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The beauty of a watch lies in the details that reveal themselves to us. The newborn from Speake-Marin is a bridge between heritage and future, and we must go into its details to appreciate the future it draws for us.
But what are these details the Ripples has in store for us?
Driven by the in-house SMA03-T movement, Speake-Marin’s newest addition sets the stage for a new space of expression. Dressed in steel, the Ripples, as the first piece of a new collection, creates a bridge between the heritage and the future of the brand.
The first steel watch with an integrated bracelet, it stands out from its counterparts by its design. The first detail that catches the eye is the shape of the case. Named The City, it complements the panorama created by the Piccadilly. A more traditional neighborhood in its architecture, it was the inspiration for the cases of the brand’s previous collections.
With the case The City, Speake-Marin is inspired by the very heart of London, which itself has evolved while retaining traces of its past. The Tower of London and St. Paul’s Cathedral frame the ultra-modern style of the buildings where financial institutions have settled, giving it its worldwide fame and influence.
This new chapter written by Speake-Marin does not create a break with the previous collections. Rest assured, the watchmaking know-how has not been forgotten. It has even been honored and the T in SMA03-T refers to the traditional decorations made on the movement.
The opening of the case back allows one to admire its large 3-millimeter côtes de Genève, as well as the finishing on the bridges playing with the light. The dial and the case back are two spaces in which you have to get lost to admire them. You have to play with the rays to bring out colors or textures.
The modernity of the piece lies mainly in its design, in the use of steel and in the dial.
This space on which our gaze stops at every moment when we try to read the time, guides it without exhausting it. The volume of the dial, created by stamping, perfectly reflects the name of the watch, ripples meaning undulations. Each of the 13 undulations on the dial have been hand-brushed to create a linear play of light, continuing the segmentation created by the bracelet links.
The ultramodern design of the buildings in the City is recognizable by its purity: our gaze glides over its large glass facades. There is not a billboard to break our run. But these large buildings, even though they seem transparent, are known only to those in the know. There is no indication of who is where. You have to be a regular to know that this address is home to a financial giant. This connoisseurship is reflected in the logo. Absent from the dial, it is replaced by a discreet inscription.
As on the case back, the logo is not affixed on the microrotor. You can simply find it on the crown and the buckle.
As if to purify, Speake-Marin intends to seduce a new clientele. Our generation, where the sneakers and jeans are on the same level as the suit and tie. We are looking for a comfortable watch that can go with everything, but that requires a connoisseur to notice and appreciate it.
Our watches are bridges between our daily lives and the brands’ creative world. When I handle a watch, I try to discover this new world that the piece offers me. What a joy when I was introduced to the Ripples. London is a city that I love and what a pleasure to have been able to return there mentally! So I’ll take this opportunity to tell you about my adventure with the Ripples.
After a trip to Savile Row in the tailor’s district to pick up my custom-made suit, I boarded at Oxford Circus to get to the Bank stop and then walked to my destination.
They observe us with their glass and steel armour. Like knights of the modern age, their architectural uniformity allows us to lose our gaze to find our ideas. The door of the elevator opens to take me to the 37th floor.
I’m sitting here, in this month of March, with my eyes in the void, admiring the City from the top of Sky Garden. This panorama where each person is only a small point moving allows me to take height and to juggle from one idea to the other.
It is at this moment, between two sips of tea, that I look at my Ripples. Simple in appearance, it needs time to be tamed. Thanks to a thin rounded bezel, my eyes are free to wander over this large dial. The subsidiary seconds at 1:30 is the perfect example of this taming. If you didn’t pay attention to it, you wouldn’t notice that it is levitating above the dial. Its dial is added with a curved and polished ring on its periphery which makes it possible to contrast with the rather anthracite warm grey of the dial and the black sunray of the subsidiary seconds.
This simple discovery should make us think about details. When they are well done and harmonious, we don’t pay attention to them, but they contribute to the beauty of the piece. Sky Garden is the perfect example. If you don’t pay attention, you won’t discover this hanging garden, or even the view it offers.
What is pleasant with this watch is its comfort. The work on the strap, the lugs and the case allows it to slip easily under a shirt or a sweater and to be forgotten. After 5 minutes on the wrist, it disappears to be at your service.
Take time to observe before reacting. Keep an open mind to avoid hasty and inappropriate judgments. The beauty of a watch lies in the details that reveal themselves to you.
I hope to have been able to make you discover these details which make all the beauty of the Ripples.
