Independent watchmakers: plans for the future and ideas embodied in reality.
This year Geneva hosted a number of platforms in addition to the landmark Watches and Wonders trade show, where independent watchmakers showcased their creations. The most highly respected was Masters of Horology by Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI).
We were among those lucky enough to attend.
It was a diverse exhibition. Important exhibits included masterpieces by the indie watchmakers Svend Andersen, Vincent Calabrese, Ludovic Ballouard and Antoine Preziuso. They joined Bernhard Lederer, whose Central Impulse Chronometer was awarded the GPHG Innovation Prize in 2021.
Svend Andersen
Antoine Preziuso
Ludovic Ballouard
The exhibition also featured exquisite interior mechanics by Sebastian Naeschke and Miki Eleta, works of art by Florian Schlumpf, along with timepieces by a new generation of young independent watchmakers.
This is our pick of watches by five brands whose creators will shape the future of the independent watchmaking scene. These watchmakers in their 30s and 40s have already decidedly set out on their career paths, set up their own workshops and boast portfolios which feature a number of innovative solutions.
John-Mikaël Flaux
The stand of French watchmaker John-Mikaël Flaux demonstrated his broad range of interests. The watchmaker who worked at Ulysse Nardin before opening his own atelier in 2018 didn't limit his exhibits to wristwatches.
Flaux arrived in Geneva with a new version of his mechanical sculpture of a horse. Le Cabré is an automaton the owner can wind with a key to appreciate the graceful prancer's stunning dance as the horse rears up on its hind legs.
The rearing stallion was accompanied by the one-of-a-kind Homage to al-Jazari, a watch dedicated to the Muslim inventor and mathematician Ismail al-Jazari (1136-1206).
One of his most famous inventions was the "elephant" water clock, which you can see reproductions of today at the Ibn Battuta mall in Dubai and Kasımiye Medrese in Turkey. Flaux has illustrated a miniature reproduction of the clock based on al-Jazari's drawings on the watch's caseback.
The rearing stallion was accompanied by the one-of-a-kind Homage to al-Jazari, a watch dedicated to the Muslim inventor and mathematician Ismail al-Jazari (1136-1206).
One of his most famous inventions was the "elephant" water clock, which you can see reproductions of today at the Ibn Battuta mall in Dubai and Kasımiye Medrese in Turkey. Flaux has illustrated a miniature reproduction of the clock based on al-Jazari's drawings on the watch's caseback.
The foreground of the dial features its own complicated system for telling the time: an arch representing half a day with apertures that gradually darken to reflect the passage of time in half-hour jumps from 6 pm to 6 am and then lighten from 6 am to 6 pm.
A dragon comes to life on the dial every half hour. The decoration of the steel watch equipped with a manually wound movement is also inspired by Islamic architecture.
Aaron Becsei
Aaron Becsei is a third-generation Hungarian watchmaker who became the youngest member of the AHCI in 2005. He showcased his Project XX timepiece in Geneva, created with the knife designer Todd Rexford.
The model based on Bexei Dignitas Pure stands out for its unique zirconium dial: its unconventional imposing surface was created by Rexford using a hot hammering technique.
This was also the technique used to work the bridges in the manually wound movement with its 40-hour power reserve. The dial is framed by a steel minute scale and a zirconium case measuring 37.5 mm × 42 mm × 13 mm.
Its cutting-edge style is accentuated by the denim strap created by Momotaro Jeans using traditional "Hon-Aizome" dyeing technique with natural dyes.
Project is the first series manufactured by the brand Bexei Watches, which already has a triple-axis tourbillon, a Grande Sonnerie chiming watch and a pendulum clock that stands slightly taller than a one-euro coin under its belt.
Up until now, Bexei had only ever created models as one-of-a-kind pieces, which is understandable given their complexity and the watchmaker's production capacity with no more than five pieces leaving his workshop each year.
Stefan Kudoke
Stefan Kudoke is another watchmaker keen on decorating the metal elements on many of his models, such as the scale he engraved with zodiac signs for his KUDOKE 2 "Zodiac" model or the unusual "Sky-disk" indication for the hour of day or night on his Bauhinia watch.
However, the watchmaker from Frankfurt also has models with more subtle designs that don't loose their appeal a few years after they debut. For example, the German watchmaker who began his career at Glashütte Original in the studio for complications and prototypes brought the Kudoke 1 model to Geneva, which is equipped with the brand's first in-house movement from 2018 called Kaliber 1.
The movement inspired by English pocket-watch movements from the 19th century is hand-wound and has a 46-hour power reserve. It measures 30 mm in diameter and 4.3 mm in height. Before Kudoke 1, the watchmaker was known to specialize in richly engraved skeletonized movements, the best known example being his KudOktopus.
The new model coupled with its movement have changed the brand's vibe. Kudoke is now focusing on his Handwerk collection, which Kudoke 1 is an important member of.
Sylvain Pinaud
Like Aaron Becsei, Sylvain Pinaud is also the son of a watchmaker who decided to continue the family tradition. The graduate of Lycée Polyvalent Edgar Faure in the French town of Morteau now creates his own watches in his workshop situated village of Sainte Croix.
His own brand's line currently includes two models which were also exhibited in Geneva: Monopoussoir Chronograph and Origine. In 2019, the chronograph using a recycled ETA 6497 movement earned Pinaud the title as one of the greatest artisans in France when he won a competition with the same name in French: "Un des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France".
Pinaud's reinterpretation and addition of 98 new components (including a horizontal clutch and column wheel) transformed the movement to create a monopusher, where only one button is used to start, stop, and reset the chronograph.
He submerged this movement in an unusually shaped titanium case. His chronograph was followed by the Origine model in a steel case measuring 40 × 11 mm. The timekeeping indications are shifted to the upper half of the dial to reveal the 13.2-mm balance wheel at 6 o'clock.
Machiel Hulsman
Hulsman is a watchmaker based in the city of Hilversum in the Netherlands who also displayed a number of models that allow you to trace the evolution of his signature style.
It all began with the two-hand Marie-Elise in 2019. The classic look with a guilloche dial features on many a piece by independent watchmakers, but this watch has innovations hidden inside.
For instance, Hulsman's personal innovation is used in the movement: a triangular pallet fork made of hardened steel which is lighter than traditional pallet forks. The three-quarter plate movement is furnished with hand-cut stones.
Hulsman generally prefers to work on all the details by hand and crafts the eventual watch using vintage lathe and turning machines, the only exceptions being the balance and mainspring.
The watchmaker completed his second model last year called the Solstitium Tourbillon. The tourbillon and off-centered dial form two halves which give the watch a yin-and-yang feel. This model implements the watchmaker's latest invention: a spring-driven escape wheel for direct impulse to pallets.