The Rolex brand is older than the city of Canberra, a fact that shows not only Australia’s youth, but, by contrast, just how old watchmaking really is. It also surely makes Canberra one of the least likely places on earth to find someone in their mid-20s making a tourbillon pocket watch. Enter Reuben Schoots … Hidden away in his workshop, Schoots is working on a project that has likely never been attempted before in Australia. He is creating a pocket watch following the George Daniels method. That means entirely by hand. His prediction is that the watch will take around 3000 hours to complete, a pace that probably outstrips the bureaucratic processes of the nearby Parliament House. What is most interesting about this likely to be first-of-its-kind mission is that it is being undertaken by a 26-year-old who seems to possess the patience of a Stoic philosopher. He has been interested in mechanics since a young age, helping his dad with the restoration of a 1961 Triumph TR4 when he was just eight. While there are obvious similarities between vintage cars and vintage watches, it was almost by accident that Schoots was introduced to horology. “I travelled to South America…
The post INTERVIEW: Australian watchmaker Reuben Schoots is the first of his kind appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Continue reading ‘INTERVIEW: Australian watchmaker Reuben Schoots is the first of his kind’