Confederate Black Flag Fighter

This is the new Confederate Black Flag edition of the Confederate Fighter. My very good friend Jason Reddick built this bike by hand one bolt at a time. Awesome job Bro. You would think he would have things figured out after building F-16 engines for the US Air Force! Enjoy the video.

Denis-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi97FYCfNjo

The Coolest Company

I just love these guys. They are part of my family. Period.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEPaNGHiS4c

Denis-

Confederate Wraith Video

Not really watch related, but a design idea and technique can be applied to our watch making. I was lucky enough to work for Confederate Motor Company for some time and lucky enough to build their first production Wraith number 001. This bike was built and sold to a very special customer located in Russia. I built many bikes for Confederate, but this one was my favorite. All my good friends at Confederate are hard at work!; Matt, Joe, Ed, Blair, Jason, Josh on CNC and Josh on the TIG..., and all the guys there, your awesome. Here is a link to a really good video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHGWJkSuc0k&feature=player_embedded#!

And here is a link to Confederates web site: http://www.confederate.com/

The most awesome hand crafted American Made motorcycles.

Denis-

Strap Perfection

Fran, of Septimus Straps (Septimus Straps is here: http://septimusstraps.blogspot.com/ ) has been working very hard to gather some incredible vintage leather for new custom French and Swiss ammo handcrafted watch straps. Here is one of my favorite pictures that he has posted so far: If you look at the photo below, I have pointed out three pouches that are very interesting to me. The one on the right is very interesting. I really like to brown/grey colors and textures that are presented in the leather, which would work perfect with a Inconel 718 or 6Al-4v color anodized titanium case. The vintage stampings are also very well presented here. Fran works very hard to only locate and present the very finest leather he can get his hands on in France. This is clearly a very good batch. I can only hope we can get a few straps from him out of this catch!

AMA Weekend at The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum!

No its not watch related! But I just wanted to invite all of my friends out to the track this weekend for some great AMA motorcycle racing! I'll race you there! Here is a link to the museum: http://www.barbermuseum.org/

Denis-

The ETA 2895-1 Movement

Here is a picture of the ETA 2895-1 mechanical movement. Its a automatic, meaning that it will self wind with the movement of your wrist. I have been using this fine machine during our prototyping stage for the Alexis. Thought you would like to see the pictures.

Enjoy!

Denis-

New 2011 Logo

One of a few new Logo Designs. Thought you guys might like to see a few!

Denis-

Nikor 60mm Micro Lens

Here are a few pictures using my new Nikor 60mm Micro lens. I'm really loving this new lens from Nikon.

About the Picture

The picture above is a 6Al-4V Titanium Alexis T1. This was the very first T1. Notice there is no movement or hands! The strap is from my friend Seth of Strap Culture. Here is Seth; http://www.strapculture.com/ Its a prototype too. Seth was working with a new leather, as well as the nice bright blue thread. This case drove me crazy due to the fact that I broke a 2/56 tap while cutting the threads for the strap retainer screws, also made of aerospace grade titanium. The tapping went well, but I hit the tap holder with my elbow while I was turning around to reach for another tool. Shi@#&!!! Well I thought the case was ruined. Several hours worth of work down the tubes. After a break, I came up with this idea... dissolve the tap! .....You see, a cutting tool, in this case a tap, is made of high carbon steel. Which means it is very susceptible to corrosion.... Acid. Yes a acid should work! After a couple of days of soaking in Sulfuric Acid.. (no the wife was not happy..) the broken bit of tap was gone. Feewooo! The super rare T1 titanium case was saved!

Updates From France

My good friend Fran has updated his site. You can see it here; http://septimusstraps.blogspot.com/

Here is a few pictures from his update. Fran is making us a 10 month French Strap, and a Swiss Ammo if I can talk him into it! He's also going to send us a titanium buckle to try, as well as one of their cool T-Shirts! So all is well. Enjoy the pictures.

Wonderful workmanship!

Check out the incredible workmanship here. Its not easy to make those stitches that precise you know!

Below is a picture of a Swiss Ammo. I think one of the most beautiful leather straps I have ever seen. The idea and craft is second to none.

Denis-

Hardinge Super Precision T-42

Here is a nice video of the Hardinge T-42 working some stock. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6MfD4fkgCk

RC-Tritec

My friends from RC-Tritec, seen here; http://www.rctritec.com/index.php?id=14 have provided their latest Super-Luminova product for our Alexis T1 watch dials. Many thanks to Rebecca at RC-Tri for all of your help!

Denis-

New Nikon Lens at McCarthy Time!

Just wanted to thank my buddy John Viviani for selling me his slightly used, mostly by me, Nikon micro 60mm macro lens for my watch photography. This is just a awesome lens. Very very sharp images and super close up magnification. Perfect for my watch pictures. Thanks John!!

Here is a picture of the lens:

Septimus T-Shirt

My friend Fran tells me that they have a new very limited T-Shirt that is available to only 100 of their closest friends. Here is a picture: It will only be available for a very short time. Contact Septimus Straps here for more info: http://septimusstraps.blogspot.com/

I just hope I get one!!!

Denis-

New David Lane Design Spotted French Strap!

Here is something really special. A new strap from David Lane. Its called The Spotted French Military. Noted as a "One of a Kind". This is due to the artist working the leather with special tools to produce the unique leather image that you see here. No two will ever be the same! Very very nice! Here is a link to David's site:  http://www.davidlane-design.com/military_leather_watch_straps

I must admit that David's work is not cheap. And neither is a Ferrari. As they say.. you get what you pay for.

Denis-

New Septimus Pictures

The guys at Septimus Leather Straps have added some new pictures to their blog! Here is a link to their awesome leather works: http://septimusstraps.blogspot.com/ Beautiful work!

Denis-

New Strap Culture Strap!

My Friend Seth sent me a new photo of their new prototype Vetier Strap. Exclusive view for my friends here. Seth has been working on this project for awhile now. Really looking forward to this new handcrafted strap from Strap Culture! This special strap was designed to work with the new Green Anodized Alexis A1 coming out this fall. Stay Tuned! You can contact them here: http://www.strapculture.com/

Drilling Titanium

As we all know, titanium is cool. Its probably one of the coolest metals introduced into watch making. I have been working with various alloys of titanium for about five or so years now. 6AL-4v titanium is a monster on a short leash. Turning and milling operations usually go quite well, but drilling and tapping... Eeeek! Titanium, in this case 6AL, is known to be a "gummy" metal. It tends to take the tap in a thread or two then... snap! It can only be done with very specialized taps with special high tech coatings. In this picture, a drilling operation is done before the hole is reamed and tapped.. by hand.

Denis-

Strap Culture Buckle

My friend Seth of Strap Culture http://www.strapculture.com/ just informed me that their new Black with Green stitched Strap is ready! ....I couldn't find any pictures on his web site but I did discover this little morsel:

Sick Man! Awesome work Seth! Those would look great on The T1!

Its Nice to have Friends

My friend in France, Fran, and I have been talking lately. You know its really nice to have friends all over the world. He's WAY over there... and I'm way over here. He's making wonderful custom leather straps, and I'm making aerospace cool watches. That's awe fully nice I think. I'm going to make sure his work's will be on my timepieces. It is a must! Fran's site can be found here: http://www.septimusstraps.blogspot.com/

David Lane Watch Straps

I have been searching for someone that makes the perfect handcrafted leather watch strap. I may have found that person. Enjoy! Here is a link: http://www.davidlane-design.com/

Anodize!

One of the many things we are going to be making. A aircraft grade 6061-t6 billet aluminum anodized case. Something you don't see from many custom makers. All colors are possible. Here is a example of a early prototype:

ETA Valgranges

Thought you guys might want to see this: http://www.valgranges.ch/#/video/dsl

I am working on a new (!!) design that will use this incredible movement. This video loads slowly, but its worth the wait!

Enjoy!

deNis

From Oerlikon Balzers

BALINIT® DLC is suitable for the most extreme wear conditions and high relative speeds, even when running dry.The coating gives excellent protection against abrasion, tribo-oxidation and adhesion (scuffing). The coating permits surface pressures that, under normal conditions, would lead at once to scuffing and cold welding. Friction losses are reduced to a minimum. The good corrosion resistance protects the substrate from destructive attack. BALINIT® DLC is foodstuff-neutral

Motus Motorcycles

This is not really watch related, but what the hell. This is my blogul. My good friend Brian Case is working hard to produce one bad ass motorcycle. Brian and I worked together at Confederate Motorcycles in Birmingham, Alabama, here in the US. Here is a link to a Motus video: http://www.motusmotorcycles.com/

Enjoy!

Handcrafted Leather

I have been working with two leading design teams to supply the finest handcrafted leather watch straps for our new Alexis T1 watch. First, Seth of Strap Culture, http://www.strapculture.com/ has made some really fantastic custom prototype straps for our prototypes.

The second company, Septimuss Straps, http://www.septimusstraps.blogspot.com/      located in France has been working with me to design some very special hand made custom leather straps for our new Alexis T1. Both companies will be a option for our customers!

I will post up some examples from both companies. Enjoy!

DLC Panerai

Here is a picture of a DLC coated Panerai. Gives you a idea to its color. Whats really cool is that in some cases, depending on the part geometry, you will also see a rainbow color effect to certain parts of the part that is being coated! Awesome stuff!

Oerlikon Balzers

Wanted to thank James Livezey of Oerlikon Balzers for stopping by the Museum. James brought us some samples of their DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) coatings that they are applying to our watch dials and watch cases. Here is a link to their site: http://www.oerlikon.com/

I will be adding some other links to the blog in regards to this very special super hard coating. I will see if I can did up a picture or two too!

Prototype Pictures

Hey Guys

Thought you might like to see some new prototype pictures. Enjoy!

These Prototype dials are heading off to be DLC coated. Thought you might like to see them.