Linley and Thomas Mercer create AQUILO

First presented at the annual superyacht gathering the ‘Monaco Yacht Show’ in September the AQUILO is now on display at the eponymous LINLEY boutique at 60 Pimlico Road, London.
Founded by David Linley, the son of Princess Margaret and the Lord Snowdon, LINLEY designs and manufactures furniture of the highest quality with a global reputation for innovative design and superlative cabinet making. Thomas Mercer Chronometers established in London in 1858 is a name forever linked to the marine chronometer; an instrument invented in the 18^th century to determine degrees of longitude at sea.
A heritage that references time pieces equipping the Royal Yacht Britannia as well as those used by the Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and Sir Francis Chichester during their legendary feats of sailing navigation.
Thomas Mercer continues to manufacture fine marine chronometers for the finest superyachts, select villas and mansions.
Astronomy and horology is linked as the observation of the stars was the foundation of time keeping.
AQUILO means North in Latin so linking the Chronometer to the faithful and constant star.
AQUILO has been manufactured to appeal to individuals who value handcrafted design and peerless design, blending of the unique skills and artistry of LINLEY and Thomas Mercer combining their respective arts of marine chronometry and cabinet making to create a unique piece of horological furniture.
The design is inspired by the bow of a yacht, a cabinet made from slip match blue eucalyptus with a streak of solid oxidized oak has several details that evoke the sea.
Such as the subtle la rose des vents engraved into the base. The base itself has a mirror set into the surface to reflect the movement.
The AQUILO has a striking a presence standing foursquare the mechanism alone some 16 centimetres high and 40 centimetres in width.
The mechanism itself is housed in a case made from marine grade stainless steel offering an all round view of the inner workings which may be admired from every angle free from distortion due to a set of extra white crystals.
An elegant open work dial magnifies the intricacies of the complicated movement. Its counters feature numerals finely obtained through bas relief technique and the hands are steel made hand finished with bluing.
David Linley comments “Like horology making furniture is all about precision. With its beautifully crafted pieces meticulously tucked away the AQUILO marine chronometer is an extraordinary one-off object d’art that fuses these two universes. Hand-made furniture has a character that is utterly individual and bespoke pieces come alive by connecting their owners to the hand and soul of the maker.”
Thomas Mercer created a new movement the Calibre TM3002 for the AQUILO, one which belongs to the exclusive family of astronomical movements.
Featuring a perpetual calendar which displays hour, minute, day of the month, month, leap year. It also indicates the equation of time which represents the difference between solar time and our 24 hours per day.
In addition to the zodiac, the celestial coordinates are completed with a 3D moon sphere illustrating the phases of the moon with the lunar cycle of 29 days 44 minute and 2.8 seconds – the time elapsed since the last new moon.
Drop into LINLEY’s to make enquires, the AQUILO is a peerless timepiece “Price on Application”.
Nick Horne, London, England