The three independent watchmakers that should be on your radar

Borna Bošnjak

The wonderful thing about watches is that there is so much choice out there, there is bound to be a brand that suits your tastes exactly. Whether it’s from the big box Swiss and Japanese powerhouses, start-ups carving their own niche through Kickstarter, or anything in between, you can get a phenomenal watch to fit into any budget. With different investment levels, however, come different marketing budgets, too. There may be an array of brands out there that you’re not even considering simply because you’ve never even heard of them. Think of it this way. For a few hundred thousand bucks, you can pick up a new Ferrari or Lamborghini, which there are plenty of on the road. Instead, you could get Kimera to custom build you a modern recreation of the Lancia 037, or donate a 964-series Porsche to Singer and receive the real-life equivalent of a Porsche fan’s wet dream. The latter makes watches, too. In any case, the brands on this list are just that, more than justifiable alternatives to mainstream brands that have the ability to pull inspiration from a singular source, rather than try to present a new blue dial as a “novelty”.

Alto

I realise now that I’ve written the introduction, that for those who are not petrolheads, the parallel won’t really ring true. I’m afraid it won’t get any better, as it’s the automotive world where Thibaud Guittard pulled much of his inspiration for the Alto ART 01. The sharp angles are meant to remind of the era of the wedge – a 1970s vehicle design trope championed by the likes of Giorgetto Giugiaro. When we met in Geneva, Thibaud immediately mentioned the Aston Martin Bulldog, and if you’re familiar with the bonkers one-off supercar with the most insane headlights you’ll ever see, you’ll see the resemblance. The ART 01 isn’t just about looks, though. Powered by a Cercle des Horlogers-developed micro-rotor movement, the time is displayed normally, except for the seconds hand – which runs backwards.

Even without the trick movement, the faceted sapphire crystals on both sides blending into the faceted titanium case would be enough of a cool factor. The design itself is the work of Barth Nussbaumer, whose portfolio includes work for TAG Heuer and Jaquet Droz in the ’90s and ’00s, and more recently for Petermann Bédat and Kollokium, a brand he co-created. Price: CHF 18,450

Berneron

If the ART 01 comes from the retrofuturism of the ’70s and ’80s, Berneron’s first effort, the Mirage, is straight from the Psychedelic era of the 1960s. Its core is a sector-dialled, time-only dress watch that would rival a modern Calatrava, but that’s only before Sylvain Berneron applied his twist. And I mean twist almost literally – the asymmetry of the Mirage makes it seem as if someone affixed the centre pinion, and rotated the rest of the thing counter-clockwise with some bloat-like Photoshop tool. Just like another asymmetrical watch the Mirage is no doubt inspired by, it somehow just works. My only gripe is perhaps the dial – it may have worked better in a non-sector style – but in any case, it’s exciting to have a brand go for a completely left-field look.

And it’s particularly exciting because Berneron is extending the look to the movements, too. It would’ve been all too easy to use a tiny off-the-shelf calibre and have it sit awkwardly suspended in a plastic movement holder, but that’s not the direction Berneron wants to take his brand in. Instead, he worked with Le Cercle des Horlogers (a popular name in watchmaking at the moment) to create a bespoke, asymmetrical calibre with solid gold components, an oversized balance wheel and stunning overall decoration. Most impressively, the entire movement is only 2.3mm in height. Price: CHF 55,000

Thomas Aubert

Both Alto and Berneron have already launched their first-ever commercial product, and while they’re not exactly household names, they’re certainly more well-established than the last entrant on this list. Nevertheless, Thomas Aubert’s Séléné is more than worthy of inclusion. To explain why, I will once again resort to a car analogy – bear with me, it’s the last one. Think of the Alto as the redesigned Lambo Countach – thoroughly modern, but inspired by a ’70s wedge. The Mirage is therefore a Pagani, with unique, artisan design powered by a renowned engine-maker. Thomas Aubert would be the closest we can get to a resto-modder like Singer, as his Séléné uses an extensively modified Unitas movement, with the overall package decorated to the nines. After all, that’s how the 23-year-old Frenchman won F.P. Journe’s 2024 edition of the Young Talent Competition.

Séléné is essentially a school project, created during Aubert’s last year at Lycée Edgar Faure in Morteau, renowned for its watchmaking program. You’ll notice there’s no crown, as the aforementioned Unitas movement has been modified to a key-winding system via the caseback, which showcases its party piece. While winding the watch, the constellation pattern on the back becomes animated, with shooting stars travelling across the caseback using the energy lost from the winding process. Aubert says the constellation can be changed to suit the wearer’s request. From the front, you’ll find a smattering of common and not-so-common decorating techniques, including a black-polished and chamfered bridge from which Aubert suspended an Breguet overcoil-equipped balance wheel. This slightly juts into the main dial plate, which gets a grated, patinated finish to serve as a backdrop to the ultra-sharp lance hands that have been blued and then black-polished. This leaves the blued steel effect only around their edges, a look that I’m particularly fond of in Simon Brette’s work. While he’s currently working as a prototypist, I’m excited to see what Aubert’s future will bring.