Posts Tagged ‘Independent Watchmaking’
Grönefeld 1941 Eight Second Remontoire in Steel
Independent watches which defy mechanic and design trends often impress on a very deep level. However, not all of these more audacious efforts remain front of mind or desire as time evolves. The 1941 Remontoire has not only crystalized Grönefeld’s deserved reputation as among the very best independent watchmakers, but, for many including myself, proven…
Read MoreDB28TRS De Bethune Tourbillon
The DB28 is modern De Bethune’s halo offering. It has won all the awards, sustained market interest, and was perhaps the brand’s most audacious project of all time. In the wake of that success, De Bethune have been iterating and, year on year, offering slightly more niche DB28s in smaller quantities. De Bethune are an…
Read MoreRose-on-Rose FP Journe Centigraphe Souverain
For many years, FP Journe’s Centigraphe remained one of the finest ever chronograph movements to be largely unrecognized, speaking volumes to François-Paul’s maniacal approach to complication but minimally popular. The concept was borne between conversation between FP and Jean Todt (then executive at Scuderia Ferrari and later president of the FIA), but something François-Paul had…
Read MoreDB12T De Bethune in WG
Insanely technical independent De Bethune are perhaps best known for their use (or misuse) of the pun Starry Varius or insane spaceship designs. The manufacture is an involved one, one of the few independents that manufacture everything from the hairspring to the handset vertically. This simple chronograph is a magnificently uncommon thing: a watch which will spark…
Read More1 of 75 Sarpaneva x Moomin LE
Finnish independent watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva is not famed for his subtlety or lack of creativity. In fact, more than most, he allows these forces to run rampant. It should come as no surprise, then, that after having been given the green light to collaborate with Swedish-Finn illustrator and Moomin Creator Tove Jansson for their 75th…
Read MoreH. Moser & Cie Streamliner Flyback LE
Watch releases innovative or beautiful enough to take your breath away are few and far between. Seeing a small, modern independent execute both arts while being funky enough to remind one of the 1970s Omega Flightmaster or Sinn 142 is another thing entirely. In the casual horologist zeitgeist, H. Moser & Cie are best known…
Read MoreMing 19.01 Schwarz-Etienne 100-Hour
It seems a little absurd to claim any high point for a manufacture that only endured a five-ish year history. Yet, I’m going to be either brave or foolish enough to claim the 19 series as a sort of apogee. Ming dove into the collector zeitgeist in 2017 with such a splash that they’ve become…
Read MoreHandwerk Kudoke 2 in Salmon
In the fray of flourishing modern independents, one could be forgiven for getting a bit lost. There’s Asaoka, Naoya Hida, Kurono (wait isn’t that Asaoka), Sarpaneva (okay maybe he’s a little more old-guard, but then SUF), Laine, Werdelin, Akrivia, Candoux, I could go on. The point is this; as watchmaking grows more akin to art,…
Read MoreValue Proposition: Dornblüth & Sohn 99.2(1)ST
The Germans have a thing for tradition, amongst a more broad fixation with efficiency and currywurst. I am not sure I would consider any modern watchmaker to be more traditional than D. Dornblüth & Sohn. Sinn may be more Germanic in their construction philosophy. Lange may be more Germanic in their finishing execution. IWC may…
Read MoreGrönefeld 1941 Principia Salmon
I’ve often said here that I tend to gravitate toward a given brand’s more minimal offerings. Pairing back the flying tourbillons, flyback chronographs, and deadbeat-seconds leaves room for a watchmaker’s design and finishing efforts to shine through. Leave it to the slightly unhinged Dutch brothers to design a time-only watch that has been more carefully…
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