The Watchmakers Club 2019

Since starting to explore the world of horology in more depth, one of my horizons which has expanded quite extensively (and still has some way to go) is that of independent watchmaking and independent brands. Awareness of many big names such as Rolex, Omega, Breitling etc is relatively commonplace, some of the leading independent watchmakers such as Ludovic Ballouard, F.P. Journe, Laurent Ferrier or Konstantin Chaykin might be familiar, and then there are a multitude of other independent brands that even the most ardent of fans may or may not have heard of.

When I learned of a group called The Watchmakers Club, a collective of independent watch brands, my interest was piped up immediately. When I learned of a group called The Watchmakers Club, a collective of independent watch brands, my interest was piped up immediately. When the Watchmakers Club 2019 event in London came around, I had to go along!

The Watchmakers Club 2019

After a great day wandering through the Harrods watch room (I couldn’t help but pay a visit), I eventually made my way out to Euston for the event, arriving at the 4pm kick off. In attendance where 16 independent brands, only 9 of which I had heard of, and of those 9 I would so I was only really familiar with about 3. What a fantastic opportunity this event was to be able to learn about each of these brands and get hands on with some fascinating timepieces! As much as I would love to go into depth about everything, I’ve picked some from the event which resonated with me to go into more detail about here, and then included the websites for each and every brand showcased at the event at the end of this article.

Arnold & Son

Of all the brands attending this event, Arnold & Son was probably the one with which I was most familiar. Arnold & Son was founded in 1764, and founder John Arnold was good friends with Abraham-Louis Breguet. With a history of such horological significance, I confess I did make a beeline for their stand as I was keen to finally be able to get hands on with these timepieces. Needless to say, I was not disappointed! I was able to try three timepieces on: the 8 Day Royal Navy, the Time Pyramid, and what is – in my opinion – one of the best looking moonphase watches on the market in the Perpetual Moon.

First up was the 8 Day Royal Navy, which whilst of the 3 is the simplest in terms of complication, was no less stunning. The wavy pattern of guilloche on the dial was exceptional, looking different every time it caught the light in a different angle shimmering beautifully. Additionally, turning the watch over I was surprised to see just how intricate the movement was and how well it was finished.

Next, was the Time Pyramid – a fantastically complex-looking, skeletonised timepiece based on the design of an antique clock. I have always held a special admiration for skeletonised timepieces – I think probably for the same reason I love a sapphire caseback, in that I cannot help but admire the engineering and craftsmanship that goes into mechanical timepieces. The dial on the Time Pyramid is symmetrical, made even more impressive a feat by the fact the timepiece is skeletonised, and the double-barrelled movement warrants two power reserve indications placed symmetrically on the dial.

Finally, it was time to meet the Perpetual Moon. I have long admired this timepiece; the large and immaculately detailed moon is visible through an aperture taking up essentially the top half of the dial, forming both the moonphase indication and a wonderful conversation starter! Behind the dial is the A&S1512 calibre, which was exclusively developed for the moonphase complication, featuring a double barrel which culminates in a 90-hour power reserve. Such is the accuracy of this calibre, the moon itself will (assuming it stays wound of course!) only deviate by one day every 122 years, which I think you’ll agree is quite special.

I spent a considerable amount of time admiring these three timepieces, and it was a real treat to be able to appreciate them all in an environment such as this.

Moritz Grossmann

Whilst Moritz Grossmann’s atelier was first founded in Glashütte in 1854, the brand went through a rebirth in 2008 and produced their first timepieces of the new era in 2010. Whilst The Watchmakers Club was not the first time I had seen Moritz Grossmann timepieces, it was certainly the largest array of them all together at once.

The majority of those I have seen are a part of the Benu collection, comprising a number of heritage or contemporary inspired families which all exude a particular elegance. However, my favourite part of these timepieces is far and away the finishing of the calibre: the first time I saw the three-band snailing on the ratchet wheel gear had me somewhat hypnotised. The finishing is completed in such a way that as the watch is wound and the wheel turns, the gear itself appears not to move. It’s only when you look at the teeth on the gears that you can tell it is turning!

In addition to this fine example of finishing, there is an additional feature in the index adjuster. This allows a watchmaker to regulate the watch to a very precise level and circumvents the need to disturb the balance of the oscillating system. This is fitted to a plate which is in itself another incredible piece of finishing with an engraved pattern on show.

There were also a few ladies’ pieces from the Tefnut collection. As elegant as these were on their own, there was one particularly notable feature in that the dial was a scoop shape. That is to say that the dial itself was not flat, but moving from right to left the dial ever so slightly dips down, such that by the time it reaches the left hand side of the dial, it rises up like the foot of a wave in the ocean. I had never seen anything like this before, and thought it was quite brilliant.

It was really a great opportunity to see such a wide variety of Moritz Grossmann timepieces at once, and with only a few hundred pieces made annually it’s not something you would find very often.

Zero West

Prior to visiting The Watchmakers Club 2019, Zero West was a brand that I was aware of but didn’t really know much about, and I particularly enjoyed taking the opportunity to speak with the team and learn more about their timepieces and the brand.

Of the watches on display, there was one which very much caught my eye. I have always had a passion for aviation, indeed growing up I used to regularly attend airshows. One sound which still to this day makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up is that of a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine in a Supermarine Spitfire as it hurtles past at low altitude and high speed – I’m not sure there’s a finer sounding engine. So, when I noticed the S1 Spitfire timepiece on the stand at Zero West, I immediately wanted a closer look. For any Spitfire enthusiast reading, you should check this one out.

On the wrist, this was extremely comfortable, and looked awesome. The dial itself was faithfully based on a Smith cockpit clock from the Spitfires, and the caseback featured a stunning technical drawing of the Spitfire engraved into it, surrounded by a compass design. Finally, the crown featured a little red button on the end, inspired by the firing button for the guns!

There was however, one additional detail that I had to ask about – on the dial was a lat/long reference and a single six-digit number. There was nothing to indicate what this might be for, and with there being precisely no chance that this didn’t have a deeper meaning, I asked what it represented. It transpired that this lat/long reference was the location of the Woolston Spitfire Factory, and the six-digit number (050336) was the 5th March 1936, the date that the first Spitfire flew from Eastleigh aerodrome.

This unique detail is something I adore – I love being able to explain away seemingly random features with such a great story behind them, telling these types of stories is a huge part of Watch Affinity and why we include the stories of both the brands and relevant collections in our Compendiums. With this design feature, it shows that there is a hidden story from history behind each and every Zero West timepiece, you just have to look!

One last thing in case you are still wondering… what about the brand’s name, Zero West? Well, the story behind that is to do with the Greenwich Meridian (51.48°N, 0.00°W), and I encourage you to go and find out for yourself!

Czapek

Czapek as a brand has a somewhat unusual history. François Czapek founded Czapek, Patek & Cie in 1839, a six-year partnership with Antoine Norbert de Patek. At the end of the partnership, they went their separate ways, and both continued plying their trade in watchmaking. Czapek went on to become recognised as one of the greatest watchmakers of the nineteenth century, including serving as Watchmaker to Prince Napoleon, before he vanished in 1869. Nobody knows what happened to him to this very day.

Oh, and yes – Antoine Norbert de Patek is that Patek…

In 2012, the Czapek brand was resurrected by three entrepreneurs who researched the designs of François Czapek and sought to continue in this same vein with their designs, ensuring they stay true to the original founder whose name the brand bears today. In 2016, they received the Public Prize from the GPHG (Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève), cementing their place in the world of fine watchmaking.

As exceptional as these timepieces were (I fell in love with the Place Vendôme tourbillon) it was really the customisation options that I wanted to highlight in this summary. With independent watchmaking, the levels of customisation available are above and beyond what you might expect, namely thanks to the lower production numbers and bespoke nature of their work facilitating a much closer relationship between the brand and the client.

With Czapek, these opportunities are vast and range from bespoke miniature paintings on the dial, to personalised inscriptions. The miniature paintings can be of your favourite personal designs and will be painted by a master designer using a single haired brush. Rare stones can be incorporated into your timepiece. Different styles of hands are available, as are different enumerations for indications such as the power reserve indicator (different languages for the days, or simply a number etc). You can even request your own secret sentence be forever hidden within an enamel dial, something that only you will know is there and will only be visible when the light hits the dial at the right angle. Of course, for non-enamel dial pieces you can also opt for a personalised engraving of your name, initials, or something else personal to you.

With a somewhat paradoxical deep-rooted history of horological prestige and only a few years of recent history, this particular independent offers a great story, some stunning timepieces, and a brilliant example of some of the additional benefits of customisation accessible via independent watchmaking for creating a really unique and personal timepiece.

Schwarz Etienne

The final brand that I visited during my trip to The Watchmakers Club 2019 was Schwarz Etienne. It was fascinating for me to learn about the story of this brand, which originally started out as a creator, developer and producer of watch movements as opposed to a brand unto itself. In fact, it wasn’t until the 1950s when Schwarz Etienne created the first watch under their own name. Their approach has changed over the years and during the 1980s they produced many private label watches for the likes of Chanel and Dunhill.

This history of creating watch movements remains prevalent today, with the brand well positioned with four other vertically integrated sister companies, including E20 Innovations which is one of very few players in the industry capable of manufacturing their own hairsprings and balance springs. The precision required for this cannot be understated – a difference of 0.1 microns (or 100 nanometres) on the springs’ profiles can impact the running rate of a movement by up to 300 seconds per day – check out this interview with the Schwarz Etienne CEO on Monochrome Watches to learn more.

I particularly enjoyed the timepieces on show here for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the collections are each named after a city, including Roma (a classical collection), La Chaux-de-Fonds (complications) and Fiji (the collection designed by women, for women). My favourite collection, however, was the Roswell collection, named after the infamous town synonymous with UFOs and aliens. The name reflects the case design, which reflects the notional shape of a flying saucer (the presentation box for these is a flying saucer, too) making for something very unique! This collection showcases the micro-rotor on the front of the dial, at 9 o’clock, and employs an aperture in the dial to view the balance wheel, which is made entirely in house through Schwarz Etienne’s sister company.

The Roswell 08 incorporates a date complication which is activated by a pusher below the crown, disguised somewhat as a crown guard, with the mechanism to advance the date wheel fully on display on the dial – I absolutely loved this, the only downside I can foresee is my tendency to want to continually push the button and watch the date wheel advance, meaning with me as the wearer, the watch would likely never tell the correct date!

With all of the above, I hope this conveys a sense of just how much there is going on within different brands in the watch industry, and whilst the instinct might be to head towards some of the larger, more popular brands, there are a plethora of incredible independent watchmaking brands out there which are doing amazing things.

One thing I would always recommend before buying a watch would be to try them beforehand so you can see them up close. Events like The Watchmakers Club make this possible in an intimate environment, where you really get the chance to talk with these independent brands and gain a deeper understanding of what they’re offering and what they are all about, and as such I could not recommend them highly enough.

Here are a final few watches from the event that I particularly liked, followed by the links to the websites of The Watchmakers Club and to each of the brands on show at the event, listed in alphabetical order.

The Watchmakers Club 2019 featured:

Arnold & Son | Cyrus | Czapek | DuBois et Fils | Fears | Garrick | Karsten Fräßdorf | Minase | Moritz Grossmann | Parmigiani | Pinion | Schwarz Etienne | Tutima | Vertex | Zero West | Zeitwinkel

For any questions, please get in touch via our Contact page, or via our Instagram.

You might also be interested in:

• Spotlight: Schwarz Etienne Roma Synergy Terracotta
• Value for Money in Independent Watchmaking – Part 1
• Independent Watchmaking – An Ode to the Indies
• Watch Stationery and Gift Ideas
• Watch Books, Watch Boxes and more at the Watch Affinity Shop on Amazon (commissions earned)

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases – thank you for your support