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Borna Bošnjak
Over the previous few years, the curiosity in impartial watchmaking has skyrocketed. As many large field manufacturers have struggled to ship precise novelty and uniqueness, watch followers turned to the world of small-batch, hand-made manufacturing to essentially set their collections aside from the remaining. And but, it’s nonetheless an extremely area of interest world, and with a good like Watches and Wonders, the place conglomerate advertising budgets dominate the scene, it’s troublesome for independents to interrupt by way of. Nonetheless, as satellite tv for pc exhibitions pop up across the Palexpo, with manufacturers gathering on the AHCI, Time to Watches and motels just like the Beau Rivage, Geneva Watch Week can be a kind of uncommon instances throughout the yr when you may truly go and see a few of these watchmakers in the identical place. For the 2025 version, listed below are those that caught my eye.
Dann Phimphrachanh Seconde Vive
Phimphrachanh has been working as an impartial watchmaker since 2018, however the Seconde Vive is the primary watch that he’s publicly saying, writing concerning the prototypes being accomplished the evening earlier than being showcased on the AHCI. With a CV spanning the problems workshops at Bulgari and Greubel Forsey, in addition to stints at Jaeger-LeCoultre and Parmigiani Fleurier, it’s no shock that the Seconde Vive is an absolute stunner.
Its essential drawcard, aside from the drop-dead beautiful ending, is the deadbeat seconds complication housed within the decrease proper portion of the dial. The true deal with is seeing the gear practice and escapement slowly tick away, particularly realizing that the entire parts had been made by hand – with lathes, hand saws, and completed by submitting. For such an exquisitely completed piece, although admittedly solely in metal, the CHF 65,000 price ticket looks like a little bit of a steal in at the moment’s market.
Krayon Anyday
Although Krayon has been round for some time, the impartial model shouldn’t be one you’d name prolific, although Rémi Maillat & Co. definitely make up for it in innovation. The Krayon Anyday is the model’s third launch, following the ultra-complex, award-winning duo of In every single place and Wherever – good luck remembering which is which. Probably convoluted naming schemes apart, there’s nothing improper with Krayon’s watchmaking genius. The Anyday incorporates a mechanical weekly planner, the place the motion will robotically modify its perimeter date show to show the weekdays and weekends in any explicit month. It’s a genius improve of what could be a typical pointer date show, and positive, you’ll must manually advance it by way of the crown for months which have 28 or 30 days, however that’s it. The whole month will robotically be specified by entrance of you in a easy, digestible format.
That is because of the brand new Wherever motion, that includes a double cam mechanism you may see nestled on the “backside” of the motion within the pic above. The primary builds power over 24 hours to advance the crescent moon at midnight, whereas the opposite jumps on the finish of the month. In fact, the motion can be splendidly embellished, with the now-signature Krayon wavy striping of the bridges, making this distinctive complication all of the extra interesting.
Kudoke K5
I’ll be trustworthy, once I first noticed photos of this watch, I believed it was a foolish mockup celebrating April Idiot’s Day by simply enlarging the 24-hour indicator of the Kudoke K2. A fast take a look at the model’s Instagram profile later, nonetheless, and I used to be pleasantly stunned that the Kudoke K5 may be very a lot an actual factor. Like I discussed, Kudoke took the day/evening dome located at 12 o’clock from their K2, and now made it giant sufficient to fill out your entire dial, making the K5 into a really distinctive, pseudo-one-handed watch. Thoughts you, that is scorching off the heels of his GPHG 2024 win (the model’s second), making me assume it received’t be the final distinctive time show we see from Kudoke. The extent of hand-finishing is supreme, with your entire day/evening dome and stability cock (sure, haha get the jokes in now) hand-engraved. The motion continues to be primarily based on the Kaliber 1 that has powered your entire HandWerk collection, however with the mandatory modifications for the 24-hour show, together with a zirconium ball bearing to reduce the necessity for lubrication.
When speaking about Kudoke, I additionally discover it troublesome to not point out simply how good of a price proposition the model represents. The German impartial’s most simple three-handers can nonetheless be had for underneath €10,000 with an honest degree of intricate hand-engraving, however even a posh mannequin like the brand new K5 with a formidable array of hand-finishes is priced at “simply” €17,900.
Raúl Pagès RP2
As a winner of Louis Vuitton’s inaugural Watch Prize for Impartial Creatives, a lot was anticipated of Raúl Pagès’ future. The RP1 Régulateur à Détente was a ravishing show of old-school watchmaking made anew, and a set the bar excessive for the eventual follow-up. We lastly noticed it this previous week with the brand new RP2, this time not that includes a detent escapement however nonetheless delivering on the design and ending fronts. For starters, the ghostly white agate stone dial is a stunner and works rather well when paired with the contrasting child blue color. The handset is the centrepiece of the dial for me, although, with that riveted hour hand and its a number of hand-finished components.
On the motion entrance, Pagès needed to pivot to a lever escapement because the RP2 is supposed to be a extra accessible manufacturing mannequin (although nonetheless restricted to 50 items), however he nonetheless made it his personal by integrating counterweights into the pallet fork building, an indicator of advantageous pocket watches of previous. Signatures just like the outsized stability and skeletonised stability cock are nonetheless current, as is a meticulous degree of hand-finishing.
Nicolas Delaloye Renaissance
When you think about simply what number of impartial watchmakers have had illustrious careers at a few of the world’s best-known watch manufacturers, it actually makes me consider the expertise that’s nonetheless hidden behind these workbenches. Nicolas Delaloye was one of many ones that selected to interrupt out on their very own, introducing the handmade calibre ND 01 in 2003. This got here after he had labored for Patek Philippe, creating excessive problems and restoring museum items, in addition to collaborating with F.P. Journe on his grande sonnerie motion, which might lead him to supply servicing for chiming watches by Renaud et Papi and Genta. And that’s not all; he additionally labored on the meeting of Vianney Halter’s tri-axis tourbillons, amongst many others.
It’s actually no shock to be taught {that a} watchmaker of his calibre (pun absolutely meant) determined to strike out on his personal, although it wouldn’t final. After 13 years producing watches underneath his personal title, Delaloye returned to Patek’s restoration workshop in 2016, however that wouldn’t be the top of his impartial story, which leads us to the Renaissance.
With a reinvigorated ardour for making his personal watches, Delaloye went again to the ND 01 in 2024 and began work on a brand new collection. That was the Renaissance, and it will find yourself being fitted with a 39mm tantalum case and delightful enamel dials proudly carrying his title once more. The star of the present is undoubtedly the motion, which makes use of the regulator and wheel practice of an AS1130, however is in any other case fully constructed by Delaloye, with German silver for the bridges dotted with screwed chatons.
Nomos Membership Sport Neomatik Worldtimer
It ought to actually be no shock to seek out the Nomos right here, because it simply presents probably the most bang for the least buck – although, as regular, Kudoke is fairly shut in that regard. With a brand new, slimmer case and an array of vibrant dials, a Nomos worldtimer is strictly what you’d count on it to be, minimal in all the proper methods, whereas providing all of the utility you’d ever want. The Membership Sport Neomatik Worldtimer measures in at simply 9.9mm in thickness, because of the brand new DUW 3202 motion, displaying a 24-hour indicator at 3 o’clock, with a metropolis ring circling the dial. My favorite design element is the small hour indications printed within the minute observe, telling you what number of hours so as to add or subtract from the town you’ve presently chosen. I believe it’s so good, truly, that I picked it as my watch of the honest.
Honourable Point out: Masahiro Kikuno Tourbillon Minute Repeater Monopusher Chronograph
As Masahiro Kikuno’s newest growth continues to be in its prototype levels, I’ll solely put it down as an honourable point out for now. Contemplating it combines a tourbillon, monopusher chronograph, and minute repeater, I definitely assume it’s worthy of inclusion, although the Japanese watchmaker himself admitted that the offered watch shouldn’t be in good working order. Such an intense mixture of problems is already so not often undertaken by impartial watchmakers, however extra impressively, Kikuno managed to suit all of them right into a 39mm case. That is one which I’ll definitely be protecting a watch out for…
