Individualist Chic

In the watch world today, we are witnessing a move towards the cachet of uniqueness – or at least the perception of it.

The most obvious manifestation of this trend is the slew of limited edition watches that have come onto the market in recent years. Almost every major brand brings out limited edition watches, while a few claim all their watches are limited in number. These timepieces play to a luxury consumer’s desire for something unique, sought after and collectible. Even if some of these watches are made in surprisingly considerable numbers, the emphasis is far less on brandishing logos than on appropriating and investing in a rare find.

At the same time, a fresh crop of avant-garde, independent watchmaking talent is daring to imagine the future of watch design. All produce in small numbers on largely ideological grounds. While lovers of luxury seek individuality, the work of small watchmakers could now prove to be more timely than ever.

Watchmakers such as these embrace the notion of appealing to the minority of people who treasure their watches almost as they would art. Take English watchmaker Roger Smith – he will make ten watches in 2008. Max Busser & Friends will make 250 Horological Machine No 2 watches over the next three years.

At this year’s BaselWorld, more than 30 independent and idealistic watchmakers exhibited together under the banner of the AHCI (Horological Academy of Independent Creators). Founders of the collective, Svend Andersen and Vincent Calabrese came together in the 1980s with the idea that small independents would join forces for marketing purposes to enable them to each express their individuality and create watches that are works of art. The atmosphere at this section of the fair is always far less frenetic than other halls and hugely inspiring to some.

“Seeing watchmakers like Vincent Calabrese, Svend Andersen and Vianney Halter and watch forum commentator Dr. Bernard Cheong just standing around was like walking into a Hollywood studio seeing Steven Spielberg right there and happy to chat,” recalls London-based watch addict Alex Coutts, a regular on watch forums Horomundi and Watchprosite, who visited Hall 5 last year and drooled. He calls Philippe Dufour “almost like God” when it comes to watchmaking. “Dufour produces watches of unsurpassable quality,” he says.

Meanwhile, even the huge luxury goods brand Montblanc is recognizing growing interest in high-level watchmaking in small numbers. Its Villeret manufacturer trains its watchmakers in-house for two to three years after they’ve completed watchmaking school. “The inside of each barrel is decorated by hand on its hidden parts. Only a watchmaker who repairs the watch will ever see this,” explains Alexander Schmiedt, Villeret’s business director.

Anglo Swiss duo Greubel Forsey are making improvements to timekeeping with the tourbillon – a complication originally found in pocket watches, which counteracts the inaccuracies caused by gravity – that have barely been attempted in over a century.

Output from small manufactures such as these is truly limited because producing more watches is simply not economically viable.

Busser, formerly head of Harry Winston Rare Timepieces and previously at Jaeger le Coultre, has now consciously turned his back on the big brands and is determined to create novel watches only a few will love. “We are not aiming to please the majority at MB+F. We are putting our guts into our work without any commercial considerations. We don’t follow any brand DNA – we believe that’s true art,” he says.

So, what initially prompted the boom in the notion of the limited edition? The first modern limited edition to kick off the trend was the Patek Philippe 150th anniversary model , launched just prior to the 1989 anniversary auction, according to Charles Tearle, Bonhams’ Los Angeles based watch expert. Based on a 1920s design in yellow gold, 2000 models retailed for £5000 ($8,200 based on an average exchange rate of $1.64 to the pound) each and were soon re-selling for up to £20,000 ($32,800).

Given the potential for price appreciation over time, the notion of the limited edition became extremely attractive. In 2000, Patek Philippe created a ten-day wristwatch to celebrate the millennium. The movement had never been used in any watch beforehand and Philippe Stern, CEO of Patek Philippe, confirmed in a certificate that the tools used to make the watch were destroyed to ensure they would never be used again. According to Aurel Bacs, Christie’s Geneva based watch expert, these watches now fetch between double and triple their retail value at auction. A platinum version originally retailed at £15,000 ($22,755). In the last year, one of these sold for £80,000 (approximately $160,000). (Platinum is rarest so appreciation for these is steepest.)

While a flow of limited edition watches carry the suggestion that they will retain value over time, consumers are enjoying a huge choice of watches their peers are unlikely to have seen before. Meanwhile, an interest in individualistic watches shows no sign of abating.

“There are definitely more people now on watch forums who are buying independent watches for the first time. Word is travelling and clearly there are others who are not on the forums. But if too many people find out about them, they might lose their romance,” says Baruch Coutts.