Hi,

One of the highlights of my trip to Basel this year was meeting master engraver Kees Engelbarts. Kees is as friendly and good natured a person as you are ever going to meet. Honestly, I liked him from the first hand shake and "Hi."

While Kees is an independent craftsman, he was at Basel to give demonstrations of his craft at the Hublot booth, with three other skilled artists.

Kees found me at the AHCI booth and introduced himself and said he enjoyed ThePuristS.com and does check in with the AHCI forum. Naturally, I was very pleased to hear this and honored, as Kees is one of the best of his profession and has worked with several Academy members. After chatting for awhile he invited me and Roger Smith, who was arriving the next day, to visit him at the Hublot both and then enjoy a beer. Well, I never turn down a chance to see artists at work, nor a beer with good company .

The following day Roger and I met Kees and watched him work (after a film crew left) on a demonsrtation piece. Shortly after we arrived, Kees called it a day and we went outside the exhibition hall to have a beer (or three or four).

It was cool outside, but still pleasant. The atmosphere was great, with people buzzing about and a jazz band playing 50 feet from our table just outside the hall. Kees was wearing an interesting watch, which we demanded to see. He had made a dragon engraved mokome gane dial, with mokome gane adorning the Universal Geneve micro-rotor movement. His brother, a watchmaker, did the movement assembly.

I found the watch stunning and the craftsmanship superb. Please take the time to visit Kees' website where you will see more examples of his work, with better pictures than my "three sheets to the wind" photos I took in between swigs of beer. Kees sells customized watches, as he wore, under his own name and he will also customize any personal watch - from simple to elaborate engraving, as the customer wishes. Also, at his site, you'll find the definition of Mokome Gane ,

Meeting Kees was brilliant and the hour or so I spent with him and Roger, having a few drinks, talking watches and life, well... that was the best time of my trip.

Cheers,

Curtis

Thank you for these most impressive pictures!
Thatīs amazing, all these fragile engravings and sceletonized parts. Simply outstanding!

And (as usual) a most entertaining and informative report!

Keep up this really admireable work, Mr. Engelbarts!
I really would like to see something more in the future!

Greetings from germany,

Peter
(who even likes the UG microtor quite much )

nt

e

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Hi,

I would just like to use this forum to say thanks to Curtis. Concerning the beers, I guess we had at least 3 or 4...

If someone should have any specific questions or comments, you can always send me a e-mail at:
mail@kees.ch

Kees Engelbarts

I'm sorry I wasn't able to speak more with you; I found that dragon / mokume watch on your wrist absolutely stunning!

Hope to visit you in your workshops some day soon.

Best regards,
TM

...hopefully we'll have some other occasion soon to meet and speak a bit longer.

Greetings from Geneva,

Kees

of your work and highly artistic performance.

Yours is a great contribution for a precious watch and gives the watch a much much higher value. After all, the eye and the appearance is very important too.

Warm regards

Lord Arran

nt

we would love to arrange some events for you to meet and speak with serious watch aficionados.

Regards,

TM

I could maybe plan a trip to the US once I've finished the series of watches I'm working on right now.

Best regards,

Kees

nt

It is great to see work like yours being done on metal.
Please keep us updated on any future projects!

...that a watch can be worked on the way Kees does it. His work seems fantastic. Thank you for the post.

and discovering his very interessting website, of tremendous variety of possibilities.
Looking at master engraver's like Mr.Engelbart at work, is a most fascinating pleasure.
One point about this very special art is coming to my mind immidiately: knowing, that this work needs quite powerfull hands and arms and most of the "lines" or "cut's" are done once..... there are not so many skills, where it is so easy to ruin the whole work in a fraction of a second. Looking at the tiny pieces, engraved over and over with hundred's of ornament's,.....
I'd be incredibly nervous, doing the last few lines on a nearly finished piece.That's definetely not a profession for unbalanced pesonalities.
best regards
Walter

Hi,

...I love the bamboo sticks for the Hublot! I hope I can enjoy some of Kees' work in person in the future.

Thanks,
Gijs

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