Gone are the days when microbrands were dismissed as pariahs of the industry. Second class timekeepers to more familiar, established brands. While not all microbrands are created equal, the subset has evolved into bonafide players that give the old pros a run for their money. Given the much smaller scale and freedom from corporate interference, […]
When it comes to an accessible chronograph with automatic movement, coming from an established brand, the Certina DS Podium Chronograph has always been a solid option. Indeed, the watch is powered by an ETA Swiss made calibre and comes from a brand known for its reliability, as well as its fair price policy. For 2021, […]
Louis Erard, the independent Swiss brand with a tradition of accessible luxury, has gained considerable traction in the past couple of years. One of the brand’s strategies to gain visibility for its Excellence collection was to invite designers Alain Silberstein and Eric Giroud, and even watchmaker Vianney Halter, to reinterpret the traditional regulator in a […]
The trend for 1970s-inspired sports watches with integrated bracelet doesn’t seem to slow down. In fact, multiple brands are entering the race, whether in the entry-level segment or all the way up in haute horlogerie. One of the latest contenders in this very highly prolific segment is coming from Tissot, with the PRX watch. While […]
Citizen is mostly known by a larger audience for its fairly-priced yet in-house produced mechanical and Eco-Drive watches. However, this would be reductive to the watchmaking capacities of the Japanese brand that has shown in the past proper expertise, with for instance the Eco-Drive Caliber 0100 (one of the most precise watches in the world) […]
Schwarz Etienne is sort of a hidden gem in the Swiss watch industry. Not only a brand, it is part of a watchmaking group that manufactures watches and movements in-house (including production for third-party brands, such as MING) but also hairsprings (with sister company E2O innovations). The group even manufactures CNC machines to produce watch components. And the […]
Fifty-eight-year-old Thierry Ducret has been teaching watchmaking in the Lycée Edgar Faure in Morteau since 1996. This watchmaking school is one of the most prestigious in France and has trained dozens of skilled craftsmen, working for some of the most exclusive brands… If you are into indie watchmaking, many of the French “Nouvelle Vague” of […]
58-year-old Thierry Ducret has been teaching watchmaking in the Lycée Edgar Faure in Morteau since 1996. This watchmaking school is one of the most prestigious in France and has trained dozens of skilled craftsmen, working for some of the most exclusive brands… If you are into indie watchmaking, many of the French “Nouvelle Vague” of […]
Jaquet Droz ventured down the path of skeletonisation with its sophisticated Grande Seconde model in 2018. Marking a bold new design language for the brand, the elegant figure-eight configuration of the Grande Seconde was reinterpreted in diaphanous materials, and the supporting architecture stripped back to reveal the movement. For 2021, Jaquet Droz proposes three new ceramic […]
Chronoswiss is best known for its vast portfolio of regulators, a style pioneered by the brand with the first serially produced wristwatch launched in 1987 – the Régulateur. While I’m a big fan and even went in-depth with the evolution of Chronoswiss regulators, there’s another pioneering style that helps define the brand. In 1995, Chronoswiss […]