Bringing a Havid Nagan watch to life...

Hello collector,

I spent an hour or so on the phone the other day with a very good collector friend of mine; the conversation, as it normally does, covered many aspects related to watchmaking. We did, however, spend a large portion of the conversation discussing my role as the designer, and not the watchmaker, behind Havid Nagan. This was not taken to offense in any way as I am the first to admit that is the case and I have always stated from the launch of Havid Nagan that I am not a watchmaker. But…

I wanted to take some time to outline the details of what goes into ideating a watch and taking it from drawing to a physical (and functioning) thing on the wrist. To me, a watch’s entire purpose is to serve as an embodiment, first and foremost, of what I view as a perfect watch. It is an entirely selfish and self-serving practice with no consideration for what anyone else thinks of the watch. I’ve found that 1, this cuts through the noise of any sort of grandstanding and trying to make myself out to be something I am not and 2, more importantly, allows a direct connection to the collector in the most authentic and sincere way possible. What you see is what you get, in a manner of speaking. As an ancillary, I want to give you a look into behind the scenes of what goes into creating a watch and how long that process takes. The accompanying images you’ll see

I am very drawn to design and aesthetic predominantly of the late-18th/early-19th century of watchmaking, in particular, the dial layouts of the better known Breguet, Louis Moinet, and Auguste Berthoud and lesser known Sévin, Nicolas Folin, and Georges-Adrien Merlet. These makers were pioneers not only in technical watchmaking but, more pertinent to my story, tying in the decorative aspects to the artistically evolving industry. Hence, the coming novelties under the Havid Nagan brand will be more complicated and incorporate off-centered layouts and technically advanced compositions. An example of this is seen in the first drawings of the Classic Two, a watch I won’t debut until sometime in mid-2026.

A note - the images shared are all specification drawings and sketches I have been working on in detail for over a year. Actually, the first idea of this sketch was in 2020; it was nameless and conceptual at best but the overall design was put together during the quiet times of the pandemic. These are still in the early conceptual stages of design and layout as there is still a lot of development to be done with the manufacture so I’m not concerned with sharing them. This is how it all starts. I sketch my ideas out and get a general understanding of what complications the watch will feature and how I’d like them to be laid out. In this case, a jump hour retrograde minutes display along with small seconds and power reserve indicators.

Textures, finishes, overall layout, materials, case and lug design all experimented with and combined so as to envision the overall aesthetic of the watch. Now, a very important note to make - I start with dial design and layout but the real challenge begins when I brief with the manufacture and discuss which caliber will support the design. My first and consistent request is IF we are to use a modular construction, that is taking a base caliber that tells time and integrating a module with the necessary complications, then the base caliber itself must be extremely thin, typically 3.5mm or less. The nucleus of any technical challenge lies in how abstract is the design of the watch and where the complications are laid out on the dial. The more abstract, the more challenging (and expensive) the project gets.

After I have settled on the complications and layout of the watch, I work with the manufacture on the technical side of bringing the watch to life. It’s not enough to stick a movement inside and sell the novelty of the design. The watch must work. In this case, there is a retrograde minutes function and an instantaneous jump hour mechanism. Historically, retrograde functions have proven to be challenging even for the most talented and championed watchmakers of our era. For the time being, a Telos caliber has been named; the company has perfected the retrograde functions across many calibers and has helped many brands bring retrograde functions to life in a sustainable and reliable way.

The most exciting part in this entire process is taking a purely aesthetic ideal and stress testing it against a set of technical limitations. Diameters of wheels and how they interact with other components pertinent to the function of the watch, how the weight of a particular type of hand will determine whether a indication functions correctly, and even how a particular type of finish and it’s natural and inevitable change will effect the functions of gears.

I hope this discussion helps you understand, at least in some way, the work that goes into bringing a Havid Nagan to life and the time involved in ideating, researching, and developing a new creation. Until next time!

Aren J BAZERKANIAN