Draft:Vianney Halter

Vianney Halter is a French watchmaker. Born in Suresnes, France in 1963,. he lives in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland, and has been a member of the AHCI (Académie horlogère des créateurs indépendants) since 2000. Known for his complicated movements and futuristic designs, he is among the best known independent watchmakers,  having won the Best Watchmaker prize at the GPHG in 2011.

Education and early career
Halter enrolled in the Watchmaking School of Paris at the age of 14, graduating in 1981. He subsequently spent the first decade of his career restoring vintage and antique timepieces in Paris, including pocket watches, wristwatches, and clocks.

In 1989 he moved to Switzerland, and joined watchmakers François-Paul Journe and Denis Flageollet in their recently launched company Techniques Horlogères Appliquées (THA), a specialist supplier with a focus on developing complicated movements, where he spent three years.

Independent watchmaking
In 1994, Halter founded Manufacture Janvier SA, named after the 18th century French watchmaker, Antide Janvier, which became a supplier for several established Swiss watchmaking brands. Since 1998, he has also been producing his own wristwatches.

Antiqua Perpetual Calendar
His inaugural wristwatch under his own name was the Antiqua Perpetual Calendar, with an unusual design inspired by Jules Verne and steampunk aesthetics. The indications of the perpetual calendar were split among four separate dials.

In 2021, two examples of the Antiqua Perpetual Calendar were sold by Swiss auction house Ineichen for $207,000 (white gold version) and $185,000 (yellow gold version). That same year, Christie's auction house sold a platinum version of the wristwatch for CHF 225,000.

Harry Winston Opus 3
In early 2000, Halter was commissioned to create a wristwatch for Harry Winston's Opus 3 series. The timepiece reportedly took seven years to be completed and delivered, due to its high complexity. During those seven years, only 53 wristwatches were produced. Its movement contains two barrels and 53 jewels and contains the following complications: jumping hours, jumping minutes, countdown of the last 4 seconds before each minute jump, date, day/night indicator.

The timepiece won the Innovation Prize at the 2003 GPHG (Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève).

One example of the Opus 3 was sold by the Phillips auction house in 2011 for 214,200 CHF.

Deep Space Tourbillon
The Deep Space Tourbillon is a triple-axis tourbillon wristwatch. It won the 2013 Innovation Prize at the GPHG (Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève)

Deep Space Resonance
The Deep Space Resonance is a triple-axis tourbillon wristwatch with twin balance wheels that takes advantage of the phenomenon of acoustic resonance. While other timepieces exist that utilize the phenomenon of mechanical resonance (such as FP Journe's Chronomètre à Résonance and Armin Strom's Mirrored Force Resonance), this is the first wristwatch that uses acoustic resonance. According to Halter, it took more than ten years from idea to realisation. After having stopped actively researching movement designs, he was once again inspired to continue in 2016 by the announcement of the measurement of gravitational waves.

It is a limited edition timepiece, with at most one Deep Space Resonance currently being made every three years, on request. , and is priced around $970,000

Awards

 * Innovation Prize, GPHG (Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève), 2003
 * Best Craftsmen Master Prize, Premios R&E, Madrid, 2008
 * Best Watchmaker Prize, GPHG (Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève), 2011
 * Innovation Prize, GPHG (Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève), 2013
 * Watch of the Year Prize, Passion Horlogère, Paris, 2013
 * Best Design Watch Prize, Salon Des Grandes Complications Dubai, 2015
 * Hall of Fame Prize, Temporis Bucharest, 2016
 * Gaïa Prize, Craftsmanship and Creation category, La Chaux-de-Fonds, 2016
 * Best Men’s Watch, SIWP Geneva, 2017