
Oileán H-B1 Watch By John McGonigle (Price, Pictures and Specifications)
A breathtakingly beautiful new masterpiece from Independent Irish Master Watchmaker John McGonigle, Oileán is a wristwatch in which an icon of classical Swiss horology is bonded with his native Celtic influences.

Uncompromisingly finished by hand to the exacting standards of classical “haute horlogerie”, Oileán is a wristwatch which blends contemporary design with traditional watchmaking craftsmanship.

A modern classic
Contemporary
Presented in a case of Grade 5 Titanium with contrasting high polish and straight grained finishes, and featuring a transparent smoked sapphire dial with cool blue luminous accents on the hour indices and on the tips of its hands and pointers, Oileán H-B1 has a clean and modern aesthetic which is individual, distinctive and beautifully designed.

Elegant
Of all the possibilities of the mechanical timepiece, there are few if any more elegantly practical of complications than the classical triple calendar, with its configuration of day and month windows, pointer date and moon phase display, complemented with the practicality of the chronograph to round off a full suite of everyday functionality. Oileán takes this wonderful and emotive combination of features to life in a beautiful modern wristwatch, but one which remains true to a tradition of old school horologic innovation.

Classical
Central to the Oileán H-B1 is the magnificent and legendary Valjoux 88 movement which beats within. A historic calibre which has been used by some of watchmaking’s true Grande Maisons, it is a quite beautiful piece of twentieth century horologic engineering, and one which the Watchmaker has gone to exceptional lengths to ensure that no part of it is concealed from sight.

This manual wound technical masterpiece has been reduced to its component form, and then part by part, painstakingly finished by hand to John McGonigle’s uncompromising standards of Haute Horlogerie, before being rebuilt as an even more exquisite mechanism.

Expressive
Throughout Oileán, there are nuances of Celtic inspiration and the symbolism of a proud island nation to be found. Little details which make it so unique, distinctive and original, and which are all extensions of the Watchmaker’s own personality and distilled from the rich cultural influences which surrounded him as a child and young man growing up in rural Ireland.

Oileán H-B1
Technical specifications:
Case:
· Material: Grade 5 Titanium
· Diameter: 40 mm
· Height: 14.20 mm
· Water resistance: up to 3 bars (30 meters)
· Glass: sapphire, convex, double anti-reflective
· Caseback: Secured by screws, sapphire glass
· Crown: non-screw-locked, two gaskets
Movement:
· Highly modified, hand-finished vintage Valjoux 88
· Manual winding
· Power reserve: approximately 40 hours
· Balance frequency: 21,600 a/h
· All component edges hand bevelled and polished
· All steel components straight grained with shellac stone or flat polished on tin with diamond paste
· Bridges and mainplate available with gold or rhodium plating
· Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, day, date, month, moonphase, chronograph
Chronograph mechanism:
· Twin pusher
· Column-wheel
· Central seconds
· 30-minute and 12-hour registers on sub-dials
Triple Calendar mechanism:
· Day and month displayed in windows
· Central pointer date indicating on outer sector
· Moon phase
· Corrector pushers for adjusting the calendar mechanism (tool supplied)
Dial:
· Smoked sapphire crystal central insert
· Outer printed section in black and silver
· Day and Moth discs available in white or black.
Hands:
· Hour and Minute hands rhodium plated with luminescent tips
· Blued chronograph hands with luminescent tips
· Blued central date hand with luminescent tip
Strap: Black leather
Clasp: Titanium pin buckle
The price for the Oileán H-B1 watch is €23,500 before taxes and is limited production of eight pieces per year.