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 The silent force of the independents

After China Haidian’s surprise announcement that it had acquired Corum just as BaselWorld opened its doors, rumours abounded during the show that Raymond Weil, arguably one of the biggest independent brands, was also up for sale. The sale of Corum and the rumours surrounding Raymond Weil were clear confirmations of the continued consolidation in the industry, which we expounded in our previous issue.

If Raymond Weil is indeed up for grabs, potential purchasers have a solid investment opportunity in the musically-inspired brand from Geneva. Firmly positioned in the mid-range segment, with models such as the new ladies’ Jasmine in 29mm and 35mm available from 1,600 Swiss francs, Raymond Weil is not afraid to reach for the higher end, as well. Among the 50 new models the company presented at BaselWorld was the limited-edition Nabucco Cuore Caldo Twelve, with a case in 18-carat red gold, titanium and carbon fibre and a La Joux-Perret split-seconds movement, retailing for over 17,000 Swiss francs. Part of the proceeds for this model, production of which is limited to 76 pieces, to correspond with Raymond Weil’s year of foundation, will be donated to the paediatric onco-hematology unit of the University of Geneva Hospital.

TRIAD by Speake-Marin

The Triad uses Speake-Marin’s familiar 42mm Piccadilly case in stainless steel with an 18-carat red-gold bezel and has an Eros 2 calibre that has been modified with the addition of two sets of three Triad wheels to power three different off-centre hour and minute hands in blued steel. A limited edition of 88 pieces that costs 25,000 Swiss francs.

On an equally sure footing thanks to the backing of a wealthy French family, Speake-Marin plans to more than double its production from 200 watches last year to 500 this year. A new limited-edition model presented in Basel, the Triad, is set to help the brand on its way towards this ambitious goal. Named after the three-note chord in music rather than the notorious Chinese organised crime organisation, this 88-piece series is the first in Speak-Marin’s “mechanical art” collection. Rather than showing three different time zones, the three off-centre blued-steel hour and minute hands all show the same time, powered by the Eros 2 calibre self-winding movement, which is a modified version of Technotime’s TT750 calibre with 120 hours of power reserve.

GRAVITY by Armin Strom

Named, quite simply, after the force that powers Armin Strom’s first in-house self-winding calibre with a micro rotor, the Gravity collection is available as a limited edition of 100 pieces in each of the four element-themed models: Air, Water, Earth and Fire, each of which is designed to reflect the characteristics of the element it is named after.

Armin Strom continued the theme started with its in-house tourbillon calibre for the launch of the brand’s first in-house self-winding calibre with a micro rotor. The four different models available in this new collection are thus inspired by the elements of air, water, earth and fire. Like their tourbillon predecessors, they are only available as a limited edition (100 pieces of each type) and have the same exquisite finishing that we have come to expect of Armin Strom. The movement has a going barrel made of special brass, an escape wheel and pallets in solid gold and a five-day power reserve.

MASK by Itay Noy

Housed in a 42.4mm square case in stainless steel, the mask collection features stylised masks on the face of the watch. It is powered by the Technotime TT651 self-winding calibre with quick-set date window, second time zone, day/night indicator and 42-hour power reserve.

Thanks to Alon Ben Joseph of ACE Jewelers in the Netherlands, I discovered a very small independent producer who was hidden away in Hall 2 on one of those stands that consists of just a show case and a couple of seats. Itay Noy claims to be the only watchmaker in Israel and is based in the Old Jaffa quarter of Tel Aviv. In addition to teaching design, he produces around 100 watches per year. He specialises above all in original dial designs, including statement watches such as the “ID” collection, which feature the (proper) Arabic, Hebrew, Japanese or Roman numerals as hour markers.
New for this year is the “Mask” in a square case. “I wanted a square watch in the collection,” says Noy, “and this year seemed the most appropriate year to do it. We look through squares most of the day. I wanted a screen but a screen needs a picture.” The picture in the case takes the form of stylised masks that use the functions of Technotime’s TT651 movement (a big date and a 24-hour subdial) for their eyes and mouth.

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