A. Lange & Söhne’s Lange 1 is an icon and one of the defining pieces in watchmaking history. When the Lange 1 was first introduced, it played a major role, not only in the rebirth of A. Lange & Söhne, but also German watchmaking, whilst upholding the uncompromising precision of Saxon watchmaking tradition.

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To understand just how important the Lange 1 timepiece was for the brand, we first need to take a look at A. Lange & Söhne’s history.

A Brief History of A. Lange & Söhne

A. Lange & Söhne was founded in 1845 by Ferdinand Adolph Lange in Glashütte, Germany. Born in 1815, Adolph Lange, in his younger years, studied with renowned master watchmaker Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes, who quickly recognized and encouraged his watchmaking talent. After studying and working abroad for several years, Ferdinand Adolph Lange returned to Dresden, the capital of the German state Saxony, in 1841.

His arrival in the city was very timely, as a new railway was built between Dresden and Leipzig in 1839. This form of transport changes not only the culture of travelling, but also the perception of time. What previously might have taken from “Tuesday morning” until “Wednesday evening” by carriage is now something much more precise. This meant that precise timepieces were now of high importance.

This new railway also influenced the design of many pocket watch dials. For example, the minute scale between the hour markers is based on a railway track. In 1843, Ferdinand Adolph Lange started to repeatedly write to the Saxon government to promote his idea of “the founding of a new industry for the impoverished people of the Erzgebirge”. He has worked out everything about his new business model down to meticulous detail. In 1845, the Saxon government gave the go-ahead for Ferdinand Adolph Lange’s business proposal, as A. Lange & Söhne quotes, “to hire and train 15 apprentice watchmakers in impoverished Glashütte, while also receiving a supplement of 5,580 thalers, repayable between 1848 and 1854 in seven instalments – and an additional 1,120 thaler to buy tools”.

“To get through the difficult first few years, Ferdinand Adolph Lange puts literally everything he owns into his fledgling business – and also takes on heavy debt. He never gives up hope of success – and time proves him right.”
A. Lange & Söhne

With the backing of the Saxon Government, Ferdinand Adolph Lange and his wife Antonia relocates to Glashütte. On the 7th of December 1845, Ferdinand Adolph Lange welcomed his first apprentices into the workshop, and thus the beginning of A. Lange & Söhne watch company. The name “A. Lange & Söhne” meant “A. Lange & Sons”.

All new beginnings are extremely tough, and this was no exception. Teaching the apprentices from the region were much more difficult a task than once first thought, which meant that watch production moved slowly. However, after some time, A. Lange & Söhne earned a reputation for technical precision and innovation, standing out from the crowd by creating watches that combined elegance and robust engineering.

A. Lange & Söhne Cease of Operations

In 1948, A. Lange & Söhne went through a difficult stage, as it was seized and nationalised by the Soviet-controlled East German government following World War II. This means that the government took control of privately controlled companies, industries, and assets.

The watchmaking region of Glashütte also experienced massive wartime destruction, adding further fuel to the fire of privately owned watch companies in the region. Unfortunately, the A. Lange & Söhne facilities were also heavily damaged from air-raids. East Germany’s nationalisation meant that A. Lange & Söhne would consolidate the business into a new state-run entity named VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe (GUB). This effectively ceased operations for “A. Lange & Söhne” as an independent brand.

Rebirth of The Brand

That is until 1989. When the Berlin Wall fell, Walter Lange, the great-grandson of founder Ferdinand Adolph Lange alongside Günter Blümlein, reclaimed the A. Lange & Söhne name and re-established the brand. Setting the company up again was certainly no easy task. To make A. Lange & Söhne a competitor against the Swiss giants at the time, when the quartz crisis had been averted, and mechanical watchmaking was once again starting to flourish. With these brands already being established, A. Lange & Söhne had to make up for lost time and quickly make a name for itself.

The Birth of an Icon – The Lange 1

This was also the perfect time for the brand to start anew, with a blank canvas, and create something extraordinary while upholding the values and heritage set forth by Ferdinand Adolph Lange. In 1994, A. Lange & Söhne did just that by making the Lange 1 timepiece.

A. Lange & Söhne states that “While-in general-Swiss Watch Industry was busy adding complications on top of each other and relying on traditional designs without foreign competition; something entirely different was cooking across the border.” Following the re-registration in 1990 and 4 years of intense hard work, A. Lange & Söhne introduced their first collection, in which the Lange 1 was a model. The whole collection featured four different models and three separate calibre movements, all released on the evening of October 24th 1994.

The creation of A. Lange & Söhne’s Lange 1 involved some high-profile watchmakers such as horological designer Hartmut Esslinger, watchmakers Helmet Geyer, Thierry Nataf and Kurt Klaus. This team knew that the Lange 1 had to be special, especially if the timepiece was going to compete with the Swiss watch market. A timepiece that was distinctive, memorable and aesthetically pleasing.

After A. Lange & Söhne was re-established in 1989, the designers and watchmakers spent the next few years designing the brand’s first collection, with the Lange 1 being of the utmost importance. When the asymmetrical layout of the Lange 1 was finalised, the designers spent countless hours deciding where the indications would be and how they would look on the dial. The year’s hard work has ended with a product that is now iconic in the world of horology, a design that has been virtually untouched for 30 years!

The Lange 1 Design – Reference Model 101.001

One of the biggest issues that the designers faced was how to make the Lange 1 a truly modern version of A. Lange & Söhne, especially after its identity was lost for four decades. The designers need to step outside of the box of traditional watchmaking to create something unique, however, still stay true to the design cue’s of A. Lange & Söhne’s past.

In order to create a stand-out design for a watch, one must first focus on one of the most important aspects of a watch: the case design. While the Lange 1 case design isn’t as exceptional as its dial, it features minute details that give it the elements of luxury and elegance and comfortability. Since the Lange 1’s creation in 1994, the case design has remained faithfully accurate even to today’s A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 models (besides the date pusher changing sides on the case!).

The original reference 101.001 Lange 1 models came with a case size of 38.5mm x 9.8mm thickness. The case featured elegantly curved and bevelled lugs, not only to look aesthetically pleasing but also to provide a comfortable fit on the wrist. A standout feature on the case was that these lugs were separately finished and notched from the case. The case features a sandwich-type construction whereby it’s built on three levels. The top and bottom (bezel and case back) have a polished finish, while the middle case band has a brushed finish. With this alternating finishing technique, it provides for a very aesthetically pleasing look.

The most iconic design element of the Lange 1, however, is, of course, the asymmetrical dial layout. The designers and engineers at A. Lange & Söhne came up with the idea to make this layout from the “golden ratio” or “golden spiral” principle. By using the golden ratio as part of Lange 1’s design, the dial will have a visual harmony, regardless of the asymmetric design.

Another standout design element of the Lange 1 is the oversized date feature at 1 o’clock. The large date feature was originally a Jaeger-LeCoultre invention, but Gunter Blumlein had a unique take on the design. The inspiration behind the big date window comes from the five-minute digital clock at the Semper Opera House in Dresden. Coincidentally, this clock was made by Ferdinand Adolph Lange’s tutor Gutkaes.

As we know, A. Lange & Söhne’s attention to detail is impressive, but it extends beyond just their designs. If you ever wonder why the Lange 1 always has the date set to the 25th in the press photos, it’s due to a historical moment when the watch was released. A. Lange & Söhne state, “On 24th October 1994, the print was the only communication tool for the watch industry. When the event took place in Dresden Castle that day, the press could only announce the watches on 25th. So, all of the watches’ date was set to 25 to be accurate with the date they were shown”.

While the golden ratio inspires the overall elements on the dial, the rule of thirds also plays an important role in the design. A. Lange & Söhne state that “while the rule of thirds suggests when an image or object is divided into nine equal parts by two horizontal and vertical lines, the important elements should sit either on along these lines or their intersections. Employment of this principle what gives the comforting symmetry to Lange 1 while appearing random”. 

At the 9 o’clock position on the dial, we get the main time sub-dial. This sub-dial consists of two different hour indices. Roman numerals have been used for the 3, 6, 9 and 12 indices, while the rest are diamond-shaped. The indices come with mirror-polished and soft bevels, which glisten beautifully under light. The use of four Roman numerals on each of the quadrant positions also gives the time sub-dial a balanced design, perfectly in line with the meticulously calculated design of the overall watch.

Between 4 and 5 o’clock is the constant seconds sub-dial, which is displayed simply through a seconds track and sword-like hand. Sitting above the constant seconds sub-dial is the power reserve indicator at 3 o’clock. This indicator is shown in the most simplistic form with minimal visual elements. The power reserve is indicated through five triangles, each measuring 0.40mm in diameter in height and width. The distance between the triangles is also not equal, but once again, it is executed to show a high level of attention to detail. When the Lange 1 movement is fully wound, it offers 3 days of power reserve. It takes approximately 1.5 days for the indicator to go to the third triangular marking and then another 1.5 days to get to the 5th triangular marking.

If we take a much closer look at the Lange 1, we can see further details that help to separate the sub-dials from the main dial. Firstly, the main dial comes with a grained finish, which gives it a matte-like look. The primary time subdial and the constant seconds sub-dial have fine concentric circles whilst also adorning a sunburst finish. It is said that there are a total of 153 concentric circles on the time sub-dial (research by @thewindingstem and @handwound). When you look at the dial as a whole, these sub-dials stand out, with the sunburst effect playing beautifully with light against the matte-like grained dial background.

Lange 1 (Reference 101.001) – Calibre L901.0 Movement

The first movement used inside the Lange 1 was a manual-wound Calibre L901.0. As the movement’s name suggests, the 90 denotation stands for when the movement was first sketched. This was incidentally also the first modern movement built by A. Lange & Söhne.

The movement wasn’t completely in-house, however. The Calibre L901.0 takes the gear train from Jaeger-LeCoultre’s calibre 822 movement, which the engineers at A. Lange & Söhne then heavily modified to suit the design of the Lange 1. A. Lange & Söhne state, “This modification laid the grounds for what was going to be A. Lange & Söhne’s movement identity with German Silver three-quarter plate, blued screws, gold chatons, Glashütte ribbing (a bit wider than its Swiss counterpart) and hand-engraved balance cock. A modern interpretation of a 150-year-old tradition“.

The Calibre L901.0 has a 30.60mm diameter, 53 jewels, 9 gold chatons, and beats at a frequency of 3Hz (21,600 VpH) whilst giving out a power reserve of 72 hours thanks to the double barrel system in the movement. The regulating organ of the first Lange 1 models housed a Glucydur balance wheel with screws. The movement also used Breguet overcoil on the balance springs due to their positive effects on timekeeping.

Even though the Calibre L901.0 is a beautifully finished movement, as we all know now from the modern renditions of A. Lange & Söhne timepieces, the caseback of the Lange 1 reference 101.001 was closed for both the gold edition and steel (reference 101.005). This was quickly reversed; however, in 1995, a year after the Lange 1 was introduced, the brand released a reference model with a transparent case back, showing the beauty of the L901.0 Calibre movement.

1995 – Lange 1 With Transparent Caseback

Reference: 101.022 

The first variation of the Lange 1 occurred a year after its debut. As mentioned previously, the main variation is the transparent case back, allowing the wearer to see the calibre L901.0 movement with it’s stunning finishing. Two different references were made available with the transparent casebacks.

The first is reference 101.021, which featured a yellow gold case with a beautiful champagne dial and yellow gold hands. The second, as shown in the pictures above, is reference 101.022, which came with a yellow gold case and, this time, an argenté dial. A. Lange & Söhne used blue steel hands to directly contrast the dial colour while also making it more colourful.

1997 – Lange 1 Discontinues Use of Solid Casebacks with

Reference: 101.027 and 101.031

Two years after the inception of the Lange 1, A. Lange & Söhne made a permanent change to the design. That was to remove the solid caseback and instead use a sapphire crystal to showcase the movement. The 1995 change with transparent caseback would lead to this change, as the consumers would have loved to see the L.901.0 movement, and rightly so!

Two models were released to announce this permanent change, which was the Lange 1 reference 101.027 that was a white gold timepiece with a blue dial and contrasting white gold hands. The second was the reference 101.301, which featured a beautiful pink gold case with black dial.

1998 – Little Lange 1

Reference: 111.032

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the Little Lange 1 was first released by A. Lange & Söhne; however, resources say it was around 1998. The Little Lange 1, reference 111.032, was designed with a smaller case size of 36mm, hence the name. This smaller design was created to cater to those who were seeking a more compact and slimmer option while still keeping the iconic Lange 1 design intact.

Even though the reduction in size means it fits the female audience more by modern standards, the 1998 release was actually designed for men who preferred a smaller watch on the wrist. The new movement L901.4, while retaining the same characteristics of the L901.0 movement, was downsized to fit the new case. The other notable difference was the movement, and the case came with a recessed pusher to change the date, rather than a push button, as seen on the original Lange 1 models.

1998 – Lange 1A – Special 100 Pieces Limited Edition model

Reference: 112.021

In 1998, A. Lange & Söhne created a second manufacturing building. To inaugurate this special moment, the brand released the Lange 1A, a special 100-piece limited edition model. This timepiece was certainly special, as it featured a stunning gold dial that had an “engine-turned” pattern.

The engine turning pattern, also more commonly known as the Guilloché pattern, was done throughout the different sections of the dial. This gave the watch a gorgeous look, with the main dial and sub-dials all getting their own Guilloché pattern. It was immediately sold out upon the watch’s release, and understandably so.

2000 – Lange 1 Tourbillon

Reference: 704.025 & 704.032

To celebrate the last year of the century, A. Lange & Söhne created a very special piece featuring a complication for the first time in the Lange 1 range. The Saxon manufacturer released the Lange 1 Tourbillon in two references: 704.025, a platinum edition limited to 150 pieces, and 704.032, a rose gold model limited to 250 pieces.

A. Lange & Söhne states, “For the Lange 1 Tourbillon, the calibre L901.0 went through one more step of evolution with the re-positioning of the sub-seconds indication and with the added tourbillon carriage. The balance is also moved from across the crown to 6 o’clock position as it is now directly connected to the running train without the cut-out with three gold chatons”.

2002 – Lange 1 Moon Phase

Reference: 109.021, 109.025 & 109.032

With A. Lange & Söhne now starting to introduce complications into the Lange 1 models, the brand actually took a step back from the tourbillon complication to release the more popular, classic and attainable moon phase complication. Unlike the Lange 1 Tourbillon, however, the dial didn’t need to be re-arranged to make way for the complication. Instead, A. Lange & Söhne integrated the moon-phase disc into the constant seconds sub-counter.

A. Lange & Söhne presented the Lange 1 Moon Phase in three variations. Reference 109.021 featured a yellow gold case with a champagne dial. Reference 109.025 in a platinum case with rhodium dial and reference 109.032 in a pink gold case with silvered dial.

2003 – Grand Lange 1

Reference: 115.021, 115.025 & 115.031

With the growing market trend of consumers wanting larger watches, A. Lange & Söhne created the Grand Lange 1 to cater for this demand. The Grand Lange 1 was presented in 2003, and it featured a larger case size of 41.9mm. The watch, however, retained the same L.901.0 movement as per the original Lange 1.

With the increase in size, the Grand Lange 1’s dial was out of proportion, too. The date window, which is now larger in size, crosses into the “minute track” of the time sub-dial. The time sub-dial and the constant seconds sub-dial greatly overlap as well, taking the essence out of the precisely designed Lange 1 model. The Grand Lange 1 was introduced in three references: 115.021 – yellow gold with two-tone silver and champagne dial (as seen in the above image), 115.025 – platinum case with two-tone silver and rhodium dial, and lastly 115.031 – pink gold case with two-tone silver and black dial.

2003 – Grand Lange 1 Luna Mundi

Reference: 119.026 & 119.032

The A. Lange & Söhne Grand Lange 1 Luna Mundi was released alongside the Grand Lange 1. It is the brand’s first-ever two-watch set. A. Lange & Söhne released these models with a larger case size, so what you’ll find is that the dial design is very much similar to the Grand Lange 1. We see the date window overlapping the time dial and the two sub-dials overlapping each other.

The difference with these models, however, is that there is a moon phase within the constant seconds sub-dial, and also, the main time sub-dial comes with a visual representation of a celestial object: the Southern Cross for the pink gold (reference 119.032) and the Ursa Major for the white gold models (reference 119.026).

2005 – Lange 1 Time Zone

Reference: 116.021, 116.025 & 116.032

With complications becoming more common now in the Lange 1 models, in 2005, A. Lange & Söhne introduced a model that would cater to world travellers: The Lange 1 Time Zone. This wasn’t just a simple GMT or dual timezone watch either. A. Lange & Söhne went the extra distance and created the world timer for the Lange 1. This ingenious solution keeps the core design layout of the Lange 1 the same while adding the city ring on the outer part of the dial.

The main change on the dial was that the constant seconds subdial was moved into within the time dial itself so that the seconds subdial can now make way for the 12-hour second timezone hours and minutes subdial with its own day/night indicator. The Lange 1 Time Zone’s case size also had to be increased to 41.9mm for the city ring.

2009 – Little Lange 1 Moon Phase

Reference: 819.048 & 819.049

More than ten years after the launch of the Little Lange 1 by A. Lange & Söhne, the brand releases another version, this time with a moon phase complication. The Little Lange 1 was created to cater for those who prefer a smaller version of the Lange 1 without compromising what made the Lange 1 iconic.

While the first Little Lange 1 models were designed for both men and women, this 2009 release catered to the female clientele. The models came with white gold diamonds on the bezel, and the dial was either a white (reference 819.048) or black (819.049) mother-of-pearl. The timepieces also showed the moon phase complication within the seconds sub-dial.

2010 – Lange 1 Daymatic

Reference: 320.021, 320.025 & 320.032

The first major update to the Lange 1 came in 2010. This was the first time the brand wanted to integrate an automatic movement into the Lange 1. A new calibre movement was developed, L201.1 which featured a central rotor and 50 hours of power reserve. However, with this new movement came design changes on the dial.

While visually, the elements of the dial are kept intact, the layout has been flipped. The time sub-dial is now shown on the right as a way for the wearer to easily view the time, especially if wearing a suit and the watch sits out from the cuff. The constant seconds and large date window is kept; however, it is now on the left side. The main design change comes with the change to the power reserve indicator. As this is an automatic model, A. Lange & Söhne have used a retrograde day-of-the-week indicator instead.

2012 – Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar

Reference: 720.025

In 2012, A. Lange & Söhne created the most complex movement for the Lange 1 to date. Using the design of the Lange 1 Time Zone from 2005 as a reference, the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar was created. The watch features an automatic movement, which means the dial layout is the same as the 2010 Daymatic model. This self-winding L.082.1 movement features a tourbillon regulator with a patented stop-seconds mechanism, which can only be seen through the case back.

The perpetual calendar functions can be seen through Lange 1’s standard date feature at 11 o’clock, the retrograde day of the week indicator at 9 o’clock, and the month shown on the outer ring of the dial. The month inductor is shown through a triangular pointer at 6 o’clock. Sitting above this month indicator is a window, which shows the current leap year (the number 4 being the leap year etc). A day and night indicator is also included within the time sub-dial itself.

2013 – Grand Lange 1 “Lumen”

A. Lange & Söhne in 2013 created the Grand Lange 1 “Lumen”. This model featured a partially semi-transparent sapphire crystal dial which had a blacked out “smoked” look to it so that the sub-dials and power reserve indicator can still be clearly visible. While the transparent dial was an appealing characteristic of this timepiece, the main appeal was luminosity of the watch.

A. Lange & Söhne states that “The challenge the engineers were presented with when they developed the GRAND LANGE 1 “Lumen” was to assure maximum luminosity even just after the daily switching cycle. An exceptional solution was found: whereas the tens cross is coated with a white luminous compound and then printed with black numerals, the transparent glass units disc with black printed numerals rotates in front of a luminous background”.

2013 – Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar Handwerkskunst

Reference: 720.048FE

This special limited edition Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar model was introduced in 2013. The timepiece features the same perpetual calendar dial layout and design as the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar Reference 720.025, released a year prior.

The point of difference with this model is the incredible hand-engraving on the dial. The solid white-gold dial is hand-engraved with relief and tremblage techniques. The blue numerals of the outsize date are painted by hand. The hands are made of rhodiumed gold.

2014 – 20th Anniversary of Lange 1

To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Lange 1, A. Lange & Söhne released five pairs of special edition models. The pair included a Lange 1 and a Little Lange 1. Each of the models were beautifully decorated with guilloche patterned dials and sub-dials.

This was like a “His and Her’s” collection. Each of the Little Lange 1 models came fitted with bezel that had 64-brilliant cut diamonds. The pairs were offered in various precious metal casing as well, which are platinum, white gold and pink gold. The stand out models in the collection were the pink gold versions (reference 101.064 Lange 1 and 811.064 Little Lange 1).

2014 – Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase

Reference: 139.021, 139.025 & 139.032

In 2003, A. Lange & Söhne released the Grande Lange 1 Luna Mundi, which featured a moon phase on the constant seconds sub-dial. For the 2014 Grande Lange 1 edition, the brand decided to implement the moon phase on the main time dial, which would give a bigger view on the moon phase disc. One of the noticeable differences between these Grande Lange 1 creations and those of the past is that the sub-dials and date windows don’t overlap, retaining the classic look of the Lange 1.

This Grand Lange 1 still retains the manual-wound movement, which means it retains the classic Lange 1 dial design. Three versions of the Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase were presented in 2014: reference 139.021, which had a yellow gold case with a champagne dial; reference 139.025, which had a platinum case with a rhodium dial; and reference 139.032, which had a pink gold case and silvered dial.

2016 – Grand Lange 1 Moonphase “Lumen”

Reference: 139.035F

On the back of the Grand Lange 1 “Lumen” released in 2013, three years later A. Lange & Söhne releases the model now with a luminous moon phase complication. The design layout is the same as the 2013 model, with the transparent “smoked” sapphire crystal dial giving a view of the movement underneath.

The Grand Lange 1 Moonphase “Lumen” is made of solid silver, while the hands are made of rhodiumed gold. The hands, hour indices on the time subdial, the date wheels and now the moon phase have a beautiful luminous glow. This is also the first time that A. Lange & Söhne have created a luminous moon phase disc for any of the Lange 1 models!

2019 – 25th Anniversary Lange 1

Reference: 191.066, 139.066, 181.066, 720.066FE, 116.066, 192.066, 117.066, 320.066, 182.066, 722.066F

The 25th anniversary of the Lange 1 was celebrated in style by A. Lange & Söhne in 2019. The brand released special limited edition models that have made up the Lange 1 family to date. Altogether, there was a total of 10 watches being presented as part of the 25th-anniversary celebrations. Their common features include a white-gold case, a deep-blue printed argenté-coloured dial, blue date numerals and a hand-stitched blue alligator leather strap with a grey seam.

The models in the 25th-anniversary collection include Lange 1, Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase, Little Lange 1, Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar, Lange 1 Time Zone, Lange 1 Moon Phase, Grande Lange 1, Lange 1 Daymatic, Little Lange 1 Moon Phase and the Lange 1 Tourbillon.

2021 – Little Lange 1 Moon Phase

Reference: 182. 086 & 182.886

An exceptional moon phase edition of the Little Lange 1 was unveiled in 2021. The beauty of this model lies in the stunning dark-blue dial that glistens like the starry night sky. The dark-blue gold flux dial complements the moon phase disc on the constant seconds sub-dial well, as both the dial and sub-dials have the starry night sky visual effect.

A. Lange & Söhne presented the Little Lange 1 Moon Phase blue dial in two versions. The first is the reference 182.086, which comes with an 18k white gold case, while the second, reference 182.886, comes with a 18k white gold case with a bezel set with approx 1.2cts of brilliant-cut diamonds.

2024 – 30th Anniversary of Lange 1

Reference: Lange 1: 191.062 (Black)/191.063 (Blue), Little Lange 1: 181.062 (Black)/181.063(Blue)

A. Lange & Söhne celebrated their Lange 1’s 30th anniversary on the 24th of October this year. As part of the celebration, the brand unveiled two new references for both the Lange 1 and Little Lange 1. Both the Lange 1 and Little Lange 1 come with the same design, however, there is dial colour and material changes.

A. Lange & Söhne have presented the Lange 1 and Little Lange 1 in either a 950 platinum case with a black dial, or a 750 pink gold case with a blue dial. While the black dial gives the more classic look, the blue on the pink gold looks stunning, with the colours completing the aesthetics of the dial beautifully.

Related Reading: Happy 30th Birthday to A. Lange & Söhne’s Lange 1!

A. Lange & Söhne Novelties Event In Sydney 2024

In late September 2024, A. Lange & Söhne held an intimate gathering at their Sydney Boutique to showcase the novelties from Watches & Wonder 2024. Watch Advice attended the event, and was able to get a deeper insight into A. Lange & Söhne’s story, while also celebrating Lange 1’s 30th Anniversary and the Datographs 25th Anniversary.

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To start the event, Joan Tay, Marketing Manager for A. Lange & Söhne Asia Pacific, welcomed us and then introduced Nicolas Gong, A. Lange & Söhne’s Managing Director, Asia Pacific. Nicolas gave us a brief overview of the brand’s history and heritage, both modern and its roots. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Nicolas before the event and getting his perspective on all things Lange!

Related Reading: EVENTS: Getting To Know A. Lange & Söhne Up Close In Sydney – Photo Report

A. Lange & Söhne showcased some of the current Lange 1 models during this novelties event. While this didn’t include the 30th-anniversary Lange 1 timepieces, they showcased some incredible pieces from the Lange 1 collection, which showed the stunning guilloche finishing that the early Lange 1 models started with. As shown below, the Lange 1 models also featured complications, such as the Lange 1 Moon Phase and the Lange 1 Time Zone.

A. Lange & Söhne – Lange 1 Time Zone

Reference 136.029

A. Lange & Söhne – Grand Lange 1

Reference 137.033

A. Lange & Söhne – Lange 1 Moon Phase

Reference 192.029

A. Lange & Söhne – Little Lange 1 Moon Phase

Reference 182.030

A. Lange & Söhne – Little Lange 1

Reference 181.038

The Lange 1 is a great example of how heritage and innovation can be found in a singular timepiece. Since its humble beginnings in 1994, the Lange 1 is now THE iconic model of A. Lange & Söhne. It is the timepiece that put the brand back on the map. After almost 50 years of non-existence and A. Lange & Söhne unable to create beautiful timepieces for the world of Horology, the Lange 1 came along and kick-started the brand back to life.

The Lange 1’s distinctive design is what sets it apart from its competitors. As we know, the Lange 1 was introduced when the Swiss watchmaking industry was getting back into full swing after the Quartz Crisis. Some of the watches coming out of the Swiss watchmakers were the likes of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the IWC Ingenieur, IWC Portugieser, the Panerai Luminor, Jager-LeCoultre Master Control, Vacheron Constantin Overseas and the Breguet Classique to name a few. The list goes on, but this is what the German watch manufacturer A. Lange & Söhne had to compete with after just getting the brand restarted!

To compete with these industry giants, A. Lange & Söhne had to create something truly special. They certainly achieved that and much more, as today, the Lange 1 is not only a flagship model but also a statement of enduring design. It also represents a bridge between the past and the future. Simply put, the Lange 1 is not just a watch. It’s a timepiece that is a testament to resilience and rebirth. The iconic design and craftsmanship embody A. Lange & Söhne’s revival, showing that fresh beginnings can pave the way for an extraordinary future, no matter the past.

There are very few watch brands that are able to do high watchmaking well, and even fewer that can blend this with high-jewellery, but this is exactly what Cartier prides itself on, and through their Maison des Metiers D’Art, they are making sure old world artistic traditions are alive and well. When the Watch Advice team were in Switzerland earlier this year, we had the unique privilege of going behind the 17th-century walls of the Maison des Metiers D’Art to see how these exquisite pieces are made. What we discovered was eye-opening, as some of the artistry and techniques mastered by the artisans who work there have been passed down through the generations, and the detail that is achieved, all by the hand and eye, is amazing!

A Bit Of History

Before we get into the Maison des Metiers D’Art, it might be worthwhile looking at where this started and why Cartier put so much effort into bringing this facility to life. The Maison des Métiers d’Art was founded in 2014 by Cartier in an effort to preserve the traditional ways of both watchmaking and the artistic work that went into these creative pieces, and to bring both watchmaking and jewellery together. Some of this expertise has been handed down through generations of artisans, and with modern life becoming more and more industrialised and automated, handcraft skills were being threatened. In luxury watchmaking, you often hear that only a handful of people can do a particular artistic endeavour on a watch, or in some cases, one person. Why? Because, quite often it is a dying art, and Cartier, in their wisdom, has made an effort to help preserve these skills and make sure they flourish now and into the future.  

The Maison des Metiers D’Art is not far, in fact just a short few-minute walk from the main Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Caton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. Set in a picturesque area, surrounded by green rolling hills and farmland, it’s a serene part of the world, the views out of every window makes you feel a million miles away, especially if you live in the hustle of a large metro area.

The actual building itself is a 17th-century Bernese-style farmhouse, and Cartier acquired it in 2011, and set about to both restore the building, but also combine the historic nature of the farmhouse with a modern touch. The result is a beautiful paradox of old and new, which is also a reflection of the crafts practised inside – old-world skills meet the modern world of watchmaking. The interior of the building uses elements salvaged from a number of farmhouses in the region and from the cantons of Neuchâtel and Bern (wood panelling, stone floors, doors, fireplace, etc.). These historical elements have then been fused with modern architecture inside to allow the workflows to operate more efficiently, and the people who work there the ability to collaborate and work more closely with other team members.

With around 50 employees at the Maison des Metiers D’Art, this interior design philosophy was important when conceptualizing how the Maison would operate. As a result of this flow and workspace arrangement, this has allowed the employees here to collaborate, and as of today, create and design over thirty patents.

RELATED READING: A Look Into How Cartier Creates Its Iconic Pieces

Our Experience

When we visited the Cartier Manufacture back in April, we were not sure what to expect, as every Manufacture is different. The layout, architecture, how modern it is, the flow and the feel are all very unique to each brand. In the case of Cartier, it has grown over the years and evolved, but as a place of work – designing, creating and crafting timepieces, less so as a watch tourist attraction, one reason that Cartier now restricts the number of visitors to their Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds. While the main building is massive to accommodate all the employees and machines to make the watches, blending modern automation with manual craftsmanship, the Maison des Metiers D’Art is a direct contrast to this. It is a much smaller and more intimate space. When you step inside, it is like stepping back in time to when the watchmaking industry was just a cottage industry. You could imagine people sitting by the window in winter, working on a movement or case on a wooden workbench which is exactly how this wonderful industry all started.

Being able to get a tour inside the Maison des Metiers D’Art was a privilege and to see some of Cartier’s iconic pieces being worked on up close really puts into perspective how hard some of these pieces are to do, but also, just how skilled the people who work here actually are. From master gem setters, who work on Jewellery pieces, like La Panthère de Cartier – a piece that is fully diamond set with a Panther’s head carved and shaped, and then diamond set under a microscope to ensure each gem is perfect, to the artists who do the Filagree, an old goldsmith technique that is delicate and precise and requires an ultra steady hand!

Filagree

The incredibly hard technique of Filigree is used on the Ronde Louis Cartier Panthères Watch from 2015. Filigree is a goldsmithing technique that fuses together gold or silver wires to produce an openwork grid, bearing the desired motif, and is not an easy technique to master. It requires a very steady hand and eye for detail due to the super-delicate nature of the designs and structure.

The Art Of Fire – Enamelling & Granulation

Enamelling is another technique that while many other brands in the watch world still use today, few have mastered the art of so many styles and techniques when it comes to enamel artistry. Until we visited the Maison des Metiers D’Art, I personally didn’t have as much an appreciation for enamelling as I perhaps should have, nor did I think there were actually so many different styles and techniques. Cartier, as mentioned will work with many types of enamel, such as painted, cloisonné, champlevé, grisaille, grisaille gold paste or plique-à-jour enamel, and all produce such different results.

The example of the enamel tiger above is done through a technique called Grisaille, which was a technique developed in Limoges in the 16th century. The black or dark blue enamel is applied to the metallic base, and then white enamel is applied over the top with varying layers to create the desired depth and transparency. The result is a beautiful picture or work of art that has an almost 3D effect.

While we’re on the topic of enamel, one technique that is surprising, as it doesn’t look like enamel at all, is plique-à-jour. This technique is done by the artist applying super thin layers of translucent enamel in between the outlines, then fired after each layer to bring the colours out. It is a technical process, like all enamel techniques, and takes time to master and perfect, and then to create the actual piece itself due to the firing and cooling.

One other artisanal craft that we were able to see was the art of Granulation. This is where small beads are created out of gold and then placed and arranged to create the desired pattern, and depending on the alloy used with the gold, and the firing process, different colours can be created. Before the beads are placed on the dials, they are fired on a stone to create the desired sizes and colours, then cooled. These are then placed on the dial, and the example below shows this technique being used and combined with a base enamel to craft the head of the Panther in a before and after shot.

Marquetry

I mentioned straw marquetry towards the start of the article, and this is one artistic technique that you need to see to understand the complexity and genius that this art is. Creating intricate pictures and patterns on the dials from very thin layers of different coloured pieces of straw. It’s an art that dates back several hundred years, and still practiced today at the Maison des Metiers D’Art.

What Cartier does so well at the Maison des Metiers D’Art is the combination of many artistic techniques, which can be seen in some of their jewellery pieces. A prime example of this is the Crocodile Jewellery Watch that was released as part of Watches & Wonders 2024. This piece combines enamel, pavé-set mother-of-pearl, sapphires, diamonds and gold sculpting, to create what is effectively a piece of art for the wrist, and it tells the time! The mind-blowing fact is that this piece takes over 300 hours to create, and if you worked on it for a standard 8-hour work day without breaks, this piece would take you 37.5 days to make from start to finish, or almost 2 working months!

All Good Things Must Come To An End

As our time at the Maison des Metiers D’Art came to an end, we walked away with a newfound appreciation of the finer arts that go into the creation of these special pieces. Quite often you see artistic dials and cases on watches, and until you can see first-hand the amount of time, effort and skill that goes into these pieces, you don’t fully appreciate them. Added to this, many of these techniques are passed down via generations, or via master and apprentice verbally and not written down – one of the main reasons Cartier has put so much time and effort into the creation and support of the Maison des Metiers D’Art.

“The spirit of this place is unique: preserving and sharing artistic crafts that are often forgotten, or rarely practised, in a dynamic where innovation plays a huge role and fuels the Maison’s boundless creativity. We’re convinced that it’s this dialogue between tradition and modernity that will enable the artistic crafts to stand the test of time and remain more alive than ever.”

Karim Drici – MANUFACTURING DIRECTOR CARTIER

This statement rings true, especially walking around the Maison des Metiers D’Art and talking to the artisans who work there, all of who are passionate about their job, and their chosen artistic endeavour and have taken many, many years to perfect. The Maison itself also reflects this statement – a fusion of tradition and modernity in the 17th-century house blended with modern architecture to create a space for the workers in the 21st century.

For anyone who has the chance to visit the Maison des Metiers D’Art, then this is something we would recommend and encourage. Even if high watchmaking isn’t your thing personally, seeing it in practice, learning how Cartier crafts these pieces and ensuring that traditional arts are not lost allows you to see it in a whole new light. For those who are lucky enough to own a piece that has been crafted at the Maison des Metiers D’Art, then we hope this has given you a greater insight into where it comes from!

Pascal Béchu is a passionate and well-known figure in the world of luxury watchmaking. His career spans decades, in which he has held pivotal roles across prestigious watch brands. Through this, he has shared his knowledge of both the technical and aesthetic aspects of fine watchmaking, which has helped shape the numerous collections he has worked on. Pascal Béchu’s extensive experience gives him a unique perspective that allows him to bring together both tradition and innovation, two features that are the pillars of watchmaking for both Arnold & Son and Angelus.

During Geneva Watch Days 2024, we had the opportunity to sit down with Pascal Béchu and discuss the latest offerings from Arnold & Son and Angelus. As you may have seen already, Arnold & Son released two new timepieces into their Perpetual Moon collection, while Angelus has updated their Chronodate model with a stunning new dial.

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^{Arnold & Son celebrating the legacy of John Arnold}

Arnold & Son is a brand with English origins, tracing its roots all the way back to 1764. The brand was founded by renowned English watchmaker John Arnold. Arnold made significant contributions to the world of horology, especially the development of marine chronometers, which were of vital importance in navigating the seas. The brand is celebrating their 260th anniversary this year. They continue to integrate their legacy of precision, craftsmanship and innovation into their modern timepieces through traditional techniques.

“We get a lot of inspiration from the work of John Arnold. We don’t call it a 260-year anniversary. Instead, we call it a celebration of the legacy of John Arnold. We have three pillars that act as different collections. The first pillar is astronomy, which is what we talked about previously. This is where you find all our moon complications. The second pillar is what we call Chronometry. This is where all the timepieces that have been inspired by marine chronometers and all the quest for precision that John Arnold had during his lifetime can be found.”

“This second pillar is the collection where you can find complications like our true-beat seconds, which directly come from the marine chronometers from the 18th century. This collection also has our new Longitude model, which we have launched this year. This model has a design that is directly inspired by the first Marine Chronometers by John Arnold. He’s been key in improving the accuracy, the reliability of the movement, and the miniaturisation from clocks to pocket watches. John Arnold was the first to use the term marine chronometer to make watches that were supremely precise. He was the one who invented the word chronometer.”

“The third and last pillar, or collection, is the World Time, which is where the Globetrotter timepiece can be found. This is a timepiece that is related to the explorers of the 18th century. John Arnold was key in providing accurate and reliable marine chronometers to explorers like James Cook, for example. We pay tribute to those journeys of discovering the Pacific or other territories. This is also something we showcased in the book that we published at Watches and Wonders, which we are now sharing with our community and key collectors. We started organising events to speak about the outstanding work and life of John Arnold. This is a great year to celebrate and remind people that Arnold & Son is one of the five oldest watch brands in the world that are still in operation.

For Geneva Watch Days 2024, Arnold and Son have released two different versions of their Perpetual Moon complication. While the styling of the models are similar in terms of case design to previous versions of the brand’s Perpetual Moon timepieces, where it varies is the size offering and also the dial details. Firstly both new variants of the Perpetual Moon timepieces are offered in 38mm for both men and women. Then we get two different dial designs, to cater for different tastes and also budgets.

“Two years ago, we presented the Perpetual Moon in a new size, 38mm. We had really good success, and we also started selling this collection to ladies in the same 38mm size. We found that something was missing in our collection, which was really to capitalise on the 38mm because we already have done the engineering to reduce the size of the movement to fit into this case. We also wanted to have a unisex model that could be worn either by men or women.”

“First, we have an 88-piece limited edition with an aventurine dial. Aventurine is just perfect for the perpetual moon phase complication because it’s like a starry sky, and then you have the moon showing in the middle of this night sky on this dial. We have already had some execution with the aventurine dial in the past, in a really different design. It has always been a popular material, which, in this case, fits nicely with the moon phase complication. The 88 pieces will obviously not be produced all at once. This is a timepiece that will stay in the collection for roughly two and a half years as we gradually manufacture it.”

“The other timepiece we have is a very warm grey colour that we call Cliff Grey, which we actually call the homeland of John Arnold. This warm grey colour fits very nicely with the red gold of the case. This second version comes with a more subtle dial with a sunburst finish, especially when compared to the Aventurine dial. It also creates an entry price point for the perpetual moon collection since it’s around 32,400 Swiss Francs, including tax. This is an excellent price point for a precious metal timepiece with perpetual complication, making it a unique watch. This timepiece, however, will only be limited to 28 pieces. Even though it is a small limited edition release, it will allow us to release other colour combinations in the future.”

What sets Arnold & Son’s Perpetual Moon phase complication apart from other brands is the fact that it has stars on the moon phase disc that have constellations. The models in the brand’s Perpetual Moon collection come with different constellations, which certainly raises the appeal of the collection and gives it a unique, thought-out look for the moon phase. For these two latest Perpetual Moon models, each one gets two different constellations. The first constellation is the Cassiopeia, which is the asterism in the northern sky named after the vain queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology. The second constellation is the Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear. This is the third-largest constellation in the sky, and the largest constellation in the northern hemisphere.

“At Arnold & Son, we have always had the timepieces have a connection with John Arnold and the work he has done. This year, we are celebrating the 260-year anniversary of what we considered the foundation of the brand in 1764. John Arnold’s work was really to help navigation, which was critical in mastering the ocean. This also meant mastering the world more or less at that time. So, astronomy was extremely important for navigation, and we wanted to pay tribute to that.”

“So you have, in fact, two constellations that are hand-painted with Super-LumiNova on the moon phase disc. Why we chose those two constellation is because they are very easily recognisable in the sky, and between those two constellations you have one star growing very strongly, which is the polaris. This is the star that gives the true north, which navigators used at night to find the north. This is the main reason behind the design of these two constellations for the moon phase. We always keep these two constellations across the whole perpetual moon collection.”

Now, if you weren’t aware, you may be wondering why we are interviewing Pascal Béchu for two different watch brands. This is because Arnold & Son and Angelus are essentially sister brands owned by Citizen Watch Company. Because of this, Pascal Béchu is the Managing Director of both Arnold & Son and Angelus.

Angelus was founded in 1891 in Switzerland by the Stolz brothers. The brand quickly gained recognition for its high-quality chronographs and innovative timepeices. One of Angelus’s most iconic creations is the Chronodate timepiece. Introduced in 1942, the Chronodate was the worlds first chronograph timepiece that also featured a date function! This watch not only showcased the brand’s pioneering spirit, but also left a significant mark in the history of horology.

“The Angelus brand dates back to 1891. It is known for being a very innovative brand. Angelus has been making its own movements from the beginning while also supplying movements to other brands. One of the most well-known timepieces from Angelus is the Chronodate from 1942. In 2022, we celebrated the 80th anniversary of this timepiece. On that occasion, we wanted to reintroduce the chronograph into the collection while also using the brand’s modern DNA.”

“So you have a product that is faithful to the original with the peripheral date because that was the first chronograph with this date feature at that time. It also came with a bi-compax design with large sub-counters like on the original model. The original Chronodate model also inspires the font design of the modern models. The modern versions of the Chronodate come with an automatic movement, with modern finishing shown through the case back. The construction of the case is super complex, and it includes 11 different parts combining titanium or carbon composite. We did not use carbon fibre in the case as its not very waterproof. We definitely wanted to create a water-resistant timepiece. This was a timepiece and collection that we launched in 2022.”

For Geneva Watch Days 2024, Angelus has unveiled the latest edition to the Chronodate line with a stunning Magnetic Silver dial that has a “panda” look with the two black sub-counters at 3 and 9 o’clock. The styling of this Chronodate gives the watch a sporty look, especially with the red accents for the date indicator, chronograph seconds hand, 30-minute counter hand and also the chronograph “start” push button. To further reiterate that this is a steel sports watch, the timepiece also comes with a beautifully designed integrated sports bracelet that has a quick-release function.

Its a timepiece with quite a unique positioning. On the one hand, it’s a chronograph which looks sporty with its rubber strap. However, when you put the titanium bracelet on, it then makes it a sporty timepiece with an integrated bracelet, giving it a luxury look and feel. The timepiece is also so light on the wrist, making it versatile and wearable even outdoors!

Both Arnold & Son and Angelus have the potential to appeal to Australian audiences, even though the two brands bring different niches. Arnold & Son, with its 260-year heritage, will be focused on high-end timepeices with high attention to detail, which will appeal to audiences that prefer history and craftsmanship. The brand’s chronometry legacy will also resonate with the market that appreciates technical watchmaking.

Angelus on the other hand with its more modern approach to reinterpretations of classic timepieces like the Chronodate, will appeal to those that prefer timepieces with a bold, avant-garde design. Angelus with one hand on traditional watchmaking and the other on cutting-edge design will cater to the audience that wants a unique blend of heritage and contemporary watchmaking.

“So we have worked over the last year and a half to have both brands present in the country. It all started with the Sydney Watch Fair, where we had a great opportunity to introduce both brands to the country for the first time. We were super happy with the feedback and the connection we had with the collectors; now, Arnold & Son retails at Fairfax in Sydney, which is a great opportunity as they are a well-known jeweller in the country. The director of Fairfax has a background in high-end watchmaking, and with that, he wanted to bring some interesting high-end brands to the market. We made a strong connection very quickly. This is the first door that opened for Arnold & Son to be present in Australia.”

“We are now also building another partnership with Kennedy in Sydney and possibly other locations in Australia in the future. We think it’s great because both retailers have their own clientele, and to give good exposure to Arnold & Son, you must be among the top premium retailers. I’m confident both retailers will work very well with the support of our partners, who are also the country’s brand representatives.”

“For Angelus, we work with hardy brothers. They have already established themselves with premium locations and beautiful shops. We also believe that the design of the collection should be very strong from the country. Angelus is very popular in the United States and the United Kingdom. In terms of taste, what’s working in those countries can also give Australia good success.”

Pascal Béchu has given us great insight into the behind-the-scenes of Arnold & Son’s Perpetual Moon collection and Angelus Chronodate timepieces, giving us a deeper appreciation for both timepieces. He has also shown us the timeless craftsmanship of Arnold & Son, and the continued development of an icon for Angelus.

The stories of both brands show us that these watchmakers aren’t just surviving but rather thriving and grabbing the attention of collectors and enthusiasts who prefer history, precision and innovation when it comes to timekeeping.

This article was written in partnership with A. Lange & Söhne

A. Lange & Söhne is a unique watch brand. There are very few, if any watch brands that have such a rich history going back to their founder, disappeared for 40 years and then been able to be re-vitalised with such success. But this is the story of A. Lange & Söhne, which fell victim to the effects of World War II, nationalization and the separation of Germany via the Berlin Wall until it was taken down in 1989. However, thanks to Walter Lange, the son of Rudolf Lange, grandson of Emil and great-grandson of Ferdinand Adolph Lange (A. Lange & Söhne’s founder) it was brought back to life in 1990, just after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Four years later, in 1994, it would produce its first commercial piece – The Lange 1, and the rest, as they say, is history, or in our case, another story for another day!

The beauty of A. Lange & Söhne is that while the brand was brought back after 42 years, the goal of Walter Lange was to not just revive the brand in name, but also its heritage, know-how, spirit and the magnificent art of German Watchmaking. He wanted to pay tribute to his family who started the business and kept the family business going until 1948, and when you look closely at a piece from A. Lange & Söhne, you can see this in full detail through the caseback, the dials and case finishing.

Several weeks ago, A. Lange & Söhne held their 2024 Novelty showcase in Sydney, and Champs and I headed down to see all the pieces in person, some of which we had already had the pleasure of getting hands-on with during Watches & Wonders 2024, but also to catch up with Nicolas Gong, Managing Director for A. Lange & Söhne Asia Pacific to talk to him about what the brand meant to him, to its customers and where A. Lange & Söhne is heading.

RELATED READING: A. Lange & Söhne Unveils the Datograph Perpetual Honeygold Lumen

Nicolas is no newbie when it comes to watches or the luxury industry. Born in and raised in Shanghai, Nicoals moved to France to do a Master’s Degree, before landing a job at Louis Vuitton as the Assistant Merchandising Manager – Fine Jewelry and Watches. After several years working with LV and brands like Swarovski and ENZO, he made the jump to A. Lange & Söhne in 2019 as the Managing Director for China.

“I started at A. Lange & Söhne in 2019 in China, where I was responsible for the Chinese market, and then moved to Hong Kong to be responsible for the whole Asia Pacific. This means I now look after four markets: China, North East Asia, Southeast Asia (Australia and New Zealand being a part of this region) and Korea. So day-to-day we are heavily involved in managing the retail network, consolidating and expanding this network, and developing the retail footprint. In addition to this, we are heavily focused on customer engagement for A. Lange & Söhne to help drive brand growth.”

Interestingly, even though Nicolas wasn’t solely focused on one single brand at the start of his career, he singled out A. Lange & Söhne as a choice for his next move for very similar reasons many collectors do – what the brand stands for and its history, both past and recent.

“If you look at my experience, it’s not typically like other watch professionals, but what attracted me to A. Lange & Söhne is that it fits into my aspirations of a brand that I wanted to work for. For me, the brand in terms of heritage, strong products that differentiate it from the others, and also lots of potential were key. What I mean by that is, that there are lots of things about the brand we can and are able to communicate, educate and build with clients. Not only this, but it’s a very interesting brand in terms of how it has developed. From the founder to the second generation through to the fourth generation who brought back the brand, it is very unique because no brand has disappeared for 40 years and then been re-established again!”

When you hear Nicolas talk about A. Lange & Söhne the way he does, coming from an outsider’s perspective while working in the industry, his desire to work for the brand for the reasons that many people say they like and originally get into A. Lange & Söhne are one and the same. The only difference is, that Nicolas gets to live and breathe it all day, and in his role, can help to shape the direction of the brand throughout Asia and the Pacific.

For those not aware, A.Lange & Söhne are not a mass manufacture brand. Unlike other brands on the market, they produce a relatively small number of pieces each year in comparison to the likes of brands such as Omega or Rolex, who make somewhere in the vicinity of 1M pieces a year. Even slightly smaller Swiss brands will make hundreds of thousands of watches a year, and when it comes to the likes of the high-end players like Patek Philippe or Audemars Piguet, they are producing the realm of 40,000 – 60,000 pieces a year. A. Lange & Söhne are making around 5,000 pieces a year. Nicolas tells us why this is the case and why it matters:

“For me, what is important is that A. Lange & Söhne stands for a very unique watch-making philosophy. The quantity is decided by this philosophy, the craftsmanship, and the double assembly that we require, so it’s not that we want to control the supply to 5000 pieces, it’s the time it takes to design, develop and also the servicing. This is something that is quite unique to our brand.”

And how can we talk about A. Lange & Söhne without mentioning their epic finishing on the movements, not to mention the rest of the watch? Even the most basic or simple (and I use that term loosely) A. Lange & Söhne is done to standards that are better than other larger brands’ most exquisitely finished watches. Glashütte watch-making has always been about this, and Lange leads the way.

“Finishing is definitely part of the watch-making philosophy for A. Lange & Söhne. As an example, if you take any of our watches, even the very simple watches, like a simple two hands, it has the same finishing, same skills used, same double assembly, so that’s what actually makes the brand very unique.”

While many watch brands will finish only the visible parts, Lange does the parts that are not visible to the eye through the case back as well. Essentially, if you pulled the movement out, took the bridges off and started to disassemble it, you’ll see the finish on all the parts, even those buried deep within the movement itself.

“If we remove the finishing on the invisible parts you can easily increase the quantity (of watches made). If we removed the double assembly, we can easily double the number of pieces, but that is part of the history, part of the DNA and it’s part of the overall positioning and perception of the brand.”

RELATED READING: A. Lange & Söhne Puts On A Masterclass In Sydney

Nicolas mentions the double assembly here, which is not something that you see every day with most watch brands. Effectively, each watch A. Lange & Söhne makes is put together and tested twice. Once all the components have been made, finished, quality control tested etc, the movement is put together and assembled into the case of the watch and tolerance tested. It’s then disassembled piece by piece completely, then assembled again, and tested to ensure that it works as it should, and is as accurate and done to the exacting standards. It’s impressive to think that a brand still does this nowadays when time is money, there are quotas to hit, and sales targets to achieve.

The other aspect of A. Lange & Söhne that impresses us is their attention and focus on movement development. For a brand that is only 30 years old (in its second lease on life), they’ve been busy developing and innovating with its movements and mechanisms, something you can see if you visit the Sydney boutique with the Wall of Movements.

“A. Lange & Söhne spend lots of time on the watch movements that they develop. From 1994 until now, there are already 73 in-house movements and each year you will see new things coming out. It’s not easy to do when you’re talking about a quantity of 5000 pieces, and why we spend so much time and energy in terms of creating new movements.”

When it comes to A. Lange & Söhne, perhaps their most iconic piece is the Lange 1. This is not by accident as it was the piece the brand launched back in 1994 to bring it back to life and signal to the watch world, “We’re Back!” Nicolas gives us a little more insight into this, and from his perspective, why this piece is a modern-day icon.

“It’s the first watch that we launched and part of the first collection we launched. For me, it was a striking launch because basically A. Lange & Söhne disappeared for 40 years and up to that point, no one had seen anything contemporary from the brand, so it’s the start of contemporary watchmaking for us. It was really unique at the time because if you look through the Lange 1, you have the outside state, which is inspired by the 5-minute clock (talking about the large date window), and you have all the details behind the watch, meaning the movements. You have the hand polishing, you have the three-quarter plates, a signature of German watchmaking and A. Lange & Söhne. It’s everything related to the Lange history.”

“The other aspect of the Lange 1 is, it allows us to extend the range into different functions. So if have the time zone, you make the two dials with different time zones, if you make the perpetual calendar, you have very creative elements, like the ring on the dial. As you can see, it’s very extensive and you can do a lot of complications within this collection, which also makes it iconic to some extent.”

When you look at the Lange 1, it is easy to see how these pieces became a success for the brand. Outside of being a very good-looking watch, the way the information is displayed on the dial, the oversized date, and the asymmetrical dial design make it conducive to additional functions and displays, and as Nicolas says, the movements that are beautifully decorated underneath which are a hallmark of A. Lange & Söhne.

After all this talk about the beauty that are A. Lange & Söhne watches, we wanted to delve a little into the business side of Nicolas’s world, and how he has seen the industry and the brand change over the last five years or so, and he sites several factors, and curiously, it isn’t all down to hard work and strategy. Like all brands, Covid played a massive part in its popularity, but while this helped it, the challenge is to continue this momentum.

“I think the biggest change I’ve experienced is really in the past five years because I joined right before Covid. At that time, A. Lange & Söhne was still quite a niche brand because lots of people didn’t really understand what the brand was, mostly because it was only re-established in 1994 and is only 30 years old. But in the last five years, especially after Covid, we experienced a quick growth in terms of awareness because everyone wasn’t able to travel. They really had the time to appreciate watches and research them, and added to this, you saw the second-hand market and watch auctions become a hot topic.”

However, we’re now at the back end of 2024, and it would seem that Covid is well and truly over in terms of the Pandemic, as a result, the watch markets have come off the high that was 2021 and the start of 2022. We delve into this a little further with Nicolas and how he has seen the industry play out across different markets from his perspective:

“Now over the past two years, the market has really become normalised, it is going back to pre-covid in terms of monetary values, also, with people’s studies and travel etc they have more options in terms of experiences outside of watches which has helped to normalise the secondary prices again, which in turn impacts the brands at a retail level and happens on a market by market basis.”

“There’s a kind of similarity across the markets because even though Covid had different phases in different markets, such as China going through it first, getting back to business and being normalised before the others, it then went back into lock-down again after a couple of years when the other markets were back to normal. Now, there are more similarities in markets due to the economic situation – lots of uncertainty is impacting all corners of the world. It is not only in China or the US, but it’s also impacting Asia for example as well. Japan has possibly benefited from the depreciation of the exchange rate so it’s seeing a consumption increase but everything will normalise according to the general economic trends.”

This is one aspect of being part of an international brand, in an industry that spans the globe. Nothing is ever the same in all markets at the same time. If it is, like what we have seen with global inflation, this just adds another layer of complexity to the difficulties of navigating different markets, different consumer trends in each market, consumption habits not to mention things like exchange rates and supply constraints on top of this.

“I think for A. Lange & Söhne, the challenge is the supply because we never increase the number of watches made because of the watch-making philosophy that comes from the brand’s heritage. Even though we have lots of watchmakers, increasing the quantity is not possible. This challenge makes us more resilient in terms of a business model – yes we build up our business on a limited quantity (of watches), but this also means limited customers. The impact of this is we need to get to know these customers very well, engage with them and also expand the community gradually.”

A. Lange & Söhne, it would seem, are taking a measured approach to how they go about reaching potential new customers as well as engaging with and nurturing existing customers. We wanted to see how this approach resonates here in Australia, and if we, as a maturing watch market, are open to this, or more importantly, how well this works in a smaller market like Australia.

“So for Australia I think, even though it’s only the first visit for me, it’s actually a very interesting market because it’s also quite new to some extent at the stage of knowing A. Lange & Söhne. So when I see people at events, or come to our store, they really want to understand the brand more, so I think there’s still a lot of potential and lots of communicating about A. Lange & Söhne to be done with our customers here.”

“Meanwhile, there are lots of watch collectors, I met a few already, they’re into collecting and they know all the brands, they collect a lot of pieces, and these customers also travel a lot, so they experience a lot of brands. For this reason, I think it is quite similar to some new markets, meaning there’s a customer set who are professional and knowledgeable, but there is a very big potential in terms of new customers who we want to get to know.”

Being part of the watch community, we mirror this sentiment as it is how we see it. Overall, the Australian watch scene is slowly maturing and while the larger mass brands have traditionally done very well here, there are more and more people who are starting to open up to brands that are smaller in production size, or more independent with a higher level of craftsmanship. While I realise that A. Lange & Söhne is owned by Richemont, the feeling we get talking to Nicolas and others working in Lange is they run a lot more like an independent, which is important for a brand like A. Lange & Söhne. this being said, what’s next for the brands out here and what are they planning?

“If you look at A. Lange & Söhne, it is actually a very reserved brand and conservatively run as well. We don’t like to communicate en mass through publishing and advertising, but rather through more personal ways and touch points in terms of engagement. So, through great events and even online, we can also do something really intimate in terms of communicating to potential and existing clients.”

While we won’t expect to see A. Lange & Söhne billboards plastered all over our capital cities, it seems that we can expect to see a few more localised and intimate events around the place for people to get to know the brand better, and even though production is limited, hopefully, access to more pieces more often as the popularity keep rising. If the last event with the exclusive and sold-out novelties is anything to go by, then the brand is well on its way!

This article was written as part of a commercial partnership with A. Lange & Söhne. Watch Advice has commercial partners that work with us, however, we will never alter our editorial opinion on the pieces or the brand, a fact that is clearly communicated to the brands when entering into a commercial arrangement.

Few leaders in the world of business and technology have been able to carve out a niche quite like Simon Philip Wolf V. He is the CEO and Creative Director of WOLF, a company renowned for its innovative approach to jewellery boxes and watch winders. Under Simon Philipp Wolf V’s guidance, WOLF has not only embraced the challenges of a dynamic market, but also set the benchmark for sustainable practices in the industry.

As WOLF is celebrating their 190 year anniversary in 2024, after five generations of ownership from the Wolf family, we had the opportunity to sit down with Simon Philipp Wolf V to talk not only about the history and future of WOLF but also his entrepreneurial journey and the many challenges he overcame to bring to what WOLF is today.

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^{Simon Philipp Wolf V – CEO and Creative Director of WOLF}

With a background that combines entrepreneurial spirit with strategic vision, Simon Philipp Wolf V has transformed WOLF into a powerhouse of innovation. His leadership style, as you’ll see throughout this interview, is very much team collaboration and forward-thinking, fostering an environment where groundbreaking ideas are given the room to flourish.

It certainly hasn’t been easy, however. During the early days of Simon’s career, he was entrusted by his father to create a brand new division in America. He’s had to use many of the “never give up” attitudes engrained in his DNA to persevere through the hard times and ultimately come out not only as a better leader but also taking WOLF to unseen heights.

“So we celebrated the 190-year anniversary in the Royal Opera House in London on June 4th. This is 190 years, with 5 generations of WOLF ownership celebrated with a product launch representing each generation. I am the 5th generation, and with that came a collection launch, which we launched here in Australia. What we did was we mimicked what we did in the Royal Opera House. Each of the five generations has a product, and I tell the story. I talk about my great-great-grandfather, who was a silversmith. He grew up in the business. He came up with the simple idea of putting his silver into boxes. And then other silver makers realised there was a business in that. You go back a 190 years, he was thinking about packaging. Today, the packaging is more a part of the sale than anything else. Back then, he was thinking outside the box! That’s how the genesis of the business started.“

“And then, his son moved to Sweden in 1905 and met an amazing woman called Ida, who married her in 1910. They had five kids, with two of them unfortunately dying due to Rickets and the Spanish Flu Epidemic. My great-grandfather retreated from life due to the death of the kids, as it was too much for him. Then Ida had to take over the business, and the only reason we are still here is because of this amazing, strong woman. She travelled all over Scandinavia to sell the boxes. Then, her first son, Philipp WOLF III, my grandfather, was really a very innovative guy who used lots of different techniques. In the 50s and 60s, he made all the watch boxes for all the watch brands before Richmont and LVMH came along. He was making it for Longines, Ulysse Nardin, Rolex, Omega, and all the big brands. We’ve uncovered some really amazing boxes from the archives, and the paperwork gives excellent provenance.”

“He also invented the ballerina box, the ballet dancer in the box. We haven’t done that for maybe 40 years. We’ve, however, recreated it for this 190-year celebration, made in walnut wood with the dancer sculpted ourselves. The backdrop is embroidered and beautiful.”

“My father was a very groovy fellow. He came to England in the late 50s, met my mother, married her after seven days, and then stayed in England. He designed great products in the 70s. We designed a product for this 190-year celebration, which is a remake of one of his products.”

“And then there’s me, and this is one of the products (shows the Earth watchwinder in brown on the table). My collection is dedicated to Earth, and it’s a collection of watchwinders, watch boxes and watch rolls. And it’s a very sustainable product. It’s made out of apple leather, and the lining is recycled material. And, of course, you don’t throw something like this away anyway, but it’s incredibly sustainable from that point of view. It’s controlled by the WOLF APP (the Watch Winder). I can stop it, rewind back to 12 o’clock, and control direction, rotation speed, and rotation numbers. For example, if you are wearing a Rolex Milgauss, and it requires 650 bi-direction rotations, it can be put on the app, and within 6 hours, the Watch Winder will do those rotations with sleep cycles in between. Afterwards, it will go to sleep for 18 hours, which makes up the 24-hour daily cycle.”

“Everything behind what we do is very well thought out in terms of the influences behind the watch. Because all watch brands have a turns per day specification, they specify what’s required. We have all that information on our website, so if you have a certain watch, you can look up the specifications, and it will tell you how many bi-directional rotations are required. It’s great for us because the watch brands give us the information, telling us all the data. We can then pass this knowledge on to our customers. For example, if you have an Omega Seamaster, it requires this many turns per day, and you can adjust the Watch Winder to do so. We are quite technical in the way that we design a product, and we also try to make it look fabulous and leave less of a footprint.”

WOLF’s history is a rare thing to see. Unlike other brands that have had an extensive history but have had periods where they stopped production or have had a change of ownership, WOLF has continued to push forward under the same family banner. As mentioned already, it all started with Simon’s great-great-grandfather, who saw the opportunity to make a product and business by selling boxes to store and protect silver jewellery rather than making the jewellery itself. This is similar to the times of the gold rush when there was a great business opportunity for those selling the digging equipment rather than spending countless days trying to look for the gold itself.

Touching on this topic, we asked Simon where his great-great-grandfather initially got the idea for creating jewellery boxes and whether he was the first one to do so!

“As I mentioned already, in the DNA, in that thread, there is a desire to make a box, and it started 190 years ago. I wouldn’t want to say he was the very first; I’m sure there were plenty of people making boxes. It’s more that my great-great-grandfather was able to turn these boxes into a full-on business. Again, making these boxes in the 50s, 60s, and 70s for the major watch brands validates who we are!“

“Through the archives, I have all the backup documentation. I have letters from Rolex, Longines, and Omega, where they are writing to my grandfather or the production guys saying, “We need to order this many boxes.”

“We’ve also changed so many times over the years. When you think about it, you have to change. Today’s world is so different from 20 years ago. It’s gone so rapidly. We’ve had to reinvent ourselves many times over.“

“Fifteen years ago, I realised that if I just made boxes that didn’t have much of a story behind them, if you didn’t make a reason for being, somebody else could just come along and do them as well. So I really focused on telling the story and not creating a brand because we have had all this history but making ourselves aware to everybody that we were a company that had been doing box making for so many years. Now, what you can see for the last 30 years, is on our website, our product, my contribution and my directional change.”

“My father did wonderful things, great things, but he wasn’t developing products that could be easily recognisable as “Oh, that’s a WOLF” or “it’s a brand I like or a brand that takes care of my watches or jewellery”. So what we are doing today is reinventing ourselves. For example, this is the first watchwinder with Bluetooth connectivity. We have the safes, we have the cabinets, and these pieces retail anywhere from 25,000 to 250,000 USD. It’s just in my blood to ask the questions. But it’s not easy. People think it’s easy. Why are we the best in our class? Why are we the brand that’s globally known with the distribution of 3,500 points of sale? We do all the trade shows; we have sales agents in every country, and we support our retailers, whether it’s an event. We do stuff like this. I’m not so interested in selling, but much more interested in the consumer and knowing what they want. I need to be able to share my story with the retailer so that they can then share this story with the consumer!”

When we first started, we were never watch journalists. We all started with different backgrounds, for example, Matt in Media and Sam in Civil Engineering. However, watches were our passion. Personally, I love the story of how the brand started and how certain products were created because that becomes part of the DNA of what makes you. Especially when you have a history, that’s as far back as WOLF, and at the end of the day, it’s still a family-operated business. So I think it’s really important to talk about that side of the WOLF. So you being now the fifth generation, how do you put your own spin on the product? How do you take the DNA of 190 years of WOLF history and put that into the products today?

“The fact that we are a family-owned business lends to our success quite a lot. It’s why we are still here—surrounding myself with really great people. I certainly can’t do it on my own. So, from my marketing team, Michael is our global sales director, and he lives on a plane. He loves what he does, at least I hope he does! There’s a very much family feel. When i went to the states in 1988, I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I landed in Chicago. I worked there for four years trying to build the business. The small team I had almost became my family. Then, I went to Los Angeles and opened an office in Malibu. And that’s where it took off for me. I am a pretty gregarious person, and I’m very family-oriented. So they became my family, and that’s how it is in England.“

“We have an office in Hong Kong as well. That helps with the identity of the business. Because we all have this very common goal of respecting the brand and delivering it in all areas of the company. For example, our warehouse guys in any of the warehouses are really aware of what the brand is and is trying to be. They aren’t just shoving something in a box. For example, one of my employees, Jordan, who is in the UK, runs the warehouse there. He’s a young kid, and he really cares. He will see something and say we could do it better this way; we could try that. I certainly can’t do it on my own.”

“Another way to look at it is a watch, a car, your shoes, your tie, your jacket; you wear those things every day. It’s an outward representation of who you are by what you wear and how you carry yourself. However, when it comes to presentation boxes or jewellery boxes, you never take them with you. We have jewellery portfolios and watch rolls, but you never carry them on your person, showing them off. So I’m having to grab the consumer’s bandwidth and make a connection with them so that they go,” Huh, I identify with that brand, what they do is really good, their story is fantastic, so I’m going to want to own a WOLF.” One of the mottos we have on one of our youtube channels is “you don’t need a watch winder, you need a WOLF”. It’s presumptuous, but it’s where we want to be.“

I look at things like Watch Winders as a display case for watches, similar to the furniture in the house. It’s something that talks to you, and you will be sitting there holding your watches, which are worth tens of thousands of dollars. When it comes to protecting your timepiece, you don’t want something that’s cheap and flimsy. For one, you want something that works and is reliable, and two, you want something that looks good, for example, on your bedside table. If you have guests come over, they are going to see this product, especially if it’s sitting out in the lounge area. So, it needs to be aesthetically pleasing. I’ve seen watch winders that are quite ugly; they probably have a functionality similar to WOLF, but I see your products as a fusion between functionality and looks.

“It’s not easy to get to that point, however. To get people excited about it. Often, an analogy I use is: You have a lovely car; you don’t leave it on the pavement outside; you put it in a garage. You protect that investment or what you love. A big part of our story is protecting people’s legacy. There are very few things in life you pass on to your future generations. Great Jewellery and watches, whether they are of sentimental value, can be handed down through generations. They can be legacies. Our tagline is “Protecting your legacies”.”

“We protect the jewellery in our jewellery cases by having an inside lining in our jewellery cases that we treat with a solution that we came up with called LusterLOC, and what this does is it stops it from tarnishing. All metals eventually tarnish. Sterling silver tarnishes the fastest. You take this sterling silver jewellery, and you put it in one of my WOLF jewellery cases, and you open it 35 years later, it will be in the exact same condition. It completely stops the tarnishing process. So those things we try and engineer, it really does care for the product.”

“How LusterLoc works is very simple, and I don’t know why others don’t try to do it. I don’t have a patent on the process. I just have a chemist who came up with the combination of the elements that is a solution that you treat into the fabric. Then, you dry the fabric. All you are doing on the simplest level is closing the lid in the box, and the air inside is neutralised and basically acting like a sponge. So the ions that are inside the box in the “air”, they attach to the impurities in the metal and that is what causes tarnishing. So our solution can only last 35 years, because there’s a limit to how much it can last. But that’s a massive amount of time, regardless.”

Even though we are a watch publication, the reality is that a lot of the audience is men. But most of them have wives and girlfriends. Fifteen per cent of our audience is women, so things like jewellery boxes will certainly be of interest. Jewellery and watches can fall into a similar sort of market. For me, jewellery boxes can still be used for watches. Especially those with precious metals used for the case and bezel. It could effectively help protect those as well.

The biggest issue I have found with bronze watches is the patina. So to have something, you can put a watch on it to wind and protect them. However, its not just the jewellery boxes and watch winders, the travel cases are a perfect example of protecting your investment. If you take more than one watch while travelling, how do you plan to carry the second or third watch in your luggage? This is where the travel cases come in perfectly handy.

In my head, I think watch rolls are more modern. But the reality is that Simon’s father came up with the idea for watch rolls in 1985. What we wanted to find out was where this inspiration for this groundbreaking design of watch rolls come from? Was it from a personal need to protect his own watches while travelling, or could it have been that he’s seen a problem in the watch market that needed to be addressed?

“I was quite young then, so I don’t know the whole story behind it. I’ve skirted around the subject with him a few times, and he’s very nonchalant about it. But it was always about solving a problem. Like for example, I’m looking at a watch winder and saying, why do they always go on and keep going? Indeed, that’s not right. Talking to watchmakers in Switzerland, they say, “No, it should only have a certain amount of turns per day to take the mainspring to a certain amount of tension.” So then you say, how do I design the watch winders so that it only applies so much pressure to the main spring?”

“So, referring back to the watch rolls, my father would say I used to have a sock shoved into the watch’s bracelet, with another sock over it to protect the timepiece when travelling. Surely there’s a better way of doing this. My father was a very technical guy, too. He learnt how to fly. He had a pilot’s license when he was pretty young. He owned his own aircraft for many years, and he used it to travel back and forth to fly customers from London to Swansea to where our factory is. He also used to play the piano and guitar, and when he was a younger man, he was also a painter. So he certainly had creativity in him, and i think that brain allows you to feel more naturally outside the box to solve problems.”

Going back to Simon’s time in America to establish the brand there, his experience was one that was humbling but yet very rewarding. Initially he was given the go ahead by his father to set off to America from England and establish the brand there and in the Canadian market. This is not something that was easy. Breaking into a brand new market, even if you have a tested product may not always go as you have planned. This is what Simon shared with us recalling his time in America as a major learning curve, one that certainly tested his ability to persevere.

“It was crushingly difficult. When I went in 1988, we were still making products in English and Swedish factories. By the time we got 1990, we were having serious financial problems, we just couldn’t keep the factories going, so we had to shut a few down. This left me on my own in America without anything to sell because we were shutting the factories down. However, we were very fortunate that we went to a trade show in Hong Kong. I met a guy named Tony there, and he had a tiny factory with about 200 workers. We thought maybe he was a guy we could partner with to create WOLF products. Now, we are still partners with Tony, which is almost 30 years later! We have about 850 workers in the factory now, and they do everything very traditionally. However, the factory is based in now based in Shenzhen. About two years after partnering with Tony, he moved the whole factory into China.”

“But selling into America? Honestly, I was trying to get away from a girlfriend at the time I left to America. I was only 22, so I wanted to explore and have fun in America. Very quickly I realsied however, that i didn’t know anything. My father somehow saw something in me, but I didn’t understand what it was at the time. To this day, I’ve asked him about it numerous times, and his response has been, “You were going to be okay”. But even still, it was painful. Back then, there was no internet. I was trying to sell our jewellery boxes to department stores, to jewellery stores. There was a department store directory. It was a large book, with the inside being 100s of different department stores. So, I would call these stores and try to get to the right buyer. I did that for days and days. I was trying to find buyers so I could see them, tell our story and gain their interest.”

“I also realised that trade shows were a way of fast-tracking yourself in the market. I went to every single major market: Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, and Seattle. I opened up with a sales rep group, the WOLF brand. But that country is really big, and just taking a bag of samples and going to New York sounds easy, but it’s not. It’s a five and half hour flight from Los Angeles. You get to New York, and the buyer you made the appointment with doesn’t show, and then you drag your bags up and down Fifth Avenue. It really was very difficult. However, that DNA in me of never giving up kept me pushing through! Even during financial problems, I sometimes went off on a tangent. I even tried becoming an actor and doing some modelling. I got an agent, but I could never get any work. I was desperate to get some money in the bank. But I just kept plugging on. I don’t think anybody else in my world did what I did to get to where I am.”

“By the late 90s, we had a perfect combination of new product design and a great factory that was making good quality products in China, and that just kept going and going until it kept getting more momentum. In the last decade or 15 years, there has been constant growth every year, and the magic of the people and the brand has been great.”

“We changed our branding as well to just WOLF. The day that I did that, it was extraordinary. When i put my business card on the table at Wathces of Switzerland all those years ago, they were really impressed with the logo design. I asked then why did you give me the appointment, and the rep at the time replied back with saying “I looked at the catalogue, i was really impressed, and the logo was just as impressive. If he comes to this appointment and the product looks as good as it does, actually feels in the person as good as it looks in the catalogue, then we’ll surely do business with him!”

There are lessons in that, for sure. At the end of the day, every successful person you talk to, at least very few of them, have had it easy. They more or less either started from scratch or inherited something, and it’s just been sheer tenacity to keep going. Matt was in Sydney and had a coffee with Bertrand Meylan from Moser & Cie, and he also said similar things. When they first bought Moser, it was almost bankrupt. They had no money, and for five years, they had cashflow problems. And he said that they kept going when most people would have just walked away. And I think that’s the difference between success and failure, just having the sheer tenacity to keep going, coupled with the total belief that it will work out. I think that’s what gives you the faith to keep going, the belief in the product or what you are trying to sell. If you didn’t believe it in the first place, you would most likely give up at the first signs of struggle.

“And it’s true, as they say, most entrepreneurs have failed way more times than they’ve succeeded. I’ve stubbed my toe way more times than I can remember. And this is what you learn from, so you know what to do next time so you don’t keep making the same mistakes. I also make it fun within the business. I say this, however, and wonder what they say behind my back! We have a lot of great people making the vision come true. We have about 60 people in the company with three offices, and then all the sales agents outside of that, about another 60 people. You’ve got to make it fun! If it’s not fun, then you just gotta do something else. Don’t be here.”

“And, of course, not every part of the business is glamorous and fun. Is it fun being in customer service? Having to deal with customers all day. Is it fun doing numbers as an accountant in the business? Is it fun packing boxes? It’s what you do more than anything else, so if I can add a layer of what we do, we never take ourselves too seriously; it can go a long way in creating less stress in the business. I never take things too seriously. We do a lot of activities. Last year, I had everybody from the LA office come to the UK office, and then everybody in the UK office went to the LA office just to see what it was like. Indeed, not all the staff at once; otherwise, the business wouldn’t run. However, if you were in customer service, and if you were in the warehouse, they would go to America to the LA office, and the exact same staff with the same responsibilities in the LA office would go to the UK office.”

“The warehouse guys like Jordan, Luke, and Charlie have repeatedly said that “we have never worked in any of the other businesses in this type of environment. We have never even been part of business meetings, let alone go visit other offices overseas.” I want them to know what’s going on in the business. If there’s a customer that walks around through the business and we go into the warehouse, I always introduce them to the employees and tell them who these guys are, and never disregard them. I mean, I can pack a box well, but I can’t do that and everything else, so they are an essential part of the business. So, I try to make it as fun as I can.”

As we reflected on WOLF’s journey through 190 years of history, it was intriguing to understand how Simon envisions his legacy to this business and his aspirations for it. He has shown that he has a deep commitment to creating a culture of innovation and sustainability while also creating a team environment where everyone understands and believes in the vision so that they can all work together to achieve the company’s goals.

“It would be building something that can stand the test of time. To build something really solid. Im a very insecure and paranoid person, so i always worry about building a company that solid enough to manage without me. Do we have enough customers and are they paying their bills on time? I want to build a system that is so strong. I am always so impressed by big business where it just works effectively, especially at such a huge scale. Our goal as a company is to be a $100 million globally. We are almost halfway there, closing in on $50 million. Creating the business as a brand that hopefully everybody who wants a watch winder or jewellery case will go “Yeah, maybe I’ll get a WOLF”. If i can get to that point, that would be the perfect legacy i can leave bending and be proud off. It’s such a huge part of what I’ve been doing, and I love it so much.”

In discussing WOLF’s presence in Australia, we asked Simon how the company is navigating the challenges of vast land with a relatively small population. He shared insight into the unique opportunity Australia presents, highlighting the watch communities in the different major cities. This isn’t the first time WOLF has tried to establish itself in Australia. Like any new market, they have had their share of ups and downs here.

“Its an exciting market. If I rewind to 15 years ago when we had no representation here in the land down under, Australians will come into our website, and you guys were always in the top 10 in the most visited countries to us. It’s unbelievable. And you would either order multipiece wonders that would cost a fortune to ship from our warehouse in England or LA. You really are the community or country where it is really nerdy and into watches. And you’re part of the bigger jigsaw puzzle, but you are also an interesting piece.”

“The potential is really lovely. We’ve had so many mis-starts here. We’ve had another distributor here in Australia who messed us up for a while. Meeting Phil and DGA and how he treats his customers and just going to see them, you can tell that they love working with the product. It’s about building the brand here to make WOLF more accessible to the watch and jewellery community. So you can walk into a store and find WOLF products on the shelf. It can take a few years, but we’ll get there because we have the right partners to work with now!”

As we wrapped up the interview, we asked Simon to indulge us with his favourite part of WOLF’s journey over the past three decades. He recalled the pivotal moments of innovation and growth that shaped the company’s identity, emphasizing the strong community of employees and customers that has been integral to its success. As with any startup or new project, the importance of resilience cannot be understated. The willingness to pivot in response to market changes and the road to success are often paved with challenges and opportunities, which are just a few things that ring true in Simon’s entrepreneurial journey.

“It has to be the people; it’s the people I get to work with. There can be moments when they let you down, and it can be painful. But who I work with and how they have committed to the mission is just astonishing and very humbling. I work with people who work so hard and bring so much, and that’s amazing. I’m very lucky to have this group. If you don’t have a good team around, you can’t do anything.”

“Regarding the advice, it’s a short question with such a long answer! I think the best thing i can say is that if you believe in yourself, and what it is you’re trying to do, you just never never give up. I mean just looking at my story, i built a fairly substantial business, I’ve got three offices and all these people working for me, and at the end of the day, I make a box! It’s a six-sided box, and you think, come on, anyone can do that, but actually, to do it to the level that I’m doing it, it’s rather difficult! So, believing in yourself and what you set out to do is going to work! You may come across instances where you think that you may be doomed. But you cannot ever think to yourself that you are! If I ever had thought that I couldn’t make it work, especially my time in America, I would’ve given up, and the company wouldn’t exist, especially during the times when we were going through financial troubles.”

Reflecting on our conversation with Simon Philipp Wolf V, it’s clear that he has all the right qualities to lead WOLF into new horizons. His insights into leadership, legacy, and the evolving landscape of business provide a compelling narrative not just for the company but for the industry as a whole. Simon’s commitment to creating a culture of creativity and sustainability ensures that the company is well-positioned for the future. With a visionary leader at the helm, the next chapter of WOLF’s journey promises to be just as exciting as its storied past.

In January 2023, Jaeger-LeCoultre celebrated its 190th anniversary in style by introducing “The Collectibles” collection. This is the brand’s way of restoring its vintage timepieces from the 1920s to 1970s, the golden age of watchmaking. As we know, Jaeger-LeCoultre created some impressive-looking timepieces with equally impressive movements during this period, so bringing some of this history back into the modern world of horology is certainly special.

“The Collectibles provides a unique service to enthusiasts and fine watches collectors who wish to acquire a piece of history from La Grande Maison. The Collectibles presents a meticulously curated capsule collection of rare and sought-after timepieces representing high-water marks for both Jaeger-LeCoultre and 20th-century watchmaking.”

When I was in Switzerland for Geneva Watch Days recently, I had the opportunity to visit Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture with the Watch Advice team, where we were given a tour of their facilities and all things watchmaking. One of the sections of the Manufacture was the archives. In this section we say almost everything related to the brand’s history, including their vintage timepieces. This is one area of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture that certainly stood out, as we were indeed incredibly lucky to see these vintage watches up close.

Related Reading: A Day Out At The Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture

As we went through the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture, we also saw where the watch restoration of vintage pieces was done. This shows that Jaeger-LeCoultre already has the means and capability to carry out restoration works. It is said that there are 10 specialised restoration watchmakers at the Manufacture. These watchmakers have access to all the necessary parts to restore the vintage timepieces. We were given a brief snippet into this through our visit to the archives, where we saw a whole shelf of spare parts of historic Jaeger-LeCoultre movements and cases. Even if the spare part of a historic Jaeger-LeCoultre calibre movement doesn’t exist, the restoration watchmakers will certainly be able to create a new one.

So, seeing Jaeger-LeCoultre bring some of its historic models back to life is more than simply restoring vintage timepieces. They are bringing back a piece of history, with watches that not only defined their own watchmaking, but playing a pivitol role in the history of horology.

“Scarcity, desirability, condition. The three reasons behind the thrill of the chase. Pursuing a rare vintage piece can sometimes escalate into a genuine quest.”

Jaeger-LeCoultre is releasing these vintage timepieces through what’s called “Capsule Collections”. As mentioned earlier, the first of these Capsule Collections was unveiled in January last year, and it featured 12 timepieces that were restored and could be bought. As a part of this Capsule Collection, Jaeger-LeCoultre also released a book called “The Collectibles”, which featured all the references that were up for potential restoration. I say potential because the book has seventeen references in total, while only twelve were part of the first Capsule Collection. The reason why Jaeger-LeCoultre didn’t restore all seventeen at the time was because they were not able to source perfect examples of the five remaining timepieces.

In June 2023, Jaeger-LeCoultre presented the second series of the Capsule Collection in Los Angeles, this time offering eleven historic timepieces for sale. If you look at Jaeger-LeCoultre’s website now, you’ll see that every single one of the historic pieces from the Capsule Collections has been sold, which is not a big surprise, even with some of the said watches fetching over AU$50,000.

The watches that form the two Capsule Collections include some of the most iconic timepieces from Jaeger-LeCoultre’s extensive history. Watches like the 1933 Reverso, Duoplan Jewellery, the Triple Calendar, Futurematic, the Deep Sea and a fair few Memovox timepieces. The watches in the Capsule Collections vary in style and design, showcasing the different Jaeger-LeCoultre collections. Below are twelve timepieces we picked from the two Capsule Collections!

Jaeger-LeCoultre Duoplan Jewellery

When the partnership between Jaeger and LeCoultre first started, they created a timepiece called the Duoplan, which was an industry revolution at the time. The timepiece was the groundwork for both Jaeger and LeCoultre to impress the world of horology with their creative and beautiful designs. The creation of the Duoplan also allowed LeCoultre & Cie to go from a movement manufacturer to a full-time watch manufacturer.

1933 Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Special Edition Rouge

This ultra-thin Reverso paid tribute to the historic original Reverso 201 model, which houses an extra-slim calibre 822 movement. The special thing about this timepiece was the standout red lacquer rouge dial, which was certainly an uncommon sight in the era of the Great Depression in which it was released.

1946 Jaeger-LeCoultre Triple Calendar

Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Triple Calendar was created in the early 1940s and features a classic horological complication. It was created with timeless elegance in mind while also bearing useful function, bringing together form and function. It was one of the first complications designed explicitly for a series-produced wristwatch, it has left an indelible imprint on the history of the Manufacture, but also on the history of watchmaking as a whole.

1958 Jaeger-LeCoultre Geophysic

As part of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 125th anniversary celebrations in 1958, the brand released three timepieces, one of which was the Geophysic. As Jaeger-LeCoultre states, “The objective was to produce “a watch model able to withstand even the toughest conditions and meet the highest standards, particularly in terms of water resistance, anti-magnetism, and precision timing. “Subsequently, it became a symbol of excellence for the Manufacture.

1957 Jaeger-LeCoultre Futurematic

Nicknamed the “Porthole,” the Jaeger-LeCoultre Futurematic was created in the 1950s. It was a watch that was well ahead of its time, hence the name “Futurematic.” The watch came with no crown but rather an adjustable wheel found on the case back to adjust the time as needed. The dial also featured two “portholes,” with the 3 o’clock porthole indicating the seconds, while the 9 o’clock porthole indicates the power reserve.

1961 Jaeger-LeCoultre Geomatic Chronometer

Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Geomatic Chronometer was an inspired creation from the brand’s Geophysic timepiece. At the time of it’s creation in 1961, the Geomatic brought together all the knowledge of the watchmakers from the Vallée de Joux. The watch was incredibly precise, symbolising the ultimate combination of state-of-the-art technology and understated elegance, all thanks to the timepiece’s chronometer-certified movement.

1968 Jaeger-LeCoultre Deepsea Barracuda

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Deepsea Barracuda was launched in 1968 in response to the popularity of deep-sea diving watches. The Barracuda can be easily recognised thanks to the truncated tonneau case and the inner sporty diving bezel, which measures diving times. As highlighted by the Master Mariner and Deep Sea signatures at 6 o’clock, a symbol of its rich legacy, it is the perfect union of style and performance.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Small Seconds

This Reverso Small Seconds was released during a time when white and silver-toned dials were the norm, making it stand out beautifully. Jaeger-LeCoultre was one of the few Maisons to offer coloured dials, giving timepieces like the Reverso added character. Even though the Reverso was made in coloured dials, colours like red, brown and blue were made on request, making the timepiece even more rare.

1970 Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris II

Jaeger-LeCoultre first introduced the Polaris II in 1970, with the timepiece representing a clear difference in design and style from the previous versions of the Polaris. The timepiece featured iconic 1970s design cues, such as the bright colours and the large case size with rounded shapes. The Polaris II also came with Jaeger-LeCoultre’s latest developed movement calibre, giving the Polaris a totally new look.

1970s Jaeger-LeCoultre “Shark” Deep Sea

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Shark Deep Sea was created on the back of Maison’s successful diving watches produced since 1959. This deep sea timepiece, however, was unlike anything Jaeger-LeCoultre had created before. The timepiece came with two core features that made it stand out from any other divining watch on the market at the time. The first was the chronograph, which was a first for Jaeger-LeCoutlre for a diving watch. The second was the bezel interchangeability, allowing you to change the bezel from diving and telemeter to world time (featured in the picture above).

1972 Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox Speed Beat GT

The Memovox Speed Beat GT was released in 1972, with the timepiece being produced only for that year. Jaeger-LeCoultre called “Speed Beat GT” because of the size of the oval case (GT stands for Grande Taille), while Speed Beat is meant for the high-frequency movement that’s beating inside. As stated in Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 1970s ad, “For the man who lives a busy and fast-paced life, the Memovox Speed Beat GT is the perfect companion.”

Jaeger-LeCoultre Automatic “Lapis”

An iconic timepiece in Jaeger-LeCoultre history is the Automatic “Lapis.” The watch was nicknamed “Lapis Lazuli” by enthusiasts and collectors alike due to the blue-coloured dial and the pattern in which the lacquer has been applied to create subtle nuances on its surface. This gives the dial an aesthetic appearance of ornamental stone. The beauty of this dial is that due to how lacquer is applied, it gives varying shades of sky blue, navy blue and black, meaning that each Automatic Lapis timepiece will have a different appearance. This makes the timepiece unique, and in the case of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s “Collectibles”, a highly prized find for collectors and enthusiasts.

Third Capsule Collection

Jaeger-LeCoultre will continue its Collectibles project with the unveiling of the third Capsule Collection, which will be released soon. While it’s unclear as to exactly which vintage timepieces will be on display, what we can certainly expect from the brand’s previous Capsule Collections is that they will have played a vital importance in Jaeger-LeCoultre’s history. If you want to be among the first to see which timepieces will be part of the third Capsule Collection, sign up for Jaeger-LeCoultre’s newsletter here!

During this year’s Geneva Watch Days, the team from Watch Advice had the chance to sit down with the Product Manager from Speake Marin to talk about the brand, but more specifically on the latest masterpiece that’s been created in the the Ripples Skeleton.

But, before we dive into the interview, who is Speake Marine? And what do they bring to the world of horology?

Speake Marin is quite a young brand, established in 2002 by British watchmaker Peter Speake-Marin. This is an independent brand that blends traditional watchmaking craftsmanship with contemporary aesthetics. Being an independent brand is a key feature for Speake Marin, as it gives them a lot of creative freedom when it comes to their designs.

What sets Speake Marin apart in the world of luxury timepieces are quite a few elements in which the brand specialises. Firstly, we get the unique case design, which has become quite iconic and is a hallmark of Speake-Marin watches. The Piccadilly case, which has been inspired by traditional English pocket watch designs, is a core element of the Ripples collection as well.

Another aspect of Speake Marin is the horological art of their watchmaking. The brand is known for its high level of artistry and craftsmanship, from the hand-finishing techniques to the open and skeletonised dials. The beauty of mechanical watchmaking is in fine hands with Speake Marin!

“An encounter between English daring and Swiss expertise, the Maison demonstrates a rich creative vein that celebrates the successful merging of design and Haute Horlogerie. The brand’s watchmaking reputation – which, 20 years after its launch, remains as strong as ever – began with the distinctive Piccadilly case featuring a sophisticated balance between its robust lugs and its slim circular shape.“

As mentioned earlier, Speake Marin is an independent brand. This means that when compared to many of the major commercial luxury brands, they can stand out in a few ways. Firstly, independence allows for greater creative freedom, with artistic designs, unique cases and almost in a way “less” influence on their overall final product. The brand truly does create eye-watering timepieces! They have also brought back traditional craftmanship back on the table, even though they have modernised this with a contemporary twist on the techniques. One element of this traditional watch design is the Breguet hands, which can be seen on some of the brand’s timepieces.

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^{An entrepreneur and watch enthusiast, Christelle Rosnoblet has been the CEO of Speake Marin since 2012, steering the ship to new horizons!}

Another aspect of independent watchmaking is the limited production to the watches. Compared to the more commercial brands, Speake Marin produces only a certain amount of timepieces per year, which gives more exclusivity to the timepieces created. As if the designs weren’t exclusive enough!

“Speake Marin is committed to create “Belle Horlogerie” – Beautiful timepieces – in the respect of Swiss fine watchmaking heritage.
All its collections are proposed in Limited editions only.
All its collections are nestled In-house/or Exceptional Movements.
All Speake Marin creations are Exclusive to Speake Marin.“

The brand’s Ripples collection has a relatively short history, as it was only released in 2022. However, this doesn’t mean that the collection isn’t able to hold up to the brand’s other noteworthy models. In fact, within the last two years, the Ripples collection has gained traction due to its unique cushion-shaped case design, its comfortability with dual micro-adjustment bracelet and the exceptional finishing found throughout the timepiece.

Related Reading: GENEVA WATCH DAYS: Speake Marin Introduces All New Ripples Skeleton (Live Pics)

With the release of the Ripples Skeleton this year, the collection has certainly now cemented its place as an icon of Speake Marin. The watch brings forth everything we expect from an independent watchmaker, plus more! It’s also refreshing to see that Speake Marin has listened to the feedback of the fanbase and clientele to adjust where necessary to make the watches more comfortable to wear.

We sat down with Julien Ehrismann to go through this latest masterpiece of horology from Speake Marin and discuss all things related to its inception and design!

“So my name is Julien…I work as the product manager, overseeing everything from design to engineering. I am not a watchmaker; I used to travel a lot to meet collectors, to meet retailers, to get their feedback as well as their passion for watches. You don’t get into this industry out of nowhere! It’s always good to meet people to discuss, and then you get a certain interpretation of watches, which is also the interpretation of Christelle Rosnoblet, who has a strong input on the design. It’s been five years and it’s been fun, we are moving forward, we are going into the right direction”

It’s certainly not easy creating a skeleton watch. Many brands do shy away from this due to complexity and also being able to execute it properly. Speake Marin is no stranger to creating skeleton watches, however, with some of the other collections from the brand already featuring skeleton dial timepieces. While each of the existing collections features at least one skeletonised model, the brand also has dedicated skeleton collections such as Openworked and the brand’s more exclusive Haute Horologerie collection. It’s a great way to showcase the workmanship of a watch. Because it’s a skeleton, you can’t hide a lot. It’s almost like going naked for a watch!

“Yes, this is true; you can see all the features of the watch, so that is important. It’s a good offering; the skeleton is a good way to be transparent; okay, this way, you can see all the components. You can see that the balance wheel is made from Le Cercle des Horlogers, and we are not ashamed of that! It’s good; you have a direct second (as he points to the seconds sub-dial at 1 o’clock), and you can see it is placed right next to the escapement; the micro-rotor can be seen as well (9 o’clock on the dial), which is specific to this calibre. It’s not like an adjusted calibre for Speake Marin. It’s a calibre that is brand new and created specifically for Speake Marin and the Ripples Skeleton. If we take the Reverso on your wrist (referencing the Reverso on Chamath’s wrist) it can be a nightmare to skeletonise. Would it become reliable? If it doesn’t work properly, what’s the use of the micro-rotor? That was a big trial for us when creating the Ripples Skeleton.”

One thing that was certainly noticeable from the Ripples Skeleton is that this is one of those timepieces that just by looking at it from photos you don’t get to see the watch to its full glory. In other words, photos don’t do the watch justice. This is because one of the standout features of the Ripples Skeleton, besides being a skeletonised version of the Ripple watch, is that it has an incredible shine! Just the way the light hits some of the facets and the way they shine felt like Speake Marin spent a substantial amount of work into the baseplate and the movement.

“Actually when we started, we were co-developing the movement next to the design. This is actually the best way to do a skeleton; you develop it based on the design you would expect. For the Ripples Skeleton its a contemporary design of the skeleton dial. We still have to retain the core shape of the Ripples timepiece. The bridges on the dial that hold the movement are all horizontal, much like the Ripple’s waves, which are also horizontal. We kept the ripples as well on the small seconds. So, the identity is still there. It was extremely complicated to do this in small seconds. The indices are 0.10mm, so good luck! Haha”

Keeping the small seconds is vital to most timepieces. However, in the case of the skeleton watch this can be especially tricky as readability is a huge factor. Do you have a central seconds hand like a normal three-hander or do you have a dedicated subdial, and in doing so do you then skeletonise it as well to suit the rest of the dial. This is sometimes why we see brands opt not to show the constant seconds on skeletonised dials, as it can be tricky to implement. With the Ripples Skeleton, Speake Marin has been able to integrate a dedicated seconds subdial without losing the essence of the watch, and in a way add to the overall aesthetic of the timepiece with the exceptional finishing on the subdial.

“It’s true; it’s usually lost within the other features because the skeleton dial drowns it out. But on the Ripples Skeleton, the seconds dial is one of the main focus points. It actually makes sense to do it this way. A skeleton watch is a headache. You question every curve, and you wonder, why did we start this? In regards to the movement, we could’ve gone thinner than 3.25mm. Still, after a certain point, you have to respect the size and technicality of the 3.25mm movement size. We also included the small seconds, which are part of the movement as the bridges hold the gear train. If we build the seconds on the mainplate, however, getting a thinner movement on this calibre could be possible. However, this may not be something we will do, as you can always go thinner, thinner, and thinner all the time, but it’s unnecessary.”

Creating ultra-thin watches comes with its own set of challenges and complexities. Especially since you want to skeletonise the dial and show all the watch’s components, while it can be a technical marvel to create ultra-thin watches, you also need to create watches that are wearable and also versatile. Unless it’s a limited-edition model of only a handful of timepieces, it needs to have a degree of comfortable wearability and versatility that will still cater to a large audience. The lower you go in a watch’s thickness, the more you also lose. So it’s all about finding the balance of creating a thin timepiece while still keeping the essence of what makes the watch great and highly desired intact.

“Yes, if a watch is not comfortable and is not easy to use, it can be a headache and usually will end up in the safe. It’s sad because we believe watches have to be worn. Because wearing your watch is enjoying your watch. You have to find the right line of being too thin. If you go thinner as well, the crown will not be screwed down, so you have to compromise a lot to go thinner. For example, we checked with three different crown makers, who said that the thickness is the minimum we can go (3.25mm). Any thinner and you should remove the screw-down crown. You should not question what you would do with the watch because you also have the integrated bracelet and water depth rating.”

People will consider things like water resistance important, especially for a watch to have around 10ATM (100 metres). However, 50m with a screw-down crown is still very wearable for swimming in a pool. For a dip in the pool, this will do the job fine!

“We were questioning the crown’s design as it is lower on the case. It is easy to handle, and the design proportions are slightly minimal. When you pull the crown, it comes out of the guards by around 0.10mm. It’s nothing! You don’t even feel it. It also has a secure, winding feel. You get full power with 50 complete rotations.”

For the very first time, Speake Marin is using 904L steel as the case material for a Ripple’s timepiece. Previously, the brand used 316L steel, which is the standard steel used throughout traditional watchmaking.  Using 904L steel offers a much higher percentage of nickel, chromium, and copper, increasing the material’s resistance to corrosion and acids. The higher chromium content in 904L steel means that when it’s polished, it will shine a lot brighter! Perfect for the polish-finished bevelled edges on the bezel of the case, which, when paired next to the brushed finish surfaces, allows the watch to stand out beautifully.

“It’s only steel being used through the Ripples Skeleton, but we have increased the quality of steel used for this version, which is 904 steel. This is good because 904 steel is brighter. However, it is slightly harder to work with. So that’s the difficulty, but it’s also more resistant, which is useful once you start wearing it. It’s hard to say the hours worked to achieve this level of finish. It certainly does take a lot of time, but it is also extremely difficult because you have a certain thickness of the bevel, usually around 0.45mm, so that the case has its defined angle shapes.“

“If you push it too hard when bevelling, you end up removing a lot of material that you obviously can’t get back. Some bridges are made of German silver because they are more resistant, so to be honest, it was extremely complicated to reach all these details. But we did it. We have a good team working on this model. I met them every week until we had the finished product. We first had the theory, which is the concept design. Then comes the practicality, which is creating the product, which is very tricky as it is the most challenging part.“

Speake Marin has used an ultra-high frequency movement named SMA07, which beats at a rate of 5Hz (36,000 VpH). As we know, the Ripples Skeleton has reduced its overall thickness from 9.20mm to 6.30mm. This significant reduction of almost 30% is down to the new generation SMA07 calibre movement, which is only 3.25mm thick. Creating an automatic movement that beats at 5Hz in such a thin size is an achievement in itself. The movement, as stated earlier, is made alongside Le Cercle des Horlogers, who were able to design the movement in a way such that all the core elements (micro-rotor, balance wheel, small seconds, etc.) are retained for view, and the thickness of the movement can be kept to as minimal as possible.

Balancing the power reserve with a high-frequency movement can also be quite tricky. Normally, as the high-frequency drains energy faster, the movement’s power reserve can be hindered. However, Speake Marin was able to find the balance by offering 52 hours of operating time.

“For a movement to have 5Hz is quite interesting. When you wear the watch and it takes a shock, for example, it will only affect the balance wheel one way. With a higher frequency, you will be less affected when the watch comes across small shocks. In other words, a 1Hz movement is more affected compared to a movement with 5Hz. 5Hz is also quite interesting to keep track of time. The seconds will also move much smoother. For the Ripples Skeleton, it is also direct seconds. What does this mean? The seconds sub-dial is placed right after the escapement, so it’s always under tension. If it’s in the centre like a traditional timepiece, you have the gear space that will affect that. With the Ripples Skeleton, you have direct energy transfer. Many big brands do that; I’m a big fan of brands that do that, for example, Grubel Foresey; I love how they do it; they build their movement like that. They have the small seconds near the escapement. I love many brands that do this, which is also the issue!”

“With regard to the power reserve, we are sometimes limited in space. In this case, we have a minimum of 52 hours of power reserve. Based on calculations, it’s 60 hours. We tend to always have more than what’s stated. It was a big question. Initially, we wanted more. Afterwards, you have to compromise. 52-60 hours is comfortable for operating. 5hz consumes a lot of energy!”

One certain aspect of the movement design that stood out was the mainspring barrel. When you wind the watch, you can actually see the mainspring barrel turn. This is the whole point of skeletonised movements: to see the timepiece’s inner workings in action. However, with the Ripples Skeleton, Speake Marin has done a wonderful job in how they display the mainspring barrel. Other brands, without naming names, simply just whack the barrel on the movement or have a dedicated section for the barrel. While this can have its own aesthetic purposes, it seems like the attention is drawn away from the skeletonised movement, and your eye is immediately drawn to the barrel upon first look. What Speak Marin has done well here is that they have implemented the mainspring barrel as one with the architecture of the skeletonised dial.

“It’s not completely open. While the top of the barrel is open, the main bridge and different arms hold it. You don’t see it fully, as it blends with the rest of the skeletonised framework. What is interesting in terms of the design of the watch, as you said, is the construction of the dial is really around the centre. It’s designed in a way that when you go clockwise around the watch, there is always a different element. From the small seconds at 1 o’clock, the power reserve barrel between 4 and 5 o’clock to the micro-rotor at 9 o’clock and finally, the balance wheel at 12 o’clock!“

“I think this design is good. Because sometimes, when the skeletonised watch is “too skeleton”, you can see wrist hairs and whatnot, and some people can be bothered by this. With this Ripples Skeleton, you can show everything, with having some free space as well.”

What Speake Marin has done well in regard to their watch designs, including the Ripples collection, is listen to the feedback of the watch community and Speake Marin enthusiasts. The brand has gone and talked with different collectors to get their opinions on the watches. Take the Ripples collection for example, the small adjustment of the bracelet is a huge win in terms of wearability. Rarely do you see a design where you get micro-adjustments on both sides of the bracelet, which certainly allows for finer adjustments and better fit every day. It almost negates the feeling of a watch not fitting properly because you can still remove the desired number of links and then have the micro-adjustment do the rest.

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^{With the double micro-adjustment available on the Ripples Skeleton, the watch fits with ease on the wrist, providing comfortable wear on the wrist.}

“We try when we start with watches actually to get designs that’s useful and easy to wear. If you talk to the collectors, they say that I love micro-adjustment, so why don’t you do half-links etc? They think it’s a simple solution but it’s not always the case. The Ripples Skeleton is comfortable to wear. Your wrist can expand due to different temperatures, which means sometimes there can be a minor difference in your wrist size, and everybody is different. The Ripples Skeleton has a 2mm adjustment, which isn’t big; however, it’s big enough to make a difference.”

“It’s 2mm on both sides of the bracelet too, which makes 4mm of total micro-adjustment. We try to adjust that as much as possible so you can get a better fit. That was the feedback from the community when we introduced the first Ripples. We were given feedback that people loved the watch, were wearing it, but it was very tight on the wrist. They were asking for a half-link, and while this is good, this adjustment won’t fit all the wrists. By offering 2mm micro-adjustment on both sides, we can cater to a broader audience.”

“One retailer in Vienna told me you don’t look at the watch with your eyes, you look at it with your hands. This is correct because you put it on your wrist and see how it feels. Some were also saying that the inner links of the bracelet were a bit sharp, because of the satin finish, which will give a very angled part of the link, so we listened to the feedback and smoothed it out! This way the watch can sit on the hand properly. All of this is once again done to satisfy the comfortability.”

Continuing with the design aspect of the Ripples Skeleton, another immediately noticeable feature of the watch is the brand’s signature hand-flame-blued hour/minute hands, with the hour hand having a heart-shaped tip. This hand design is quite consistent throughout Speake Marin’s watch collections. The Ripple collection features solely this hand design, with the hands being rhodium plated to match the hour indices. The fact that Speake Marin decided to use blued hands is the perfect choice here.

One aspect of skeletonised watches that brands sometimes forget is that it’s still a timepiece at the end of the day. You still need to be able to read the time in one form or another. When you have the hand’s colour matching with the skeleton architecture of the movement, it simply blends in too much and reading the time at first glance becomes harder than it should be. If Speake Marin were to use rhodium-plated hands, they, too, would have fallen into this trap.

“In regards to the hands, as you can see, they are a beautiful blue, but originally, we were going to do them rhodium-plated, like completely grey in colour. Actually, it’s an internal fight because of its conceptual nature. You know, the point of the skeleton is to dive into the movement, not to have the hands overshadow this. Or you go for the blue steeled hands, which is quite a traditional design for Speake Marin. It’s a balance between aesthetics and function! It’s still a watch, at the end of the day, so you need to be able to tell the time clearly, too! Christelle Rosnoblet actually said we could do two prototypes, one with grey hands and one with blue hands. We tried both and decided which one was better, so there was no discussion afterwards, hahaha. It’s good to test the different ideas!“

With the Ripples Skeleton is cementing the collection’s place in Speake Marin history, and being a show-stopper at Genena Watch Days 2024, we can now, in a way, look to the future to see what else the brand can bring to the table. Speake Marin has tested the waters in creating a successful skeleton watch with an extra thin movement, whilst also being loved by enthusiasts and collectors. It’s possible to see the brand adding in other complications such as moon-phase, however, with the other Ripples models featuring a date window at 6 o’clock, this may be the next evolution of the Ripples Skeleton. Another possibility may be a material change, however, the Ripples collection is consistent in staying with steel, so we would more than likely see the non-skeleton Ripple models change first. A more probable change could certainly be a colour change to the skeleton framework of the movement!

“The moon phase is a complication that is quite traditional, so would it fit in a contemporary interpretation of watchmaking like the Ripples Skeleton? Honestly, it’s hard to say. A material change is certainly possible!”

“As I mentioned before, the movement is 3.25mm thin. However, we can possibly push it to 2.5mm, which is a marvellous playground as you can do so many things around it. Our goal is to always have the watch under 10 mm in thickness, even with complications, so that comfort is retained, especially when you have high-end complications.”

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^{The watch and movements are manufactured and assembled in the brand’s “Cercle des Horlogers” workshop. The engineers and watchmakers here will design and execute any future versions of Ripples Skeleton!}

“In this industry, shrinking the timepiece’s thickness is an incredible challenge, as there is more work required, which also means more costs involved.”

“In saying that, I guess if we don’t aim to do things like this, what’s the point of being an independent brand? We are lucky that Christelle Rosnoblet is right here, and she is open to trying things. She’s not restrictive, which is a good thing, because you have so many different things that have been done in the watch industry for centuries. So the question is, what is adaptive for you, what can be done for you and what identifies your brand? It’s always something you think about. Working in the watch industry is a passion. If you don’t like it, you cannot stand it! You have to be crazy to love watches. When you do it for love, it’s rewarding!”

The Speake Marin Ripples Skeleton is one of the timepieces for the best release of Geneva Watch Days 2024. As mentioned previously, initially, when the Watch Advice team saw the timepiece, they were excited by how well-designed and executed the skeleton dial was. However, this is a watch you need to see in person. The finishing of the movement and the overall watch just cannot be captured through images or press photos. So, when we saw the watch in person, we were delighted by how beautifully executed the timepiece was. It’s not just a timepiece with aesthetics. It’s a watch where form and functionality combine to deliver a total package.

“Haha, thank you, but you have big competition with the other releases on show! The idea for the Ripples Skeleton was to really push the reflection on the watch. Because a watch that doesn’t play with light is a bit boring. The more you wear the watch, the better you appreciate it! You have many details, such as the bridges. The sides have been sandblasted, which means that they will absorb the light. Then you get satin finishes on the watch, which will reflect the light. This mix is what makes it dance with light!”

As our conversation with Julien Ehrismann drew to a close, it became so much clearer just how much passion and great attention to detail go into creating a watch like the Ripples Skeleton. It was certainly our pleasure learning and gaining a deeper understanding of the intricate details, such as the artistic design, and the more complex challenges of creating not only a skeletonised timepiece but also an extra-thin movement! It’s safe to say we left with a deeper appreciation for Speake Marin and what they bring to the table in the world of independent watchmaking!

At the start of September, I had the amazing opportunity to visit the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture for a tour. During this visit, I also had the chance to take the brand’s Stellar Odyssey Workshop. Being in the Manufacture, I got to experience all things Jaeger-LeCoultre. We were shown the finer details in the art of watchmaking and how Jaeger-LeCoutlre, one of the oldest watch manufacturers in continuous production, has shaped the world of horology.

Related Reading: A Day Out At The Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture!

The first part of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture visit took me and the rest of the Watch Advice team straight into the Stellar Odyssey Workshop. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Stellar Odyssey Workshop Experience is more than just an exploration of watchmaking. It takes us on a journey through the cosmos, bringing together centuries of horological creations and celestial phenomena that have inspired timekeeping.

The Stellar Odyssey workshop offers a rare glimpse into the brand’s deep-rooted connection to astronomical complications. Time transforms into an art form shaped by the stars’ movement and different moon cycle phases. It also offers an insight into the birth of timekeeping, with how the first pocket watches with astral complications were created and how the first calendars were derived!

Jaeger-LeCoultre first introduced the Stellar Odyssey Workshop into the Manufacture tour back in 2022. Since then, it has transformed into an immersive experience that you have to sometimes book months in advance, due to its rising popularity. The workshop caters to up to eight people and is usually run by two team members from the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture. One team member will take you through the immersive experience of the Stellar Odyssey Workshop, and the other is a watchmaker who will explain the finer details of the complications.

The Stellar Odyssey Workshop is located in the Atelier d’Antoine room of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture. As we entered the room, I felt like I was walking into a piece of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s history, especially how beautifully the room was designed. The Atelier d’Antoine room had plenty of natural light thanks to the large windows, and the windows also gave a view of the beautiful scenery of Vallée de Joux, where Jaeger-LeCoultre is located.

The Atelier d’Antoine room is a mix of very modern and traditional interior design, which, in a way, references not only Jaeger-LeCoultre’s watchmaking but also the Stellar Odyssey workshop, where historic complications are still found in modern-day timepieces. On the beautifully polished white table that takes centre stage of the Atelier d’Antoine room, I saw several of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s timepieces that included astronomical complications, along with several astral time clocks that will be used in the Stellar Odyssey Workshop presentation later on.

As the Jaeger-LeCoultre team introduced themselves and we made ourselves comfortable, we were given a presentation on the importance of astronomy and how it has guided humans to create calendars and timekeeping machines. The presentation started by discussing the watches on the table and how they all featured some astrological complication, whether it was moon phase, perpetual calendar, or even the shooting star complication!

We were then taken on a journey of celestial watchmaking, where we learned how astrology played a major role in the invention of time and calendars. One part of the presentation focused on building an accurate calendar and how many of the early calendars had irregularities, with leap years and months of differing lengths. This indeed presented a complex problem for watchmakers, as you would need a highly complex system of gears to account for all the irregular events that would occur.

One of the first calendars made was by Egyptian astronomers around 100 BC. The calendar measured a year’s length by observing the time it takes for the Sun to return to the same position in the sky, ultimately completing a full cycle of seasons. This Solar year is measured as 365.242180 days, which works out to be approximately 6 hours longer than our 365-day calendar year.

Then, the Jaeger-LeCoultre team gave us further insight into the other calendars that came after the Solar calendar, for example, the Julian Calendar. This calendar was first introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, and it was the very first calendar that was divided into 12 months that featured 30 or 31 days per month. This Julian Calendar, however, fell short by 6 hours from the solar year, so to compensate for this, February was given an extra day.

This was still considered an over-compensation, and in 1582, Pope Gregoy XIII eliminated some leap years and brought the length of the solar and Julian calendar years within 27seconds of each other. This also created the “leap years”, which we still use in modern day calendars.

One of the most interesting facts that was given to us by the Jaeger-LeCoultre team, which I found to be completely surreal, was that in October 1582, 10 days from the Gregorian calendar were dropped from the calendar to bring the “vernal equinox” from March 11 back to March 21. The Church decided to remove ten days specifically from October so that any major Christian festivals wouldn’t be skipped. After finding out this fact, all of us immediately went to our phones, and some of us went to our iPhones and scrolled all the way back to 1582 to see the ten missing days from the calendar!

The Stellar Odyssey presentation also touched on the Sundial and Astrolabe, the very first mechanisms for timekeeping and astronomical timekeeping. Jaeger-LeCoultre presented a physical version of the sundial during the workshop. As we know, the sundial is one of the oldest known instruments used for measuring time, dating back thousands of years to ancient civilisations such as Egypt and Greece. Early sundials divided daylight into equal parts, which eventually led to the development of the 12-hour day system!

On the other hand, the astrolabe is a much more complex mechanical apparatus used by astronomers, navigators, and even astrologers to chart the stars and calculate the time of day or night. Once again, Jaeger-LeCoultre had an astrolabe on hand during the Stellar Odyssey workshop to show us how it worked. The astrolabe could measure the altitude of celestial bodies, providing precise information about their positions relative to Earth.

The astrolabe has also directly been linked with the development of astronomical complications in watches, such as tracking the movement of celestial bodies like the sun, moon and stars. The concept of the astrolabe can be found in modern Jaeger-LeCoultre timepieces such as the Rendez-Vous Celestial or the Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication, which come with complications such as celestial charts and moon phase indicators, all direct descendants of the astrolabe.

The final part of the Stellar Odyssey workshop was an interactive scenario, where we split into groups of two and were given a perpetual calendar complication to be set up. We were taken to the back of the Atelier d’Antoine to wear a watchmaker’s coat. After looking the part, we started to work the perceptual calendar complication. This large-scale model was mostly completed, with the final few pieces missing. The exercise of putting together this perpetual calendar complication was there to show us how the intricate mechanism worked, but also give us a small insight into the life of a watchmaker!

After we finished putting the perpetual calendar together, it also concluded this incredibly informative display on the celestial side of watchmaking. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Stellar Odyssey Workshop is a celebration of horological mastery and a reminder of the timeless bond between the heavens and the art of watchmaking. Participants of the workshop are invited on a journey of discovery to see how ancient celestial timekeeping instruments like the astrolabe continue to inspire the brand’s most intricate complications!

With the Stellar Odyssey Workshop, Jaeger-LeCoultre has crafted a great experience that leaves an undeniable mark on both the mind and heart. It certainly has left me with a much deeper appreciation for the celestial forces that shape our perception of time and, ultimately, the world of horology.

This was only a glimpse into the 3-hour-long Stellar Odyssey Workshop! If you would like to book the Stellar Odyssey Workshop along with the Jaegery-LeCoultre Manufacture visit, please head to jaeger-lecoultre.com.au for more information!

The watch world is such an interesting world, mainly due to the people who live and breathe it day to day. By that I mean those who work in the brands that we all love and are the ones responsible for driving them forward. Be it the CEO, or the Brand Director, the watchmakers working tirelessly in the Manufacture, or those responsible for the designs we find so attractive. Whomever you talk to, they always have a story to tell, and none more so than IWC’s Associate Director of Watch and Movement Assembly, Markus Bühler who has been pivotal in IWC’s movement development over his career, so much so, that he even has two watches named after him!

We sat down with Markus during Watches & Wonders this year, and picked his brains on what motivates him to do what he does, how IWC is pushing forward with their in-house movements, and of course, his involvement in the world record-holding Portugieser Eternal Calendar that was the talk of the show!

For a man who started out as a carpenter, and is now largely responsible for some of IWC’s high-end movements, he’s achieved a lot over his career but still remains very humble about this, with a sense of pride and humility, which you will see evidence of below. He is a people person and believes this is where the heart of watchmaking lies, the people. And we don’t think he is wrong as at the end of the day, watches have this funny ability to connect people together from all over the world. Watch fairs like Watches & Wonders, Geneva Watch Days, and even local get-togethers are evidence of this.

The other thing very evident when talking to Markus is his passion, for IWC and watches in general, and for those that are reading this and not following something they are passionate about, Markus is a walking example of making a change and following a dream!

“I started my career as a carpenter, and after 10 years of this, I decided to stop because this profession didn’t fill me with passion, I felt that it was not right. I was looking for a new career and watchmaking had always been on my mind, ever since I was a little boy. Thankfully IWC gave me the chance to start as an older apprentice, and for that, I’ve been thankful for most of my life, as it has absolutely not felt like working.”  

Hearing this, you can’t help but feel a little inspired, and personally, we can resonate with this as Watch Advice was a passion project and a dream originally that has (but not for a lot of hard work) come to life for all of us who work here. Talking to Markus, he describes it as a sort of miracle he’s been able to do what he does over the past two decades or more, and how his career grew from an apprentice to now.

“Yes, it was a miracle for me. For the past 23 years, I have been able to do something I love. After I finished my apprenticeship, I took over the position of prototype watchmaker, which is just one of the many positions in the company I had the chance to fill. After that, I took over the lead of industrialisation – we cared for the processes which are necessary to produce quality watches. After doing this for a while, I had the chance to take over the assembly department where I could see each process step by step. So for the last 23 years for me, everything has felt right, and everything I wanted IWC gave me a chance to do it, so yeah I’m in a lucky situation!“

Unlike your standard office job, Markus’s day-to-day isn’t the same. When asked about this, he chuckles with a smile as he finds the right way to articulate this, which he does wonderfully given his job title. He can be doing any of a hundred things in any given week, but at its core, it is all about the watch movement and watch assembly, and both he cares deeply about.

“I care about what we produce, and that we assemble watches at the highest quality. The daily business is linked to people because the work of assembling movements in watches is done by people. So, people relationships is one of the key points you have to manage as an Associate Director. It’s not just about the watches themselves. That said, I often go into the [watchmaking] department to see if everything is running and as was taught as a watchmaker because it is important that the quality level is the highest it can be every time.“

And while we could talk more about this, our time is limited with Markus, so we need to come to the topic of the Portugieser Eternal Calendar. Now for those playing catch up, the IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar was one of the stars of Watches & Wonders 2024. IWC Schaffhausen is known for their Perpetual Calendars, and has some of the nicest PC’s on the market today – like those released at this year’s show.

However, the Portugieser Eternal Calendar is not your everyday Perpetual Calendar. It has a moonphase that is accurate to only a 1-day deviation in 45,000,000 years, which when you think about this feat of engineering, is just crazy. Sometimes we forget that these watches are tiny machines and calculators of sorts, and they can adjust for the days, months, years, and leap years, not to mention moonphases, and all by gears, wheels, and cogs on your wrist!

Talking to Markus about this, we wanted to find out a little more from his perspective about how this came to be, and how much input he and his team had with the Eternal Calendar. To start with, we ask about the conceptualisation of the piece, and just how, or more accurately speaking, WHY make the Eternal Calendar?

“I mean IWC as an “engineering brain” [so to speak] is never comfortable with what we’ve achieved, and we always want to go further and further and further. If you look at the history of perpetual calendars, we started in 1985 with the perpetual calendar where the moon phase was accurate for 122 years. This meant after 122 years you have a deviation of one day and being a perpetual calendar, that means we also need to consider all the leap years.”

“As a second stage, we improved the moon phase precision to 577.5 years. While this was great, we were never comfortable with the results, we wanted to go further. We decided to work on both the moonphase and the Perpetual Calendar itself, which we changed to an Eternal Calendar. What does this mean? It means we now respect the rules of 100 years – which is exactly the same rules as for the leap year. The leap year describes the four-year cycle: Over three years, there are no leap years, and in the fourth there is. So, looking at 100 years, the space is the same in a 400-year cycle. The first three centuries are no leap years and the last century in that 400-year cycle there is and we implemented this in the perpetual calendar to make it Eternal.”

RELATED READING: IWC Receives Guinness World Record For The Eternal Calendar

As a slight aside, the Gregorian calendar only runs up to the year 3999, and we don’t know if the year 4000 will be a leap year or not. When we first heard this, it’s strange as you think of time as being more or less linear and how hard is it to work out if the year 4000 will be a leap year or not? But the fact is, the Earth, Sun, and Moon are not designed by humans to work on our system of time. It’s the other way around. We have based our entire timekeeping system on the rotation of the Earth, the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, and the Moon’s rotation around the Earth, all of which are not exact to our method of time. Due to this, we as humans have, and will again need to, adjust the years and our tracking of time to make up for those small seconds, minutes, and hours we lose over the course of a year, decade, and centuries.

But if it was decided that the year 4000 was in fact a leap year, then according to Markus, the 577.5-year accuracy we now have for the moonphase in an IWC Perpetual Calendar wouldn’t be enough. “So we calculated by 22 trillion calculation runs on a gear train to get us to a theoretical 45,000,000 year accuracy of the moon phase. Together, this is a very good showcase for eternity and for the engineering approach of IWC.“

While Markus wasn’t designing the Eternal Calendar, he and his team played a large role in bringing this piece to fruition.

“Personally, being responsible for movement assembly I care about the assembly process along with our most skilled watchmakers, so we took over the concept from R&D with the prototypes and tried to assemble the first movements to find out if it worked. In order to reach the quality levels customers expect, we would then give feedback to the R&D team to improve on the right things.”

And not surprisingly, there are not a lot of people who are skilled or qualified to work on such a movement. It takes a lot of brains and many years of expertise to do this. Markus explains: “This is a very special, high-complication piece and we have just a handful of watchmakers who are able to assemble such a specialty piece like the Portugieser Eternal Calendar. The other area we needed to focus on for this complication that is important was the tuning – you have to tune the calendar, you have to program it to make sure that the calendar is “eternal” and doesn’t shift on the wrong movement.”

Complex movements require answers to complex questions, and having heard Physicist, Brian Cox talk about time and eternity, it was time to ask our own tough question of Markus. Yes, it’s silly, but one we as watch nerds need to ask… If you had to pick one watch, one that is sentimental to you or your career with IWC, what would that be? What’s that one piece that holds a special place in your heart? His answer, while sounding like a deferral to the question really sums up Markus Bühler, a lover of watches with a deep love of IWC.

“This question I ask myself many times, but I cannot answer this question because every watch we produce, every watch we develop is one thing that has gone through my organisation and the watchmaker’s hands. When we think about the process and how we create watches, a Pilot Mark XX is absolutely the same in my mind as a Perpetual Calendar – for me there is no difference between the different model types. For me, every watch is something unique we produce.”

But there is one watch that is special, and this is the watch, or rather the two watches that are named after him – the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Markus Bühler. The original ref. 5003 was created back in 2003, during the Prix IFHH de l’Horlogerie for apprentice watchmakers in Switzerland. For this competition, Markus came up with a simple yet remarkable timepiece, and out of a total of 64 contestants, Markus’s design emerged victorious. IWC went on to produce 12 pieces as a limited edition which eventually went to market in 2008, and last year, IWC brought back the modern interpretation of the watch with the Big Pilot’s Watch 43 Tourbillon Markus Bühler. So, an interview with the man himself would not be complete without asking about this. His reaction was priceless as Markus was lost for word for a little bit – literally speechless!

“Yeah, I’m really speechless because I had the chance in my early days as a watchmaker to win this competition and IWC gave me the chance. We, together, produced 12 of these watches out of this competition 15 years ago and recently we decided together, “Hey, let’s have a look at all the themes to bring in a new edition of the watch”. So we chose the Tourbillon, and I mean it’s one of the highest complications and I was proud to work on the tourbillon with the teams to bring this signature design to market. And if you ask me if I’m proud, I think I’m very proud to make all these customers happy.

RELATED READING: The IWC Big Pilot Markus Bühler Edition Is Back!

His reaction and expressions as he’s talking about this are of pure joy, excitement, and pride from a man who puts his heart and soul into the watches he works on. Markus mentions people again and reinforces our earlier points on watches connecting people from around the world as coincidentally, he met a couple of customers who purchased the new iteration of his namesake.

“In fact, just today I met two of the owners of this watch, and when I saw them and their smile, I realised I did something right! Yes, I’m proud. I think about that point and I’m proud to have these happy customers. They travelled such a long way from Australia to Switzerland to pick up the watch and meet me before dinner, and then we talked about watches and all these passion points. I think this is something which is unbelievable!

This is probably one of the best parts of this industry, the connections you make as you go through your journey as a collector, or your journey working in the industry for a brand, retail outlet, or like us, the media. Yes, the watches are fun and what draws us all together, but the people are what make it.

Before we said goodbye, we had to ask Markus if he had ever been to Australia before.

“No, no unfortunately not. I have to do this! It’s funny, you know I’m absolutely a fan of these gold mining guys (Talking about the reality show, Aussie Gold Hunters) who are looking for gold with these detectors in these fields. I have to get down there one day!”

We hope he does make it down to see us one day, and as we were able to see his part of the world during our visit to the IWC Manufacture in Schaffhausen, it would be great to host him in ours. But before we say our final goodbyes, we need to ask the ultimate watch question – what watch are you wearing today?

“I am wearing a 3716. It’s a very special piece because it was a gift from IWC for my 20th anniversary with IWC. It’s not from the new collection, but it’s a timeless piece!”

And this is where we wrapped up the conversation with Markus. It was great to meet him personally and talk with someone who has so much passion for what they do and still loves their job and career after 23 years. In fact it’s not uncommon to meet people who have worked in the watch industry and same company for a long time, even to the point for some, it’s a generational occupation. For Markus Bühler, it’s a lifelong love of watches, and dedication to the company that gave him his start and helped make his personal dream a reality.

When you think of Switzerland, what comes to mind? Is it the snowy Swiss Alps, the beautiful green rolling hills, the fresh country air? You would certainly be right to think this, as this is precisely what we experienced on our latest trip to Switzerland. While the Watch Advice team was in Geneva to cover Geneva Watch Days, we also had the opportunity to head into the Swiss Jura and into the Vallèe de Joux.

As we made our way out of the hustle and bustle of Geneva and drove about an hour into the Swiss countryside, our perspective on life did change. They say that humans tend to be happier when we are more exposed to nature, and I found this to be very much the case. I was instantly happy as we drove through the countryside and saw the scenic side of Switzerland. We were there during summer, which in Switzerland, you experience 30-degree warmth that probably only lasts a month. It also brings with it lush green grass and warm summer breezes, and you can even hear the sound of cowbells ringing!

As we drove down the hills that are dotted with small towns, we arrived in the Vallèe de Joux and the small town of Le Chenit. It is said that, during the 17th century, watchmaking became widely spread throughout the Swiss Jura region – The Vallée de Joux in particular came to specialise in the field of Grande Complications, one of the noblest arts in watchmaking. For almost 100 years, almost all the ultra-complicated movements were completed in the Vallée de Joux. Add to this the fact the region is absolutely stunning in terms of natural beauty and scenic views; it would also serve as inspiration for the watchmakers to create beautiful mechanical art!

Located in the ever-so-beautiful Vallée de Joux, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s multi-storied manufacture stands proudly as a testament to the incredible watchmaking that goes on inside.  Nestled in the Valley, the first thing you notice is the quiet. Other than the odd car that passes us on the road, the entry into Jaeger-LeCoultre epitomises the journey we took to get there. Known as the “Grande Maison”, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture is quite the establishment. It features different buildings dedicated to the different watchmaking areas of the brand, along with a museum showing us an extensive history of the Grande Maison. This is one Manufacture that, if you aren’t careful, you can certainly get lost in!

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture is the birthplace of countless innovations that have helped shape the world of horology as we know it today. From the brand’s iconic Reverso to the intricate Atmos Clocks, Jaeger-LeCoultre has continually pushed the boundaries of watchmaking. A visit to this horological heaven is simply more than just a tour. It represents the heart of Swiss watchmaking, where the past, present and future converge to the sound of ticking watches.

Before even entering the manufacture, I was quite impressed as I got to see a beekeeper busy extracting honey. This already shows Jaeger-LeCoultre’s commitment to local sustainability to use their own produce and products that is sourced from the local surrounding regions. Without even starting the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture tour, I was already getting the sense of how the brand operates!

My journey into the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture started with meeting the team who would take us on the guided tour. I was there alongside Chamath and Matt from Watchadvice, and we were certainly fortunate to be on the only ones on the tour, making it a more personal experience. We had the initial meet and greet with the Jaeger-LeCoultre team who would show us through the manufacture.

We were then guided to our first activity, which was an addition to the actual Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture visit. However, what I witnessed walking through the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture were several photographs showing the past, present and future of Jaeger-LeCoutlre. A piece, or should I say a collection of photographs, that stood out for me was the wall that had several photos showing the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture and its upgrades over the years. This was really interesting to see, as it showed the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture from 1833 all the way to 2020, showing the progression of expansion through the decades!

We then arrived at the Atelier d’Antoine, a stunning room where precision watchmaking workshops occur. We, however, sat down to undertake the “Discovery Workshop – Stellar Odyssey”, which, in this case, is where we took a deep dive into the celestial side of watchmaking, understanding how moon phases, day and night indicators, annual calendars and perpetual calendars come about, along with the deep-rooted history behind each complication. There will be a separate article on this, where we will showcase Jaeger-LeCoultre’s celestial complications in detail, along with a deep dive into the workshop where we got to assemble our own perpetual calendar movement!

After the workshop, we were fitted into white cotton lab coats and headed to a workshop where movement finishing was completed. We were shown by a Jaeger-LeCoultre watchmaker the art of perlage finishing. Perlage finishing is a complicated finishing technique that is usually found on the baseplates or bridges of a movement and creates beautiful concentric circles. The simple explanation of the process of doing perlage finishing is when the machine “stamps” the plate and, when removed, leaves behind a circle. Watchmakers use a rotating abrasive rod, which is attached to a drill to “stamp” the plate.

While this is straightforward, it gets complicated from here on out. While it’s easy to do a single circle, it also comes down to how hard you press the drill onto the desired plate and how long you leave the drill pressed onto the plate. This is what I certainly noticed when I tried my hand at the perlage finishing technique. After you get the weight and length of pressing the drill right, then you have to complete the “pattern”, which for a watchmaker is putting one circle next to another with them slightly overlapping, and then doing this in large circular patterns to cover the plate as required.

This is by no means an easy task, as when we each had our own turn at it, we quickly found out how hard it is to have the stamped circles overlaying on each other even in a straight line, let alone creating a full pattern! I opted to create my favourite number seven, and as you can see the weight was off initially due to the darker circles, and keeping it in a straight line was no easy task, even though it looks simple!

After the Perlage demonstration and workshop, we took a break, and that’s when we had time to explore the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture at our own pleasure, restricted to the floor we were on; however, as the rest of the Manufacture we required the Jaeger-LeCoultre team. As we made our way through, we came across the Maison d’Antoine, where we would have lunch later (again, this was an extra part that was added for the Watch Advice team). This was when we came across the VIP Lounge, which, when opened…was jaw-dropping.

As soon as you open the door, you are greeted with large windows that go from one end of the room to the other and extend all the way to the top of the roof. The view through this room was just purely stunning. It’s hard to put into words what we felt the first time we opened the door, entered this room, and saw the view. It overlooks the stunning farmlands adjacent to the Tete Du Lac nature reserve, and the Jura mountains in the background. Imagine working alongside this view every day! Can certainly imagine being inspired to create some magic with Jaeger-LeCoultre timepieces!

After we had some time to look around, we were then treated to lunch with Mathieu, the heritage director of Jaeger-LeCoultre. We were presented with a beautiful lunch that was all sourced locally from the surrounding farms, as well as the fish that was sourced from the nearby lakes. It was a great experience being able to eat alongside him and talk all things watches and Jaeger-LeCoultre. Certainly grateful for this experience!

After lunch, we started our second phase of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture! We were taken to the Heritage Gallery, where Jaeger-LeCoultre’s archives show us the brand’s rich history! The Heritage Gallery was created only a few years ago in 2017. If you want to know about the history of the Grande Maison, look no further than the Heritage Gallery, as the organised shelves of documents and records are presented in an eye-catching modern display. We had a separate dedicated guide for this section, which explained this history in quite detail.

What we saw in this section of the manufacture was everything you can think off related to the brand’s history. The first pocket watch designs, the manufacture sheets, the purchase order books, how the location for the manufacture was initially chosen and even the family tree of LeCoultre! There was too much information and too little time to go through it all!

A few pieces that did stand out for me, however, was the Circa. 1900 Patek Philippe Pocket Watch for Tiffany. This is a pocket watch that is triple signed, meaning three different manufacturers came together to assemble and create the piece. It is unique and almost unheard of today! The pocket watch’s case was produced by Patek Philippe, the dial by Tiffany and, of course, the movement by Jaeger-LeCoultre.

Another piece that stood out among the historic timepieces was the world’s “smallest” watch. If you think the ultra-thin movements these days are impressive, then this is sure to blow your mind! In 1929, Jaeger-LeCoultre created the world’s smallest mechanical movement (and, incidentally, watch) with the calibre 101. This record has not been broken to this day!

Alongside this, Jaeger-LeCoultre has a tremendous amount of historical pieces on show, all the way from some of the very first movements created, to the iconic Reverso from 1931, to modern-day pieces. It is a treasure-trove and something most watch enthusiasts would salivate over.

Historical Pieces

When Le-Coultre Met Jaeger

in 1903, Jacques-David LeCoultre met businessman, Edmond Jaeger – a french engineer and their collaboration gave birth to one of the greatest ultra-thin calibres in watchmaking and the birth of the Master Ultra Thin

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso (1931)

The Reverso was invented by Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1931 for the British army officers in India who wanted to protect the crystals on their watches while playing polo. As we know, the Reverso is a modern-day icon!

Heading Into Modern Day

Jaeger-LeCoultre Gyrotourbillon 1

In 2004, Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced the Hybris Mechanica Gyrotourbillon 1. This was the brand’s first grand complication timepiece. This is a watchmaking marvel, as the gyrotourbillon gravitates around two axis to counteract the negative effects of gravity in any position.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Duomètre à chrongraphe (2007)

In 2007, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Dual-Wing concept was born. It was a genuine micro-mechanical revolution that made the whole Duomètre collection possible. The watch works by having two independent mechanisms which is united by a single regulating organ, guaranteeing excellence in performance and precision!

As we proceeded through the archived sections of the Heritage Gallery we came across arguably one of the most notable sections in Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Manufacture. When we entered this part of the Heritage Gallery, we were first greeted with a wall full of ATMOS clocks! This is where all the different Jaeger-LeCoultre ATMO clocks through the ages were showcased, from the ATMOS 1 in 1930 to the modern ATMOS Infinite created in 2022.

On the opposite side of the ATMOS wall was a spiral staircase that led to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s manufacturing departments. This staircase was quite remarkable, however, as it was decorated with watch movements in a very aesthetically pleasing manner. The glass casing of the staircase featured movements that were placed in a spiral arrangement to mimic the design of the staircase. The movements shown are what Jaeger-LeCoultre have used to date, going all the way back to the brand’s first pocket watch movements.

As we made our way upstairs through the spiral staircase, the first thing we noticed when we reached the upper floor was the watchmaker’s desk, which had various tools used to adjust the movement and fix the dials onto the timepieces. An interesting fact about the desk shown in the photos below is that Antoine LeCoultre used it from his original workshop! Check out Jaeger-LeCoultre’s video on “The Genesis of Precision” to see an animation of Antoine LeCoultre using some of these tools and machines!

The next part of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture visit involved walking through the watchmakers’ various workshops. One of the first ones we passed through was the watch restoration and repair section, and although we didn’t get to be up close and talk to the watchmakers, we still got to see them hard at work!

Our Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture guide took us to a department where “dial stamping” was executed. There, an expert watchmaker took us through a presentation (with television imagery!) of the process of stamping the dials. We were shown the beginning to end of dial stamping, including physical pieces of each of the different stages in the stamping process. The final product is the dial that is used for the Master Grande Tradition Calibre 948!

From there, we briefly looked at the material’s storage section of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture. This is where they keep all the metal sheets, spare parts, and waste. From this point, we then walked to the manufacture’s high-complication section, a place that I was probably looking forward to the most in this tour! I mentioned earlier how large the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture is from the outside, but when you have actually to go through the different sections, it is indeed quite a walk (the entire manufacture is equivalent to almost walking 11km!), so make sure to wear walking shoes!

The Jaeger-LeCoultre’s high-complication department was next and it was only I was quite looking forward to seeing. While we couldn’t go inside due to them working on new timepieces and proprietary information, we still had the privilege of seem them work through the windows. I must say, it was quite the team in this department, which seemed substantially larger than the other sections of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture.

Nestled in the middle of the high-complication department (we were still sitting outside the department, however), we were given a presentation once again with a watchmaker who explained to us what this department was about. We also got a hands-on feel with three of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s high-complication timepieces. The first was the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication timepiece, which honestly is one of the most incredible timepieces I’ve had the pleasure of holding. The watch has a celestial chart on the dial, highlighting all the different star patterns and a revolving tourbillon that moves around the dial! Oh, and it also comes with a minute repeater complication that we also engaged to hear the beautiful chime!

The second timepiece was the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Perpetual Calendar. Fortunately, I’ve had the chance to hold and try this piece on already; however, I certainly wasn’t going to pass up the chance to see this masterpiece again. The last timepiece was another one that was breathtaking to hold and by far my favourite so far. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Gyrotourbillon is a watch that I personally thought I’d never get the chance to hold!

The Reverso Tribute Gyrotourbillon is an engineering masterpiece, and seeing this timepiece towards the end of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture visit made it all the more special. Seeing the gyrotourbillon in action for me is an amazing piece of watchmaking, and the fact that it’s on a Reverso, whereby we can see the second “dial” that is a skeletonised version of the front, makes this timepiece even more exceptional!

The last part of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture tour took us to the ATMOS atelier. This is where they create and test all the ATMOS clocks before they hit the shelves in retail stores and Jaeger-LeCoultre boutiques. Our tour guide gave us a fascinating demonstration of how the ATMOS clock keeps a continuous power reserve. The simplest explanation is that the clock generates energy through very minor temperature changes. Within a sealed capsule at the back of the ATMOS clock, there is a mixture of gas that expands and contracts as the temperature changes, allowing the “movement” to wind naturally. The demonstration showed us that an expanded capsule quickly contracts when it’s exposed to a different temperature, such as ice water.

As the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture visit came to an end, it became increasingly clear to me that the true value of a luxury timepiece was not measured by the materials used or the brand name engraved on the dial. After witnessing first-hand Jaeger-LeCoultre’s relentless pursuit of perfection in every part of the manufacturing process, from the hand-finishing of movements to the intricate assembly of the complications, it’s easy to understand why the brand’s watches carry such a premium.

If you have ever wondered why a luxury watch commands its price, a visit to the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture will quickly make you understand in a way that words simply cannot! For me, it was an experience that changed the way I see not just the brand and their timepieces but the whole concept of watchmaking itself. After leaving the Grande Maison, I had a deeper appreciation for the art of Swiss watchmaking, along with a knowledgable respect for the skill, passion and time it takes to create Jaeger-LeCoultre timepieces. Now I know why they are the watchmaker’s watchmaker.