Luxe
By Gary Girdvainis
BEATING HEARTS
Paul Forrest ’ s unique accessories do not actually tell the time , but the Fleurier mechanical movements housed within his necklaces-in-motion elicit fine Swiss micro mechanics . iW recently had a chance to meet with the man himself . Here are his thoughts on developing his mechanical jewelry .
iW : Who are the key players behind the idea and the creation of Paul Forrest ’ s Jewelry-in-motion ? Paul Forrest Hartzband : About five years ago during the Baselworld Fair , the idea came to me during a walk to the jewelry side of the Fair . For the next several hours , I sat with Alexander Nugent , now COO of Paul Forrest Co , drawing some very rough concept ideas for the heart beat and its function .
Once we had finished the basic technical drawings for the operation of Heart ’ s Passion a few weeks later , we immediately began the international patent process .
I knew we had created something in Heart ’ s Passion that did not exist . The next step was to find a very high level movement manufacturer for the engine of Heart ’ s Passion . I had previously worked with Le Temps Manufacture ( LTM ) in Fleurier , Switzerland , for some years and knew they were the right partners to get the job done . It is extremely important to me that the heartbeat is very subtle and poetic with a strong life , and I knew LTM could make this happen .
The next step was to find the right partner for manufacture of the jewelry , which is quite complex . There are over thirty-five parts in just the jewelry
alone . I presented the concept to long-term colleagues of mine , and they had a great thought regarding this manufacture . They introduced me to Franck Muller Manufacture . As they liked the idea , they agreed to take on this task . They don ’ t do work with any other outsiders of their group , so we are quite honored .
Even the heart-shaped key that is also the clasp is quite complex . It has an internal ratcheting system for winding . For this , we partnered with the Italian Jeweler Gaspari .
What were the most difficult hurdles in bringing these to life ? Since this is my first brand , it was very important for me to make it the best it could be . I decided not to cut any corners that would sacrifice quality , and I therefore needed to work with a group of companies that represented the best craftsmanship available . It is very important to me that the product is Swiss made .
I have been working LTM for other projects and patents that I have developed . They accepted the challenge to help develop and manufacture Calibre PFC-001 for Hearts Passion .
First of all , we had to create a mechanical movement and complication that was exceptionally small with enough power to drive the motion of heavy diamond-set heart arms . In a watch , the movement drives very lightweight , typically aluminum hands . This movement creates an opening and closing motion , which is quite different from a watch .
Another challenge was to make the motion of the heartbeat very subtle and poetic . This was done by using a specially designed cam wheel . It took near two years to develop this movement , which is built completely for Paul Forrest Co . from the ground up . Normally , even very high-end watch brands begin with an existing Caliber movement , before modifying it to make it their own .
126 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | SUMMER 2018