This Primevère is the first act from Japanese-born, Swiss-based independent Yosuke Sekiguchi. A name most won’t be familiar with, Sekiguchi moved to France at 23 then Switzerland, studying at La Joux-Perret then Claret. In 2020, he stepped out on his own with this. He sees most Japanese watchmaking as ‘too...

Régence in French literally translates to Regency, but loosely defines the period when France was governed by Philippe II. The Regency period predates Rococco and defines and entire genre of art. In Journe collecting circles, however, it means something entirely different. Régence models, or dials more aptly, are the jet-fuel...

If Ferdinand Berthoud doesn’t ring a bell, here’s what you need to know in an instant download. Think high independent watchmaking underwritten by Chopard, well above LUC. FB is based in marine chronometry roots, re-interpreted for the wristwatch, named after one of the most accomplished, ingenius, and inventive watchmakers of...

What can one say about the Simplicity that hasn’t already been written? If we all had to choose just one independent watchmaker to represent the very best of traditional Swiss watchmaking and technique, Mr. Dufour might have to be it. The roots of this calibre run all the way back...

Production of the Langematik Perpetual is no more, removed from the catalogue in 2024. And it’s really gone for this Wellendorff bracelet 310.225, as Lange Wellendorff bracelets are also no more. The 310.225 is probably not a reference that will ring any bells. It’s a Langematik Perpetual. This Lange QP is...

Holland & Holland make guns. They have since 1835. One might think the French attitude of FP Journe might mean that the brand is above collaborations, but in the earlier days this was certainly not the case. This is the Chronomètre Holland & Holland, notably not a Souverain. You might...

A limited production of a classic shape Cartier always causes a stir. But this is particularly the case when we’re talking only 90 examples, for the 90th, with a salmon dial, of the Santos Dumont. The Santos Dumont was Cartier’s first wristwatch shape and one of the very first men’s...

Aventurine is one thing and mother of pearl is another, but no one thinks of Lange when someone mentions stone dials (the aforementioned aren’t typically considered stone). Yet, for the Lange 1’s 30th birthday, the Germans decided to tread where none had prior. In some ways, it’s a bit logical....

The second Mirage ever to trade hands is at auction this week, this time in Prussian Blue. Independent auction debuts are always interesting battles, but particularly when the watch in question is so in demand that it’s sold out for six years. That’s down to the watch itself, the first...

The 1815 Side Step is Lange referencing their past in a way we don’t see often. To celebrate the 125thanniversary of Wempe, Wempe were delivered this absolute beauty in 125 examples split across two metals There are 50 in this platinum, the rest are pink. It’s known as the Side...

Brass movement Journe is usually described as stopping in 2004, when the brand moved to pink gold movements. That’s largely true, at least until 2021, when a 99 piece run of the Octa Automatique was produced in brass at 40mm. And it gets even better, because gold dials came back...

Last year, Cartier's cult classic Tortue Monopoussoir received a breath of new life. Privé has revisited the beloved 90s chronograph devised from THA and the minds of a young Journe, Halter, and Flageollet. Although the shape goes back much further to 1912, surprisingly the second case shape Cartier made after the...

Production of the Langematik Perpetual is no more, removed from the catalogue in 2024. This is a reference 310.026, produced from 2014-2017, one of the most representative of its breed. It was expensive and difficult to manufacture, from the Zero-Reset seconds to the multi-mass rotor and its beautiful finishing. It...

It was a question, less than a decade ago, if the highest ability of A. Lange & Söhne could ever seriously challenge the apex complicated models of the Swiss. The comparison is useless, the two manufactures approach watchmaking with such distinct philosophies. But, if there were any remaining doubt, surely...

When a young Philippe Dufour loves your watch so much that he saves up to buy one, later calling it the ‘finest chronograph ever made’, you know you’re doing something right. However, Dufour couldn’t afford the platinum in period. So, he saved up and bought the ref. 403.031 in pink...

If Moritz Grossmann had an equivalent to the Simplicity, this might be it. However, there are even fewer of them. Moritz Grossmann’s entirely independent watchmaking is renown, from the traditional clear-jewel Glashütte style to innovation like the Hamatic. However, through that time, one constraint has held many collectors back: proportions....

In 2001 The Lange 1 became fit for an evening outing, courtesy of a mother of pearl dial. This is the ‘Soirée’, a slightly more expressive (about as expressive as Germans get) Lange 1 with one big different. The flat white mother of pearl dial debuted in two variants, this...

A dial can make a watch. Off catalogue except to just a handful of Middle Eastern retailers, this is the Eastern Arabic Historiques American 1921 in platinum. It was not shouted about, not in the press, and only just coming to light in recent months. No one knows the production...