Indie watchmakers: mens’ watches that showcase creativity, audacity and originality

By Rebecca Doulton

Visiting Baselworld, the world’s largest and most influential watch and jewellery fair, is an overwhelming experience, even for the initiated. A tour of the big watch brands exhibiting their 2015 collections in multi-storey booths, which look more like five-star hotels, overseen by cautious PRs and strict protocol, can lead to a sensation of acute vertigo. Which is why stepping out of the main hall and entering the Baselworld Palace – a tent-like structure reserved for independent watchmakers – is a breath of fresh air.

Read more about the latest watches launched at Baselworld here

Not only is there natural light, there are far fewer brands on display, making for a much closer rapport with the watchmakers. In this greenhouse of independent watchmakers, those without massive marketing budgets and plenty of enthusiasm are on hand to show you what creative horologists do when they are not overseen by a board of directors.

De Bethune watches ignored the Year of the Goat fever and settled on a far more mysterious creature to decorate the dial of its DB25 Quetzalcoatl watch.

A coiled gold serpent with feathers instead of scales represents the Mexican deity Quetzalcoatl, whose name is an amalgam of the sacred quetzal bird and the coatl, or snake. The plumed Aztec serpent rotates around the centre of the solid gold dial and indicates the hours with its head and the minutes with its tail. The sculptural work of the snake and the interpretation of numerals, fashioned like an aerial view of Aztec temples, attest to the remarkable creativity of co-founder David Zanetta and the expertise of De Bethune’s hand-wound calibre, which animates the mythological serpent for stretches of six days at a time.

Read more about De Bethune watches here

The great thing about the Palace is that you can journey from pre-Colombian iconography to an anemometer, used for measuring wind speed, in a matter of seconds.

Breva watches, founded by whizz-kid Vincent Dunpontreué, surprised the watchmaking world with its groundbreaking Génie 01 barometer watch in 2013, followed by an altimeter watch in 2014. This year, Breva watches officially presented the Génie 03 anemometer watch – the world’s first mechanical automatic wristwatch with a functional instrument to measure wind speed.

A dream gadget for sailors, these men’s watches feature a mechanism that rises 6mm from the surface of the dial to measure wind speeds of 5 to 65 knots with their miniature Robinson cups. The best part of the Breva watches’ presentation – which was previewed in January – was watching Dunpontreué’s young toddler run up and down the corridors of the hotel with the watch to get the anemometer spinning.

A visit to the Urban Jürgensen watches stand is like travelling back in time to the 18th century, when the talented Jürgensen family of Danish independent watchmakers was consolidating its reputation as one of Europe’s most illustrious horological families.

Classical to the core, the beautifully hand-crafted men’s watches and movements feature the new Reference 1140L collection of five gold watches, with elaborately executed hand guilloché silver dials and an in-house mechanical Lever escapement movement.  The white gold model with a blue guilloché dial is particularly attractive and the kind of watch that will go on ticking for centuries to come.

Read more about Urban Jürgensen watches here

  • Breva watches Génie 03 Anemometer comes in a 44.70mm titanium case with a pusher at 2 o'clock to deploy the anemometer. The hours and minutes are displayed on a transparent blue disc allowing a view on the automatic movement, which is water resistant to 3

    Breva watches Génie 03 Anemometer comes in a 44.70mm titanium case with a pusher at 2 o’clock to deploy the anemometer. The hours and minutes are displayed on a transparent blue disc allowing a view on the automatic movement, which is water resistant to 30 metres. The watch is a limited edition of 55 pieces.

  • De Bethune watches DB25 Quetzalcoatl men's watch features original gold hour markers representing an aerial view of Aztec pyramids. The animated dial in solid gold contrasts with the 44mm white gold case.

    De Bethune watches DB25 Quetzalcoatl men’s watch features original gold hour markers representing an aerial view of Aztec pyramids. The animated dial in solid gold contrasts with the 44mm white gold case.

  • De Bethune watches DB25 Quetzlacoatl features a plumed serpent representing the Mexican deity Quetzalcoatl in the centre of the dial. The gold serpent indicates the hours with its head and the minutes with its tail.

    De Bethune watches DB25 Quetzalcoatl features a plumed serpent representing the Mexican deity Quetzalcoatl in the centre of the dial. The gold serpent indicates the hours with its head and the minutes with its tail.

  • De Bethune watches DB25 Quetzalcoatl is equipped with a De Bethune hand-wound movement with double barrels offering a power reserve of six days, entirely visible through the open caseback. The watch is a limited edition of 20 pieces.

    De Bethune watches DB25 Quetzalcoatl is equipped with a De Bethune hand-wound movement with double barrels offering a power reserve of six days, entirely visible through the open caseback. The watch is a limited edition of 20 pieces.

  • Urban Jürgensen watches won the Men's Prize at the GPHG contest last year with its exquisite Central Seconds watch. This year, the 1140L collection features five classical watches in 40mm gold cases with individually soldered teardrop lugs and a convex be

    Urban Jürgensen watches won the Men’s Prize at the GPHG contest last year with its exquisite Central Seconds watch. This year, the 1140L collection features five classical watches in 40mm gold cases with individually soldered teardrop lugs and a convex bezel.

  • Urban Jürgensen, the Danish watchmaker, with roots dating back to 1773, presented the 1140L collection at Baselworld Palace. This white gold model is beautifully hand crafted and features an elaborate concave guilloché dial to indicate the hours, minutes

    Urban Jürgensen, the Danish watchmaker, with roots dating back to 1773, presented the 1140L collection at Baselworld Palace. This white gold model is beautifully hand crafted and features an elaborate concave guilloché dial to indicate the hours, minutes and small seconds functions.

  • Breva watches Génie 03 Anemometer watch is the world's first automatic wristwatch capable of measuring wind speed. The bubble at 2 o'clock rises 6mm from the dial and deploys a miniature anemometer with Robinson cups that can gauge wind speeds from 5 to 6

    Breva watches Génie 03 Anemometer watch is the world’s first automatic wristwatch capable of measuring wind speed. The bubble at 2 o’clock rises 6mm from the dial and deploys a miniature anemometer with Robinson cups that can gauge wind speeds from 5 to 65 knots.

SOURCE:http://www.thejewelleryeditor.com/watches/article/baselworld-mens-watches-indie-watchmakers/