been approached by American graphic designer Jeff Barnes with a groundbreaking and unprecedented design for a wristwatch that would one day become the Antiqua.
Things are only impossible until they are not. - Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Barnes presented him with a sketched concept for a perpetual calendar wristwatch with a deconstructed display ensconced in riveted circular apertures. The mechanism would be powered by a sapphire rotor, so that the entire movement would be visible through the caseback. The movement itself is a completely re-worked Lemania caliber 8810, christened the VH198. According to Barnes, 60-70% of the base movement required new parts to fit the design of the watch.
The riveted portholes were not only inspired by Jules Verne’s writings, but also used techniques from the mid-nineteenth century (the era of Captain Nemo and his Nautilus). In an early interview with Barnes from 2000, he discusses the inspiration for the Antiqua’s design: "The futuristic thinking of Jules Verne. Doing something that could not be done, in the only way that it could be done…In the movie of the H. G. Wells classic, The Time Machine, the seat in the machine was an old Victorian chair. It was completely out of place in that futuristic contraption, but that's all they had. It didn't use a head rest or seat belts. There is a kind of ‘familiar strangeness’ or unexpected juxtaposition that is very fantasy-creating. It is the past trying to predict the future.” In an interview with Phillips, Halter further elaborates on the origins of the Antiqua as coming from his early days repairing marine chronometers and “…whose conception of the complication did not fit into a conventional architecture, assembled in a box that showed that my work did not restrict itself to the mechanical side. It was by chance that this watch became the first serially made watch to bear my name. Vianney Halter watches are therefore a consequence of this crisis, a career surprise.”
Presented at BaselWorld in 1998, it first inspired confusion before understanding dawned, and demand soon outpaced the production capacity. Each Antiqua required around 900 hours to finish, and the crown alone is comprised of 26 individual components including two rows of 12 individual, white gold rivets. Each dial is hand-crafted in either platinum or white gold, with the numerals engraved and then filled in with the paint – all done in-house in Vianney Halter’s atelier. While fulfilling these early orders, Halter continued to produce work for other brands to keep the lights on, resulting in the development of the Opus 3 in conjunction with Max Büsser and Harry Winston. The representative of Harry Winston, no less a person than Ronald Winston was apparently so impressed by Halter that he ordered himself an Antiqua.
Live now; make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again. – Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Only 17 total examples of Vianney Halter’s Perpetual Antiqua have come to auction, including the present lot, and only one previous example bearing “Halter Barnes” on the dial. Examples in yellow gold, white gold (1 piece), and pink gold (8 pieces), as well as platinum (3 pieces) have surfaced, with a total of only five examples in yellow gold. The present Halter Barnes bearing the movement number 4Y is the earliest example to come to auction, and is accompanied by its original riveted porthole winding box, dated guarantee, instruction manual, and manufacture setting pin. Even the pin buckle retains the Halter Barnes engraving. The eldest of the three Vianney Halter pieces (see lot 49, a Classic in 18K pink gold, and lot 47, a prototype Trio in brass) in this sale, it is the seminal wristwatch that gave birth to the design codes of a brand.