Four models that won our hearts.
The major watchmakers’ performance at April’s Watch & Wonders in Geneva was so dazzling that we lost sight of small independent companies and watchmakers. But they also presented stunning models. Here are four of the most important models.
F.P. Journe Chronomètre Souverain 20th Anniversary Edition
It’s hard to believe that few people even knew François-Paul Journe existed 20-odd years ago — just a few colleagues, experts, and the jury members at haute horlogerie’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, who awarded two of his early creations top prizes.
The global watchmaking community basically began talking about Journe after he received these awards, and the maestro himself blazed a trail that every watchmaker starting out on their career dreams of today. Four years ago, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Octa caliber with the Octa Automatique Limited Edition. This year, it’s the turn of the boutique edition of the Chronomètre Souverain.
The maestro celebrated the anniversary of the beloved model by launching two versions of the Boutique Collection Chronomètre Souverain Ref. CS in 40-mm cases with a choice of platinum or rose gold. The cases measure a mere 8 mm in height, so these watches with a solid case size in diameter by today’s standards still look very elegant.
The dials on the two models are almost identical: blue guillochéed silver with gold appliqué numerals. The only difference is that the platinum version has numerals made of white gold, while the rose-gold version has matching rose-gold numerals.
The watches house the manually wound Caliber 1304 , where Journe drew inspiration from early 19th-century marine chronometry. Its twin mainspring barrels don’t take turns to transfer energy, but work in parallel to deliver stable power via a highly linear constant force to keep the watch running with accurate timekeeping for a duration of 56 hours.
Will the series be limited to some symbolic number? Journe hasn’t even made up his own mind yet. All he’s disclosed is that 198 movements have been cased-up, but he still has 161 movements without dials in reserve. We think that much will depend on the number of orders that can be processed in the single-brand F. P. Journe boutiques or exclusive retailers.
The rose-gold version costs USD 43,100 (approx. CHF 35,500), while the platinum edition is priced at USD 46,600 (approx. CHF 38,500). And it must be said that this is significantly cheaper than the average price for classic three-hand watches by leading brands, which currently fluctuate in and around the mark of CHF 60,000.
Voutilainen KV20i Reversed GMT Milano Edition
The remarkable watchmaker Kari Voutilainen has treated his fans to a totally unexpected surprise. He’s made 10 watches based on an inverted version of his famous Vingt-8 movement for the Italian boutique GMT Milano, who specialize in retailing watches by small independent manufacturers.
As a quick reminder, the Vingt-8 has a reversed architecture with an openworked balance spring, mainspring barrel, and gear train in plain view for all to admire. This back-to-front construction allows the watchmaker to showcase the fine art of finishing and decoration on his movement.
It’s no wonder that watches from the reserved line are now the most sought-after in the entire model range. The version for GMT Milano stands out for its 39-mm case in polished titanium, the movement’s gilt mainplate and bridges, and the watchmaker’s magic touch in applying the frosted finish, made fashionable by Audemars Piguet.
The combination of mirror-polished titanium, matte gold, and the deep blue minute-track markers along the chapter ring create what you could describe as a special-occasion effect, which looks incredibly stylish. Gold movements were typical of vintage pocket watches, while polished titanium is used in the latest technologies.
And this fusion breaks the conventional mold for watches. The hand-wound movement has a 60-hour power reserve. The watch can only be purchased via the GMT Milano boutique. Its retail price is EUR 133,420 (approx. CHF 125,000) excluding VAT. But buyers will have a long three-year wait before they can receive their watches.
De Bethune DB25NC Monopusher Chronograph Ref. DB25Vxs
This new monopusher chronograph should be in every collection of unparalleled watches by De Bethune, if only for the reason that the ingenious watchmaker Denis Flageollet created the entire movement for it.
Before the movement’s inception, stellar chronographs by De Bethune used variations of caliber DB1, created in close partnership with Flageollet but ultimately developed by THA (Techniques Horlogères Appliqueés).
Even the world’s currently most advanced chronograph — the DB28 Maxichrono introduced in 2014 — was created based on the DB1, although it was modified almost beyond recognition, especially for the tourbillon version. Caliber DB3000 had to appear sooner or later.
It comprises 296 components, featuring the signature patented blued titanium balance wheel with six white-gold inserts, De Bethune’s manufacture hairspring with a flat terminal curve, and a silicon escape wheel. Flageollet is a fan of classic haute horlogerie at heart, so the movement is manually wound. It provides a 60-hour power reserve.
Needless to say, it’s been finished to an outstanding degree, which you can see for yourself by peering through the sapphire crystal caseback. The case made of polished titanium has been reduced to 40.6 mm in diameter. At the same time, it’s only 9.15 mm in height.
The center of the dial and its huge 60-minute counter at 6 o'clock have been engraved with different guilloché patterns. Now that’s what true, aristocratic minimalism looks like! No limit has been set for availability of the De Bethune DB25NC Monopusher Chronograph Ref. DB25VXS. Each piece is priced at CHF 80,000.
Raúl Pagès RP2
The 41-year-old independent watchmaker Raúl Pagès is a Renaissance man with diplomas in a range of fields. Apart from being a watchmaker-cum-restorer of antique clocks, who designs and engineers automata, he’s also a historian, technician, artist, and even a musician. Pagès also holds a diploma with a very rare specialization as a designer of watch complications.
But he’s made the creation of watches the main focus of his career. Judging by his RP1 and RP2 watches, Pagès has forgotten about watch complications. Both of his models are three-hand models with totally plain dials, devoid of numerals or markings (only the flange is calibrated at five-minute intervals), and they look about as minimalistic as it can get.
That’s how they appear at first glance anyway. But this is one of those cases where the devil is in the details. Take the hour hand as an example. It might appear to be a simplified version of a regular Breguet hand. But it’s far more complicated. The exemplary polished steel rod ends with a steel disk, which itself is secured with an arrow-tip rivet.
The inner surface of the relief disk is matte and blackened, which creates a unique, quirky, and memorable play of light and shadow when you take a closer look. At the same time, the minute hand is like a dermatologist’s microneedle, while the small seconds hand is more of a solid cylindrical rod. This is all so intriguing that it elicits delight.
Pagès started by drawing the movement, and then he developed it himself. He doesn’t have the means to independently create all of the components yet, so he outsources them. That’s how quite a lot of watchmakers have operated and continue to operate. But Pagès orders components for his own watches from the very best manufacturers.
Then he painstakingly finishes them with his own hands before assembling and regulating them. The resulting hand-wound Caliber RP2 beats at a frequency of 21,600 vph and has a 60-hour power reserve. Pagès takes the same approach to create his cases and dials. For example, the case is supplied to him by a case maker who works with Kari Voutilainen. By the way, the RP2 has a steel case.
It measures 38.5 mm in diameter and 11.5 mm in height. Given that Pagès makes the watches himself, he wouldn’t be able to make more than 15 of them in a year. Work rendered by hand is highly valued, so the RP2 doesn’t come cheap at CHF 89,000 (excluding taxes). That being said, Pagès is apparently intent on hiring assistants to increase his annual output to 25 watches.
However, availability of the RP2 has still been limited to a run of 50 pieces. We strongly recommend keeping an eye on creations by this multifaceted talent. He’s on the right track. The same route was taken by François-Paul Journe, Richard Mille, Rexhep Rexhepi, and a number of other watchmakers, now idolized by collectors, when they were starting out.
Credits provided by: www.hodinkee.com, www.gmtitalia.com, www.debethune.ch