From Watches & Wonders 2020: Our Fantastic Four

There are a lot of brands at this year’s Watches & Wonders Geneva online platform. Here are four that you’ve probably never heard of, but nonetheless offer exciting timepieces.

Besides all the Historic Maisons like A. Lange & Söhne, Baume & Mercier, Bovet, Cartier, Girard-Perregaux, Hermès, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, MB&F, H. Moser & Cie., Montblanc, Panerai, Parmigiani, Piaget, Roger Dubuis, Ulysse Nardin and Vacheron Constantin, there’s also a space called the Carré des Horlogers at the Watches and Wonders Geneva fair, which is reserved for independent artisan-creators since 2016.

Among the most talented independent watchmakers that showcased their own creations at Watches and Wonders Geneva, we believe you will quickly discover that there are some that you may never have heard of. More importantly, these brands are also offering exceptional pieces created with the same passion and attention to detail as what one can expect from the aforementioned Historic Maisons.

So, today, we present you with four brands that have so far flown below the radar but are definitely worth looking into:

Arnold & Son

Named after John Arnold—an English watchmaker of the 18^th century renowned for his ingenuity and work on marine chronometers—Arnold & Son perpetuates his legacy, exploring contemporary ways to interpret traditional watch craftsmanship. Based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, the brand develops its timepieces in-house, including its complicated calibres.

At this year’s Watches and Wonders Geneva online platform, Arnold & Son showcases the Globetrotter Night that shifts its display of world times over to the night. Beneath a crystal dome, this timepiece plays on nocturnal nuances and city lights while also depicting the continents, the seas and the lights of the large cities located north of the equator. With a sapphire ring that breaks down the 24 hours of a day, the Globetrotter Night offers a realistic and meticulously rendered interpretation of a three-dimensional map enclosed in a 45mm steel case.

 

Speake-Marin

Speake-Marin is a Geneva-based fine watchmaking brand with British roots that creates, develops and assembles mechanical, innovative limited edition timepieces with in-house movements and unique complications.

Building on the success of the “One&Two” Openworked collection with various models launched in the last two years, Speake-Marin now extends its Openworked range with a new complication: a 60 seconds Flying Tourbillon. To that end, the brand unveils One&Two Openworked Flying Tourbillon at this year’s Watches and Wonders Geneva online platform. Uniquely, by displaying a Tourbillon cage at 1:30, Speake-Marin’s objective is to break-away from the traditional watchmaking codes. It’s safe to say that this watch anchors the Speake-Marin contemporary style to create an example belle horlogerie for those who want to wear something unique on their wrist.

 

Rebellion Timepieces

Founded by an industrialist with a passion for watchmaking, high technology and car racing, Rebellion Timepieces has condensed the best of these three worlds. Based in Lonay, on the banks of Lake Geneva, Rebellion Timepieces’ passion, performance and a perfectionism attitude sparked the company’s inception and continue to guide its development each passing day.

This year, the brand offers a limited edition of its RE-Volt model in the colors of Bruno Senna. Its dynamic lines, high-tech and exceptional performance make the Rebellion RE-Volt Carbon Forged Bruno Senna a remarkable timepiece on which every detail expresses and embodies the brand’s passion for motorsport. Like all timepieces in the RE-Volt collection, this limited series is powered by the calibre developed in-house and assembled by Rebellion watchmakers using 165 components.

 

Purnell

Cecil Purnell was a soldier enlisted during WWI by Great Britain. He was wounded and then recuperated in Besançon, a notable hub of French watchmaking. Trained by the best local master watchmakers, Cecil Purnell became fascinated by works of the legendary Abraham-Louis Breguet and, more specifically, with the tourbillon. This passion was transmitted many decades later to his beloved grandson Jonathan Purnell. Back in 2006, the brand bearing the Purnell name was born with the promise of Jonathan Purnell to only produce tourbillon watches honoring his grandfather Cecil Purnell. From the brand’s inception, every timepiece created has included a tourbillon, and the use of it has remained the driving philosophy behind the Purnell brand to date.

This year, the brand is thrilled to present the Escape IIS Treasure, the latest addition to its Double Spherion Escape collection. The Escape IIS Treasure is a powerful timekeeper driven by the force of Purnell’s groundbreaking double-Spherion movement, designed and developed by Purnell in collaboration with master watchmaker Eric Coudray.