More pictures as they come ..
This is Mr Dufour's fridge ! Ha ha !
This looks a lot more serious than it actually was ! Mr Dufour was really funny and he speckled the visit with many humorous outburst. Well, for politeness, we can't exactly say what the jokes were but they were really funny and yet, there were profound watchmaking philosophies behind them.
Henrik with Mr Dufour as he shows us pictures of his movements. At the same time, he was constantly encouraging the students to try things out ! Its that simple ! Just try !
Mr Dufour explaining the wonders of modern Macro photography and why its so important to watchmaking. Its so true ! Machines can't do inside corners and when its all magnified, real skills show !
Everyone was enchanted by the many anecdotes and stories Mr Dufour told during the visit. It was really fascinating but we took home 3 numbers. 78, 92 and 2003. Those were the landmark years when Mr Dufour made breakthroughs and it was good advice to us all that watchmaking is a very serious profession.
Mr Dufour explaining the passion behind some of the students he has met. Here, he was recounting the passion and determination of Japanese students. He was very impressed by them because several had slogged through the night to produce a tool to be used the next day.
Here, Mr Dufour demonstrates a finishing technique with traditional methods and the results which it produces
By the way, that bow is way cool and its even cooler if you see it in real life. It had such an impact that Henrik has decided that his students won't be only using machines but the bow also to do the finishing since both methods take the same amount of time.
Mr Dufour demonstrating another finishing technique. Henrik innocently asks what paste he uses and to which Mr Dufour cheekily said " its a secret ! ". No no ... he was only joking and he shared the polishing compound with us all !
Henrik inspects the finished result and it was fascinating ! Mr Dufour is truly the master !
No. It wasn't just all about finishing and polishing. Here, Henrik and Mr Dufour shares their sentiments on the basics of watchmaking. True to form, Mr Dufour feels very strongly that turning and filing are very important fundamentals which all watchmaking students should have. Well, he won't be disappointed with our programme then since we do those stuff ALOT. More than twice the amount of most watchmaking schools.
Here, Mr Dufour shows us some basic tools he uses and which he makes himself.
Robert, seen here, awestruck by Mr Dufour and with his machines.
Mr Dufour sharing his knowledge of watchmaking with Henrik as the students look on with horror while Henrik decides to make the programme even harder with Mr Dufour's suggestions and ideas.
Wei checking out the Cote de Geneve machine as both Henrik and Mr Dufour looks intently. Wei ! Be careful ! ha ha ...
This picture was actually taken when Mr Dufour was telling us the story behind the manufacture of his watch cases. If you're interested to know, pay him a visit and you'll know ! Its rather interesting!
Well, Robert looking all poser-like. You know why ? Because he is wearing Mr Dufour's loupe to see something up close ! Ha ha ! Yes, Robert was that star struck !
Thats it for now but more to come soon. Oh yeah, this trip really wasn't about new watches so don't expect any product review or pictures of new developments. In fact, no one asked him about any new watches because we were all already quite awestruck by Mr Dufour's skills and knowledge. Most importantly, Mr Dufour comes across as a person who is not only passionate about watchmaking but also about the continuity and quality of watchmaking education. In the next few posts, we are going to showcase some watchmaking tools which Mr Dufour suggested that our Full Skill watchmaking students should make as part of their training.
Watch out for the next post !
