The latest wizardry from top independent watchmakers

The watch business in Hong Kong isn’t doing great. Even those of you who don’t follow the industry with my boundless enthusiasm may have noticed there are fewer watch boutiques around. Causeway Bay, in particular, has seen a number of stores close their doors owing to falling demand. Personally, I don’t think this is such a bad thing: to my expert eye (stop sniggering at the back), the market was saturated with mediocre, overpriced products, and too many brands were on cruise control. But there’s opportunity even in a down market for brands that are smarter with their pricing and make products that buyers want.

One market segment that could never afford to rest on its laurels is independent watchmakers. Even in this more austere age, they continue to thrive through sheer force of will and ingenuity. Take, for instance, Dutch watchmaker Grönefeld, whose big launch this year is the 1941 Remontoire.

If I’m honest, the reasons this watch is worthy of praise are incredibly technical – I don’t fully understand the engineer­ing myself.
A remontoire, or constant force mechanism, is a rare and difficult feature in mechanical watchmaking. In simple terms, it maintains a constant force on the balance wheel, which leads to greater precision. Take my word for it, this is mighty impressive.

Another independent, Finland’s Stepan Sarpaneva, is a watchmaker’s watchmaker, known for his technical skill and wackily playful pieces. At this year’s Baselworld, his epony­mous brand released new pieces in the Korona collection, the pick of which were the four models in the Korona K0 Seasons range. Sarpaneva uses luminescence to bring the watch to life and show off the extraordinary design of the dial through a highly technical process. The results are dramatic, with a choice of four colours of dial and luminescence inspired by Finland’s extreme seasons.