Baselworld accueillera un nouveau joueur parmi les horlogers indépendants. La nouvelle marque de Martin Braun surprendra autant qu'elle séduira.
WORLDTEMPUS - 8 February 2011
Elizabeth Doerr
Article disponible en anglais uniquement
The watch world has been talking about it for a while, and glimpses seen on various wrists at GTE in January made it clear that collectors would soon be graced with a new line of watches. While their maker is familiar to collectors, the look and feel of these new masterpieces will not be.
Gone are the astronomical developments that sealed Martin Braun's reputation as an innovative movement designer. It should come as no surprise that Braun's new horological offerings will include unprecedented technical elements, particularly in the debut timepiece that will be the star of the show at Baselworld. This perpetual calendar adds a new twist to an old theme. Its manually wound movement featuring an integrated perpetual calendar (not a module) holds power for six full days, and its clearly legible large date is unusually positioned. The entirety of the design harmonizes well with the new movement—so well in fact that the waiting watch world may be well inclined to forget its need for back-to-basic, retro-styled looks that the major brands are currently pushing.
Professionals
Braun's new marque—in addition to its alter ego, movement manufacturer MHO—was founded with the financial backing of Swiss entrepreneur Antoine Meier. Soon thereafter Braun, who says, “We aim to go beyond existing boundaries and to give unconventional ideas a chance,” hired an experienced industry executive to run the new venture.
Bruno Jufer, previously employed with Maurice Lacroix, Jaquet Droz, and Zenith, was most recently a member of Carl F. Bucherer's executive management. He describes his new place of employment as “a benchmark for innovative technology in movement construction and unique watch design.” These are no light comments coming from a man of his experience, with Braun quickly adding that Antoine Martin—a name that is easily pronounced in every language and chosen to represent its two founding visionaries—was born under Jufer's professional tutelage.
No predefined routes are scheduled to be followed by this new company, which should keep collectors on their toes. Stay tuned to Worldtempus for the entire story as it unfolds.
