The Elgin 543, as indicated above, is a plain-looking piece (see Figures 5 and 6) but is not without its interesting features. Typical of Elgin, it has a sweeping train bridge, the lines of which I wished to keep intact, if not emphasize through decoration. Also, as this movement is the 21-jewel variant, adjusted to five positions, it features a swan’s neck regulator and cap jewels set in oblong plates screwed to the movement. The jewels are also somewhat large and nice to look at. The dial-side of the movement features three of these cap jewels and a fairly large and interestingly shaped piece that covers and integrates with the setting and winding mechanisms. I decided that my timepiece, to be truly unique and interesting, would forego the use of a traditional dial and would instead show the dial-side of the movement, decorated with guilloché. Some blued screws and perlage, along with a rose gold-plated 9:00 sub-dial, were Mr. Benzinger’s contributions to my idea. The watch case includes flat synthetic sapphire crystals on either side. The dial, made of an additional thin sapphire disc, is printed with hash marks for the hours, small dots for seconds, and an offset Benzinger logo in an oval. The intersection of the sub-dial by a couple of the jewels adds some tension to the design and reinforces the utilitarian nature of the original design. This Elgin grade was designed for function, not beauty, and the decoration of it in the course of this project was meant to celebrate this, not hide it.

At various intervals during the process, Mr. Benzinger and I had discussions regarding some of the details, but other details were decided spontaneously, as he was working on the watch. My initial vision did not involve any skeletonization of the movement—I felt that the original landscape would be best suited to engraving and rose-gold plating—but Mr. Benzinger saw something more. He suggested that I consider what he called “light skeletonization,” which is what you see in the finished product. If this is “light,” what does he consider extensive skeletonization? Visit his website (www.jochenbenzinger.de) and see the flowery skeletonization of some Unitas movements, or the industrial look of others, or the initials carved from plates and rotors, or the dragon motifs he has created for a special customer. In comparison, the work on my watch is conservative.

The decoration of some of the less obvious parts (winding mechanism and wheels, pallet bridge, etc.) was left entirely to Mr. Benzinger’s inspiration. Having made my initial suggestions, I was content to let the harmony of the entire piece be the responsibility of the master. Although we were in contact frequently during the project, weeks would go by without discussion of the progress of my watch. I was hoping in part to be pleasantly surprised with a sudden notification of its completion, yet I was also anxious to know how things were going. To satisfy my curiosity, and because I indicated I’d like to chronicle the experience, Mr. Benzinger provided me with photos at various points along the way, some of which are shown here:

Figure 1. The watch case being modified on a bench-top lathe.

Figure 2. Engraving underway; notice there is very little in this photo that gives away the final design.

Figure 3. Skeletonizing almost complete.

I was appeased but still anxious about the final product. Would the completed watch match my expectations?

The Watch Arrives

I’ll try to be brief and restrained in attempting to describe my feeling upon the watch’s arrival from Germany several months after my initial contact with Jochen Benzinger. First, I caved in to temptation and accepted Jochen’s offer to provide me with photographs of the watch prior to its delivery. He had sent me large digital images of each side of the watch. Even in the images, I could tell it would be more fantastic than I had hoped. The arrival of the watch itself, a couple days before Christmas, brought back emotions similar to those I felt as a child receiving a gift that had been longed for. In the moments before unwrapping the watch I questioned whether the item would be everything I had imagined. It was and is. I had embarked upon a quest to create a dream watch. Not THE dream watch, mind you, but a watch that I can be proud to wear for the rest of my days, for several reasons. The concept of this watch is something of which I am proud—the result justifies my choice of this plain but potentially exceptional movement. The ownership of a work of art created by one of the modern masters of a timeless craft also is a source of pride. The friendship that I have begun to forge with Jochen is an added source of happiness. And, in an obscure way, I am pleased to be the owner of a watch that just might be the only wristwatch in the world built around the Elgin Grade 543 movement (I may be the only person who finds this appealing, but that’s part of the experience, too).

In order to recall the humble origins of this watch, I asked Jochen to inscribe some movement information around the rear bezel. In the beginning I had hoped that the original engraved information on the movement could be kept intact. As I intended only for the movement to be engraved and not skeletonized, this seemed feasible. Once we had agreed to skeletonize the movement I asked that the text “Elgin 543” and the serial number of the movement be included on the watch. This is an Elgin at heart and I did not want to disassociate this information from the material that remained of the movement. This watch owes much to the defunct American giant and is as much an Elgin as a Benzinger, for both parties are/were experts in separate eras and complementary fields.

About the Author

C. Bradley Jacobs is the moderator of the watch reviews bulletin board at www.equationoftime.com and a past contributor to the Bulletin. He can be reached via e-mail:

watchcarefully@aol.com

Additional images may be viewed online at this URL:
www.fototime.com/inv/20BB52D4CBAB1CC

More Photos