The most remarkable thing about watches is that there's such a wide selection, ensuring there's a brand that perfectly matches your taste.
Whether it's major Swiss and Japanese brands, startups that found their niche on Kickstarter, or something in between - you can acquire phenomenal watches that fit any budget. However, different investment levels come with different marketing budgets. There may be many brands you don't consider simply because you've never heard of them. Think of it this way: for a few hundred thousand bucks, you could buy a new Ferrari or Lamborghini, which are plentiful on the roads. Instead, you might ask Kimera to make a modern recreation of the Lancia 037, or donate a Porsche 964 series to Singer to receive the real-life equivalent of a Porsche fan's dream. The latter also produces watches. In any case, the brands featured in this list are justified alternatives to mainstream brands, capable of drawing inspiration from a single source, rather than trying to present a new blue dial as a 'novelty.'
Alto
Now that I've written the introduction, I realize that for those who aren't car enthusiasts, this parallel won't make any sense. I'm afraid it doesn't get any better, as it's from the automotive world that Thibaut Gittard drew inspiration for the Alto ART 01. The sharp angles are meant to recall the wedge era - a 1970s design approach championed by artists like Giorgetto Giugiaro. When we met in Geneva, Thibaut immediately mentioned the Aston Martin Bulldog, and if you're familiar with this crazy supercar with the wildest headlights you've ever seen, you'll see the resemblance. However, the ART 01 is not just about looks. The watch is equipped with a movement developed by Cercle des Horlogers featuring a micro-rotor, with time displayed normally except for the second hand, which moves in reverse.
Even without the ingenious movement, the faceted sapphire crystals on both sides, blending with the faceted titanium case, would be a sufficient cool factor. The design itself is the work of Bart Nussbaumer, whose portfolio includes work for TAG Heuer and Jaquet Droz in the 90s and 00s, and more recently for Petermann Bédat and Kollokium, a brand he co-created with others.
- Price: 18,450 SWISS FRANCS
Berneron
If the ART 01 is a retro-futurism of the 70s and 80s, then Berneron's first work, Mirage, comes straight from the psychedelic 1960s. Its essence is a sector dial, a timepiece with a movement that could rival modern Calatravas, but that's only until Sylvain Berneron applied his twist. And I mean twist almost literally - the asymmetry of the Mirage creates the impression that someone attached the central gear and turned the rest counterclockwise using some bloated Photoshop tool. As with other asymmetric watches, which the Mirage was undoubtedly inspired by, it somehow comes together. The only thing I nitpick is the dial - maybe it would have looked better in a non-sector style, but in any case, it's interesting that the brand chose an entirely left-field approach.
And it's especially interesting because Berneron extends this approach to the movements. It would be too easy to use a tiny ready-made caliber awkwardly suspended in a plastic holder, but that's not the direction Berneron wants to take his brand. Instead, he collaborates with Le Cercle des Horlogers (a popular name in watchmaking) to create a custom asymmetric caliber with solid gold components, an oversized balance wheel, and stunning overall design. Most impressively, the entire movement is only 2.3 mm thick.
- Price: 55,000 SWISS FRANCS
Thomas Aubert
Both Alto and Berneron have already released their first commercial products, and while they can't be called famous, they are certainly more known than the last entry on this list. Nonetheless, Thomas Aubert's Séléné more than deserves inclusion on this list. To explain why, I'll resort to a car analogy again - bear with me, it's the last one. Consider Alto as a revamped Lambo Countach - entirely modern but inspired by the 70s wedge. Thus, Mirage is a Pagani, with a unique, artisanal design driven by a renowned engine manufacturer. Thomas Aubert would come closest to a restorer like Singer, as his Séléné uses a heavily modified Unitas movement, and the entire case is richly decorated. In the end, this is how the 23-year-old Frenchman won the F.P. Journe Young Talent Competition in 2024.
Séléné is essentially a school project, created in Aubert's final year at Edgar Faure High School in Morteau, known for its watchmaking program. You'll notice the absence of a crown, as the aforementioned Unitas movement was modified into a key-wound system through the case back, which showcases its party piece. When winding the watch, the constellation pattern on the case back becomes animated, and shooting stars move across the back, using the energy lost during winding. According to Aubert, the constellations can be changed at the owner's discretion.
On the face, you can see a variety of familiar and unusual decorative techniques, including a black polished bridge with bevels, to which Aubert has suspended a Breguet balance wheel equipped with a coil. It slightly protrudes onto the main dial plate, which has a worn patina finish, serving as a backdrop for ultra-sharp spade hands that have been blued and then polished to black. Thus, the effect of blued steel remains only on the edges, which I particularly like in Simon Brett's work. While it works as a prototype, I can't wait to see what the future holds for Aubert.