Les Créateurs du Temps

Edited by Shellman Co., Ltd.

© October 2004 by AlbertoS

The Vallée de Joux, in the French speaking part of the Swiss Jura mountains, is also known as the temple of horology. Most of the high-end (or not) watch brands have their factories there, and even those who manufacture watches with the Poinçon de Genève, have at least some of their production which is made there. The valley, however, also nurtures many other talents, who are not employed by the big watch making groups, and who have chosen to stake it out on their own.

Two of the better know men among these are, without a doubt, Philippe Dufour and Daniel Roth (the man, obviously!)…

These two men, who are friends and live close to each other (though the same could be said of half of the valley’s population!!! ), have collaborated in the past, at the time when Daniel Roth had started his own company under his name, and – though having quite different philosophies and approaches to watch making – are truly two of a kind! More recently, they have also shared in the passion of an unlikely ally, living almost on the opposite side of the world from the Vallée de Joux: Yosihide Isogai, President of Shellman Co., Ltd. Indeed, Shellman is the only official distributor for Dufour’s watches (and, distributing his watches in Japan, accounts for a sizable proportion of his sales), and Shellman again is the company which has ordered the first two tourbillon watches which Daniel Roth is currently making under his own brand (Jean Daniel Nicholas).

It is Mr. Isogai’s passion for the work of these two men, and for the men themselves, what they represent, who they are, and what they are capable of, which led him to launch a wonderful project which has now taken the shape of a book: “Les Créateurs du Temps”. I will let Mr. Isogai’s words introduce you to the reasons behind this project:



I had a chance to have a relationship with Mr. Philippe Dufour on 23rd March 2000, the first morning of Basel Fair where he launched his Simplicity,　and　I could hardly forget such a wonderful feeling.　I had been admiring fantastic watches of the past, which are as good as art. On the other hand, I had never been satisfied enough with recent watches. At that very moment, I met his Simplicity.　I don’t know how many times I talked with him on watch making ever since. He was quite an ideal horologer. It did not only mean his point of view for his works, but also meant the philosophy of his creation.



In the winter of that year, he introduced me his friend, Mr. Daniel Roth, and it brought me an opportunity to see another genuine horologer whose genuineness was totally different from Mr. Dufour’s.　He had begun to work toward his purpose that he would leave masterpiece behind him, in spite of having economic squeeze, with a genuine heart like a child.　He had finally left his brand, he has been entirely devoting himself to work for his masterpiece for three years since then.　As I had seen them the way they are, I’ve come to urge to have many people see their aspects, which we can’t see from outside, and are most valuable.



This time, the photo collection “Les Créateurs du Temps” (The Time Creators) was accomplished with contributes to Mr. Kazuyuki Takahashi, a photographer, and of course Mr. Dufour, Mr. Roth and many other people. It will be grateful if you could feel “horologers” making fantastic watches in the way people desires, and also the struggles and the greatness of the men who are dedicating all their strength to creation.

The book is an amazing collection of B&W photographs which aim at showing you the human side of these two men, who we have too often seen represented by images of their watches. You will see them hard at work, sometimes at rest, often serious but also playful, in an intimate way made possible by the very talented Mr. Takahashi, who was able to let you share moments of their daily life without giving you the impression that you are intruding.

There are hardly any pictures of their masterpieces in this book, except occasionally as “objets d’art” photographed to evoke the feeling and atmosphere of their respective ateliers, so if that is what you are looking for, this work of art is not for you. What you will get, on the other hand, are wonderful photographs which will give you an insight into the character and personality of these two men, and which will give you an idea of their incredible talent and passion for their work.

Personally, I believe that this will soon become one of the “must have” books on any horological aficionado’s bookshelf, as it certainly is for me!

The book can be direct-ordered from Shellman’s web site, at a cost of 8,800 JPY (about 85 USD or so).

Below you will find a few snapshots I have taken of the book, to give you an idea of its format and contents: