VOX VINUM GRANDE SONNERIE

Vox Vinum -  means: voice of wine

“The only independent watchmaker in Hungary, Aaron Becsei, or more properly Becsei Áron, has created a distinctive style for his eponymous brand, Bexei – ornate, Gothic engraving; a double-ellipse case; and top-class movement finishing. His latest creation, a custom and unique grande and petite sonnerie wristwatch named Vox Vinum, is all of the above, except in a more conventional round case.[…]

So it began with an ebauche […] (where) a major amount of work was needed to complete it, both in terms of filling in the blanks with newly produced parts, as well as refinishing and reshaping the old components. […] Being an ebauche for a full sized pocket watch, the movement diameter was about 46mm, or about 21”’, but the owner wanted a case that was as small as possible. At the same time, the case had to maximise the volume and resonance of the chimes. So Aaron had to apply some creativity in building the case, which was done entirely in-house. […]

To create some colour contrast, the functional elements of the case – slide, buttons, crown and screws – are made of heat-blued titanium. Aaron opted for the lightweight alloy instead of traditional blued steel because titanium does not rust, while steel can. […]
Covering both flanks of the case, the engraved motif depicts grapevines, because the owner of the watch loves wine. That also explains the name of the watch – vox vinum is Latin for “voice of wine”. […] According to the owner, his bespoke or custom watches usually carry the signature of the artisans who worked on the watch. […]

Reducing the diameter was only the first step in the long process of finishing the movement blank. Once completed, the movement totalled over 400 parts. Many components had to be produced from scratch, including many screws, which Aaron turns in-house, starting from raw steel bars. Aaron also to fabricate some bridges, while others had to be reshaped to conform to Bexei’s elaborate style emphasising flourishes in the bridge shapes. […]

The Bexei Vox Vinum Grande Sonnerie is a strikingly impressive watch, no pun intended. The skill and effort expended in its completion is tremendous and obvious; the rigorous quality of work marks Aaron out as one of the leading talents of his generation.”

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