Today, The partnership between The Unnamed Society and L’Epée 1839 opens another stunning creation imagined for those who set the bar for the Art of Gifting a bit higher than the rest, for appreciators of the finer things, and for visionary collectors.
Golden Boy remains true as ever to the spirit of “creating the impossible that defies the imagination” by looking not just at a timekeeper as an expression of aesthetic, engineering, and artisanship excellence, but as a true witness of its time.
Golden Boy is the logical sequel to Pancho Villa’s Bisley Colt – an intricate work of artistry and precision that engages the imagination and the senses on many levels, taking us back to an age of human evolution that seems impossible in hindsight and yet epitomizes our understanding of courage, resilience, and perseverance.
The legend that won the West…
Nicknamed the ‘Gun that Won the West,’ the Winchester Rifle remains one of the most iconic firearms of all time. Used by both lawmen and outlaws in the Old West, the Winchester rifle so perfectly embodies the legendary struggle between the peacekeepers and the bandits. Favored by many notable figures such as Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy, and Buffalo Bill it has become a symbol of that time.
For the gun that inspired Golden Boy, the year is 1866. The place: a vast country born less than a century before from the purest of desires, self-determination.
Winchester ‘Yellow Boy’ 1866 name: It wasn’t the settlers or bandits who came up with the term ‘Yellow Boy’ as shorthand for their trusted rifle. ‘Yellow Boy’ was what the Indians said when they saw the shiny brass-alloy receiver that housed the cocking and loading mechanism of the lever-action rifle.
History, design, and inspiration…now reborn as Golden Boy.
Golden Boy has the same dimensions and weight as the original, the same feel and heft. Holding it is holding the legend. Beholding it is glimpsing the amazing era that defined adventure and fired the imagination of every generation born since.
Breathing life into a legend reinvented: the L’Épée movement
Says Arnaud Nicolas, CEO of L’Épée: “Golden Boy is our second project with The Unnamed Society and a natural continuation of the Pancho Villa’s Bisley Colt we created together. Bolting a clock to a gun was never an option, so rethinking the original rifle’s ingenious lever-action mechanism as a main component of the clock caliber seemed like an irresistible challenge. The result is a work of engineering that transcends its function into a work of art, true to our DNA.
‘Loading’ the clock mechanism
What made the lever-action repeating rifle such a gamechanger back in the day was the revolutionary approach to loading ammunition, cocking the hammer, and chambering the bullet in one rapid, fluid motion – with a lever actioned by the trigger hand. Able to hold 15 rounds before having to reload, the original was not only much more practical than a single-shot rifle but also allowed for excellent handling and accuracy.
L’Épée captures this defining movement of the hand as it loads the round and prepares the gun for firing: by having the clock mechanism wound – ‘loaded’ – in the same way. By actioning the lever 15 times – as for the 15 rounds in the original 1866 Winchester magazine – the mechanism is fully wound for an 8-day power reserve.
A bespoke blend of aesthetics, engineering, and artisanship. Clock, stock, and barrel.
It is one thing to hold and handle Golden Boy and feel transported into another age. The age of your childhood, when playing the various roles that defined the conquest of the west – cowboy, Indian, soldier, settler – would first fill afternoons and then late-night dreams. Golden Boy takes you there.
It is quite another to see Golden Boy displayed on its bespoke stand. Shock. Evoke. Inspire. These are the words that should describe a piece of Art. Shocking because so unusual. Evocative because of its power to rekindle powerful memories. Inspiring because it draws you into an unexpected juxtaposition of engineering and aesthetics, itself triggering new associations.
Indeed, if the bespoke display stand created especially for Golden Boy comes at no extra cost, it is because together they form a whole. Resting on its display on a desk, table, or mantel, Golden Boy is an immediate presence in the room. When the display is placed on a wall, Golden Boy becomes a painting telling not just one story, but thousands. It has such an uncanny effect of transfiguring the setting in which it is displayed.
If marvel at the heart of each Golden Boy is only matched by the fact that it only comes as a bespoke creation, finished to the owner’s wishes. For the receiver, barrel, and tubular magazine, the owner can choose from steel, 18K yellow, rose or white gold, and palladium. For the stock and forestock, from a selection of exotic woods.
Golden Boy: Technical specifications
The Golden Boy arsenal is only composed of unique pieces. Each piece is different from the other by a series of colors, engraving, and a selection of exotic woods for the stock and forestock.
Time display:
Hours and minutes are displayed through a window echoing the bullet loading port. Numerals are engraved on large diameter stainless steel disks with black PVD coating and circular-brushed satin finish.
To set the time, you need to open up the left side window and turn the disks manually.
Winding:
Manual winding by swivel motion of the cocking mechanism of the lever-action rifle.
Technical characteristics:
Dimensions: 1093 mm (length) x 57 mm (width) x 200 mm (height)
Weight: 3 kg
Movement: 8 days
Materials: Palladium or gold-finish brass and stainless steel, or Black PVD color.
Finishes: Polishing, micro blasting, and satin-finishing, entirely by hand.
Movement:
L’Épée 1839 movement designed and manufactured in-house
Multi-level horizontal architecture
Frequency of the balance-wheel: 2.5 Hz / 18,000 vibrations/h
Power reserve: 8 days
Number of components: 342
Number of jewels: 11
Incabloc protection system
Materials: stainless steel and brass
Functions:
Hours and minutes display
A functional hammer and trigger as a playful function.
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The Unnamed Society
Founded in 2019 in Switzerland, The Unnamed Society is a team of passionate inventors, designers, and artisans committed to “creating the impossible that defies the imagination”: hyper-exclusive items offering an experience that transcends the object, made with the highest quality materials and techniques steeped in tradition, for collectors who are part of its most select circle.
The sign of The Unnamed Society is a swooping owl clutching a key. Across centuries and civilizations, the owl symbolizes wisdom and the ability to see what remains hidden; the key is a natural extension to unlock the unimagined – or unimaginable.
Heightened senses. Clarity of purpose. Absolute discretion. With the same traits as those displayed by the owl, its totem animal, the team of passionate inventors, designers, and artisans that form The Unnamed Society set about creating hyper-exclusive items that offer an experience that transcends the object itself.
L’EPEE 1839
L’Epée has been a prominent clockmaking firm for more than 180 years. Today, it is the only manufacture in Switzerland to specialize in the production of high-end clocks. Founded in 1839 by Auguste L’Epée in France’s Besançon region, the company originally focused on producing music boxes and watch components. Even at this early stage, the brand was synonymous with entirely hand-made pieces.
Starting in 1850, the manufacture became a leader in producing escapements and began to develop special regulators for alarm clocks, table clocks, and musical watches. It gained wide recognition and filed numerous patents for special escapements, particularly for use in its anti-knocking, auto-starting and constant force systems. L’Epée became the principal supplier of several famous clockmakers and went on to win many gold medals at World Fairs.
During the 20th century, the firm owed its success largely to its remarkable travel clocks. Many associate the L’Epée brand with influential individuals and people in positions of power. Members of the French government often gave clocks to their distinguished guests. When the Concorde supersonic airplane began its commercial flights in 1976, L’Epée fitted the cabins with wall clocks to give passengers the time. In 1994, the brand demonstrated its penchant for challenges by constructing the largest pendulum clock in the world, the “Giant Regulator”, which features in the Guinness Book of Records.
L’Epée 1839 is currently based in Delémont in the Swiss Jura Mountains. With CEO Arnaud Nicolas at the helm, it has developed an exceptional collection of table clocks that includes an entire range of sophisticated clocks.
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