Following two collaborations with Habring², Massena LAB has unveiled its third joint project with the Austrian watchmaker. Massena LAB, the collaboration studio founded by watch industry veteran, William Massena, recruited American guillocheur Joshua N. Shapiro to create the new Massena LAB x Habring² ERWIN LAB03. This timepiece boasts a bronze dial with a basket weave pattern, which has been painstakingly engine-turned by Shapiro, using an 80-year-old straight-line guilloché machine in his Los Angeles workshop. The tone of the dial, which shifts from salmon to rose depending on the light, is the natural color of the bronze metal and is not the result of painting or plating as is common practice. The dial is lacquered to prevent patination and discoloration. Shapiro spends almost 5 hours on each dial. Each is grained using a Water of Ayr stone famed for its very fine texture.
The hour, minute, and seconds hands are navy blue, to fit the dial printing. The rest of the dial is separated into two rings, one for the hours and the other for the minutes, both brushed and printed with blue markings to match the hands. “The dial design incorporates that Bauhaus style of sector dial with a classic English style of guilloché. We selected the font of the Roman numerals very carefully,” Massena explains. Once Shapiro finishes his part of the craftsmanship, the dials move back to Europe. Before they arrive for the final assembly in Austria, the dials must be pad printed in Germany. As the dials are made of solid bronze, they receive an extra layer of lacquer protection.
Visible through the back of the watch is the A11S, Habring²’s proprietary movement. Equipped with a secondary escapement for the jumping seconds, it is mechanically identical to the standard A11S but has the bridges and base plate coated in pink gold to match the dial color. The watch is finished with an Italian-made, deerskin leather strap with a steel tang buckle. Marking a first, this timepiece will come complete with a Chronometer Certification from the Horological Society of New York. The limited release of the Massena LAB x Habring² ERWIN LAB03 will consist of only 66 pieces and will be available for shipment in late January of 2022.
For another watch constructed with bronze, check out the Urwerk UR 100V T-Rex.
