Independent Watches ... That You Haven't Heard Of!

[Ikemi]

Well, that's not quite true. You may well have seen a watch or two created by some of these independent brands before, but my real intention is to highlight brands that are very rarely discussed on Pistonheads. Unfortunately, the prices for most of these pieces are rather expensive, and some are more exclusive than others in terms of production numbers.

Anyway, check out a selection of my favourite below and feel free to add any independent brands that you think others haven't heard of!

Czapek & Cie Place Vendôme Tourbillon Suspendu ‘Ici Et Ailleurs’:



Kari Voutilainen Vingt-8 ISO



chwarz Etienne La Chaux-de-fonds Tourbillon Petite Seconde Retrograde



De Bethune DB26



RessenceType 1 Squared OW



Because there's more to watches than just Rolex ...

[Hoofy]

I get the feeling there's no point in me reading this thread as these watches will be wayyyyy out of my budget.

If you're interested in more down-to-earth brands then my favourite is Enzo Mechana (although his current watches are starting to creep out of budget).

[Ikemi]

All price points welcome!

I cannot afford any of the pieces I mentioned either, but I still love their design. Proper grail watches, in that it's unlikely for me to ever own one. I'd personally have the Schwarz Etienne myself, as soon as I win the lottery. However cheaper watches can be just as interesting! I really like the ones you posted; the 'peace' text at 6 o'clock is very cool ...

[Voldemort]

Would save me (and others following) from a lot of googling if you could put the prices of these where you know them.

[andy97]

Ikemi said:

Well, that's not quite true. You may well have seen a watch or two created by some of these independent brands before, but my real intention is to highlight brands that are very rarely discussed on Pistonheads. Unfortunately, the prices for most of these pieces are rather expensive, and some are more exclusive than others in terms of production numbers.

Anyway, check out a selection of my favourite below and feel free to add any independent brands that you think others haven't heard of!

Czapek & Cie Place Vendôme Tourbillon Suspendu ‘Ici Et Ailleurs’:



Kari Voutilainen Vingt-8 ISO



chwarz Etienne La Chaux-de-fonds Tourbillon Petite Seconde Retrograde



De Bethune DB26



RessenceType 1 Squared OW



Because there's more to watches than just Rolex ...

Hmmm, you are right, i have not heard of them, and they may be expensive but the first and main function of a watch is for the wearer to be able to tell the time. If they cant then the watch designers have failed in their task and this collection are visually and ergonomically awful in that respect. Each to their own, though.

[Voldemort]

£1000 [€1160]

It's a Limes

http://www.limes-watches.com/

[Hoofy]

andy97 said:

Hmmm, you are right, i have not heard of them, and they may be expensive but the first and main function of a watch is for the wearer to be able to tell the time. If they cant then the watch designers have failed in their task and this collection are visually and ergonomically awful in that respect. Each to their own, though.

Fair point but the last one is the only one that you might struggle with but if you use the bottom right dial for the hour, that will give you a reasonable time as you often don't need to know that it's say 1.43pm and not 1.41pm. Well, I don't, anyway.

[Ikemi]

Voldemort said:

Would save me (and others following) from a lot of googling if you could put the prices of these where you know them.

Sure! As said though, my post is only to raise awareness of independent brands that never come up in conversation on Pistonheads. Prices are eye-watering, but similar to that of Richard Mille (discussed in another thread).

Czapek & Cie Place Vendôme Tourbillon Suspendu ‘Ici Et Ailleurs’ - £76,300
Kari Voutilainen Vingt-8 ISO - Around £55,000
Schwarz Etienne La Chaux-de-fonds Tourbillon Petite Seconde Retrograde - £76,100
De Bethune DB26 - There's one for sale at £49,000 in America
Ressence Type 1 Squared OW - Unique Piece, although the standard Type 3 model is £26,700 before tax.

However there are cheaper independent brands too. Up until recently, Glycine was a fantastic independent brand offering high quality watches at an affordable price. That's still the case, even though Glycine is now owned by Invicta.

[Ikemi]

Hoofy said:

Fair point but the last one is the only one that you might struggle with but if you use the bottom right dial for the hour, that will give you a reasonable time as you often don't need to know that it's say 1.43pm and not 1.41pm. Well, I don't, anyway.

Have you seen the Ressence in action? The entire dial rotates, as do the sub-dials within!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8QgZOkLpGI

It's a two minute video, but skip to 1:30 if you want to see how to set the time.

[counterofbeans]

Ikemi said:

Sure! As said though, my post is only to raise awareness of independent brands that never come up in conversation on Pistonheads. Prices are eye-watering, but similar to that of Richard Mille (discussed in another thread).

Czapek & Cie Place Vendôme Tourbillon Suspendu ‘Ici Et Ailleurs’ - £76,300
Kari Voutilainen Vingt-8 ISO - Around £55,000
Schwarz Etienne La Chaux-de-fonds Tourbillon Petite Seconde Retrograde - £76,100
De Bethune DB26 - There's one for sale at £49,000 in America
Ressence Type 1 Squared OW - Unique Piece, although the standard Type 3 model is £26,700 before tax.

However there are cheaper independent brands too. Up until recently, Glycine was a fantastic independent brand offering high quality watches at an affordable price. That's still the case, even though Glycine is now owned by Invicta.

I wouldn't want ANY of those watches even if they cost one hundredth of the prices you quote.

No wonder they're not heard of!

[Lorne]

Hoofy said:

I get the feeling there's no point in me reading this thread as these watches will be wayyyyy out of my budget.

If you're interested in more down-to-earth brands then my favourite is Enzo Mechana (although his current watches are starting to creep out of budget).

I like the ethos - just makes one or two models, and a Trident on the dial!

[Ikemi]

counterofbeans said:

I wouldn't want ANY of those watches even if they cost one hundredth of the prices you quote.

No wonder they're not heard of!

Not even the Kari Voutilainen with multiple guilloche patterns and rather unique movement? I didn't think it was that offensive in terms of design!

[mikeveal]

Urwerk:

[Hoofy]

Ikemi said:

Have you seen the Ressence in action? The entire dial rotates, as do the sub-dials within!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8QgZOkLpGI

It's a two minute video, but skip to 1:30 if you want to see how to set the time.

[hkz286]

http://www.icon4x4.com/watches/gallery

[nikaiyo2]

Hoofy said:

I get the feeling there's no point in me reading this thread as these watches will be wayyyyy out of my budget.

If you're interested in more down-to-earth brands then my favourite is Enzo Mechana (although his current watches are starting to creep out of budget).

Love Enzo Mechana, has he fixed his website so it’s possible to use it?

Can I nominate https://schofieldwatchcompany.com some lovely watches, made in the UK with out the utter ttish marketing.

[Hoofy]

nikaiyo2 said:

Hoofy said:

I get the feeling there's no point in me reading this thread as these watches will be wayyyyy out of my budget.

If you're interested in more down-to-earth brands then my favourite is Enzo Mechana (although his current watches are starting to creep out of budget).

Love Enzo Mechana, has he fixed his website so it’s possible to use it?

Can I nominate https://schofieldwatchcompany.com some lovely watches, made in the UK with out the utter ttish marketing.

The new website is up...

[catso]

andy97 said:

Hmmm, you are right, i have not heard of them, and they may be expensive but the first and main function of a watch is for the wearer to be able to tell the time. If they cant then the watch designers have failed in their task and this collection are visually and ergonomically awful in that respect. Each to their own, though.

Agreed, all too complicated for the sake of being different.

No wonder I've never heard of any of them...

[Snubs]

catso said:

andy97 said:

Hmmm, you are right, i have not heard of them, and they may be expensive but the first and main function of a watch is for the wearer to be able to tell the time. If they cant then the watch designers have failed in their task and this collection are visually and ergonomically awful in that respect. Each to their own, though.

Agreed, all too complicated for the sake of being different.

No wonder I've never heard of any of them...

As you say, each to their own but to voice a counter opinion i would say two things:

1. In an age of mobile phones, does it really matter so much? I commute by train and if i'm cutting it fine, i'll look at my phone not my watch these days as it's always the right time, rather than subject to the vagaries of how accurately i set my watch.

2. I love the idea of the time being hard to read as it increases the engagement with the watch. It gives you something to think about and ultimately it's a less sterile experience. It's like hand-wound watches. Speak to people who don't care about watches and they'll see having to wind it as a faff, but i see it as a pleasure that increases interaction, alongside having to set the time when i put them on.

As for interesting alternative watches, I love some of Christophe Claret's weird creations, such as their gaming watches (their watches typically range from £150,000-250,000):



http://www.christopheclaret.com/en/collection-gami...

[krusty]

I discovered 'Farer Watches' this month as there was an advert for them in the Chrono supplement of Octane.....

I particularly like the compressor watch they make...

https://farer.com/collections/aqua-compressor-auto...