Independent watchmakers flock to Carré des Horlogers at SIHH 2018

SIHH director Fabienne Lupo is upbeat about the future of watchmaking, saying: “The very existence of independent ‘new school’ watchmaking proves that the industry is driven by new ideas. It shows that fine watchmaking isn’t stuck in the past, but instead a highly innovative segment”.

One of the five newcomers to Carré des Horlogers is Armin Strom, a 21-person company that produces  around 600 timepieces per year.

“Chronometry is very important; we are really pushing chronometry,” says Claude Greisler, CEO and technical director of Armin Strom. And Pure Resonance walks the talk: thanks to the double balance working in resonance, its accuracy is approximately 15 per cent to 20 per cent better than the COSC standard (-4/+6 seconds per day). 

“But the Resonance technology is not only about timekeeping measured once per day – the main advantage of double balances in resonance is you cut the peaks of deviation, thus you have a much flatter curve,” explains Greisler, who has just signed with Hong Kong partner Swiss Prestige.

Another welcome addition to the Carré des Horlogers is Ferdinand Berthoud, owned by Chopard. Named after one of the great 18th-century marine chronometer makers, the brand launched in 2015 has produced 40 watches, starting at  200,000 Swiss francs (HK$1.672 million). The latest creation is the  Ferdinand Berthoud FB 1R.6-1. This watch has no dial but it does have a complex power reserve of levers and a spiral spring, which puts torque on the whole device, guaranteeing that the mobile cone stays in contact with the levers in any position, even during shocks. 

“This spring has been developed so that the coil remains concentric in any state of winding and unwinding – The Institute of Mathematics in Neuchâtel helped us with that,” says CEO Luc Perramond.

The case of the watch is made of carburised stainless steel, which means it is extremely hard, scratch resistant and corrosion resistant – not even acid can get at this watch. 

Is the future of watchmaking marrying a mechanical movement with electronic setting? Benoît Mintiens, an industrial designer and founder of Ressence, thinks so. At SIHH he launched a concept watch called the e-Crown. This latest creation from the ergonomically driven brand that made 297 pieces in 2017 features an electronic interface, which allows you to set your mechanical watch by simply tapping it with your fingers or using an app – even if the watch’s power reserve cycle is long spent. “This is not a quartz watch, not a smartwatch, not a gadget. It is a big enhancement in functionality on a mechanical watch,” Mintiens says.