Sometimes, moving forward means going back to recover the good things from the past. That appears to be the case at Schwarz Etienne, a small, independent brand from La Chaux-de-Fonds that wants to raise its profile and become better known on the watch scene. Founded in 1902, the brand is now in the hands of […]
This article is a guest post by one of our readers and contributors to the Collector’s Series, a gentleman who prefers to remain anonymous but who’s very active on Instagram @winewhiskywatches. We’ve long suspected that Chinese cost structures might provide compelling competitive advantages for high-end watchmaking, assuming that a Chinese watchmaking brand could effectively establish […]
In 2015, one of the great names in 18th-century watchmaking was resurrected by Chopard’s co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele. Ferdinand Berthoud (1727-1807), the Swiss horologist who emigrated to Paris in 1745 and gained fame for his marine chronometers, was granted a second lease of life. Determined to perpetuate the legacy and chronometric credentials of F. Berthoud’s past […]
Founded in 2016 by Qatari entrepreneur Hader Al Suwaidi, Beda’a was born from the vision that the Middle East region could be not just a market for luxury watches, but also a contributor to the industry. The brand’s trajectory is now shaped by engineer-designer Sohaib Maghnam acting as CEO and Chief Designer. Before joining Beda’a […]
The last few days before Watches and Wonders are undoubtedly the busiest period for the MONOCHROME team, with all the preparations for what will be the highlight of the horological year… If squeezing in more shootings and visits is becoming challenging, making time to visit Raúl Pagès to discover his latest opus was a no-brainer […]
German watchmaker Stefan Kudoke has quickly made a name in independent watchmaking, establishing an eponymous Kudoke brand with a distinctive design language for handcrafted timepieces. In 2023, he introduced the Kudoke 3, which built on the success of the Kudoke 1 and Kudoke 2 designs while adding a unique twist – a split-level dial and […]
The Armin Strom Orbit, with an innovative on-demand date display, debuted in 2022. It was initially launched as a limited “First Edition” before Armin Strom added a permanent collection reference with a black time subdial the same year. Just ahead of Watches and Wonders 2025, Armin Strom introduces a new version by adding a trendy purple […]
Independent watchmaker Czapek launched its first luxury sports watch – the Antarctique – with the brand’s first in-house movement in 2020. Avoiding the classic formula of angular bezels that populate this genre, the Antarctique is a stylish, relatively thin model available with time (and date) functions and a sophisticated rattrapante chronograph. To mark the tenth […]
Byrne is an independent watchmaker that debuted in 2021 and is known for its original design and playful dial animations featuring customisable, changing indices. At the heart of its innovation is the Gyro Dial complication, which allows the cuboid indices at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock to rotate instantly at midnight or on demand […]
One of the rising stars of the independent watchmaking scene, Felipe Pikullik’s career began in Glashütte, then working with renowned watchmakers including Kudoke and Rolf Lang. In 2017, at the age of 23, he launched his own brand in Berlin with a focus on hand-skeletonized movements – some of the most impressive we’ve seen recently. […]