The folks at Massena LAB have proven remarkably adept at bringing collaborative visions to life across a wide range of styles and price points. Their partners range from the likes of Habring and Raúl Pagès, to Unimatic, and today, they’re adding a new, rather illustrious name to the list with a watch called Old Soul done in collaboration with none other than Vianney Halter. This is an interesting pairing, coming from two relatively contrarian sources, though this is a tension that results in something genuinely novel in the Old Soul. It’s a bit strange, and that’s exactly what it needed to be. Let’s take a closer look.
Vianney Halter is a fixture of the independent watchmaking scene, though I’ve always viewed him as a Bob Dylan like figure. He’s never been one to take the pre-defined path to success in the Swiss watch industry, and he isn’t afraid to dabble in new and unexpected genres. Watches like the Goldpfeil in 2001, the Opus 3 in 2003, and of course, the Antiqua, his first watch revealed in 1998, were all revelatory not just in their time, but remain highly influential today. Rather than bring the ideas seen in those watches into the mainstream, Halter dug in further to his own world of steampunk aesthetic applied to watches both simple (Liberty) and remarkably complex (Deep Space Tourbillon).
In a rather unexpected move, Halter took the step of collaborating with Louis Erard back in 2020 with a regulator style watch bearing many of his hallmark design cues. The pair followed up with another in 2022 that leaned even further into the steampunk aesthetic. This brought Halter’s work to the masses in a manner that many other high end independent watchmakers would not consider viable. The idea of collaboration is deeply engrained in the independent watchmaking scene, in both visible, and less visible ways, but this represented a step further, bringing the Halter name and his ideas to an entirely new market of enthusiasts.
This week, we’re seeing another step being taken, though in a considerably different way, in a collaboration with Massena LAB, an outfit more or less known for their collaborative spirit. The Old Soul utilizes Halter’s modern steampunk sensibilities within a somewhat classical context, though together, the watch feels wholly unique. A multi-layered dial ditches any centrally mounted hands, while a modified new old stock Minerva 17’22 caliber first developed in the 1920s pulls duty on the inside. Yeah, it’s weird in the best possible way.
A 42mm steel case with a stepped lug design and a studded crown hosts the madness within. The dial itself represents a vision that captures Halter’s ornamental style, though many of the details, such as the chemin de fer capture a classic design detail from the late 19th century. At a glance, the dial is rather monotone in appearance, composed of steel pieces layered atop one another. Blue hands stand in contrast, providing the hours at three o’clock, the running seconds at nine o’clock, and a peculiar diamond shape floating around the perimeter tracking the minutes. This is actually a disc system orbiting the central mass, creating the illusion of a floating pointer.
The center of the dial is dominated by a battle-axe shaped steel piece that’s been adorned with steampunk flourishes, though as it’s all done in a single metal, these details never overwhelm the design as a whole. Rather, they represent finishing details worth appreciating at a closer glance. There is an asymmetry to this piece as well, however the sub-dials that they frame are the same size on either side of the dial.
The Minerva movement retains the glory of its original design, though it has been hand-finished with Cotes de Genève and anglage throughout. It’s a perfect encapsulation of the name ‘Old Soul’ all while feeling elevated to a modern standard. The movement was used in pocket watches through the 1940s, which forced the watch’s size, filling out the entirety of the exhibition caseback window, which has been given an anti-reflective coating.
Old Soul is a celebration of classic watchmaking, as well as the unique vision of Vianney Halter as an independent watchmaker. It’s unexpected and even a bit audacious, as it shows off a new side of Halter’s legacy through the lens of Massena LAB’s dedication to historical preservation and reinterpretation. Just 47 pieces are planned for production, and you can inquire about pricing (CHF 37,000) directly from Massena LAB.