Five independent Swiss watch maisons land in Manila

Founded in 2017 by Rodolfo and Emmanuelle Festa-Bianchet, Bianchet is a Manufacture that have dedicated themselves to the tourbillon. Any watchmaker prepared to devote themselves to a romantic complication is certainly deserving of attention and respect. Indeed, their fascination with the tourbillon is due to their appreciation for its beauty and architecture. Every watch and movement is developed, hand-finished and assembled entirely in-house from their workshops at La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Perhaps owing to Rodolfo's previous work in a fintech company, each timepiece is guided by the Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci spiral, creating an interesting mathematical element for its wearers to appreciate. This approach is best expressed by the UltraFino collection's UT01 calibre, an automatic flying tourbillon 3.85mm thick with a tourbillon cage 2.6mm high. It boasts a 60-hour power reserve that is capable of resisting shocks of up to 5,000G. 

"When we started the brand, I thought that if you [create] a product that based on the golden ratio, it has a [greater] possibility to become timeless; it's proportionate, harmonic," Rodolfo remarked.

Cvstos is taken from the Latin word for "guardian", a fittingly audacious name for the manufacture, as it has the savoir-faire to back it up. Sassoun Sirmakes and designer Antonio Terranova founded the brand in Geneva in 2005, determined to bring a sporty, futuristic aesthetic and dimension to watchmaking. Their partnership with tennis player Karen Khachanov produced the Challenge K Khachanov, named in his honour.

Their signature piece is the tonneau-shaped Challenge, a fully skeletonised watch that allows one to fully appreciate the movement within. It is constructed from carbon fibre, which allows it to weigh only 50 grams, an almost impossibly light wear on the wrist. The pattern present on the case is unique to each timepiece (which is a result of the layered carbon); when coupled with its overall darker tone and military-styled engineering, it makes for a rather impressionable watch.

See more: Vacheron Constantin celebrates the 30th anniversary of its Overseas collection with a new limited-edition model

Speake Marin was founded in 2002 by an English watchmaker in Geneva; 10 years later, it was acquired by Christelle Rosnoblet, who leads it today as its CEO and president. Rosnoblet is passionate about art and watchmaking—passions that have proven to be useful in guiding the brand forward. Two pillars have shaped the Manufacture since: creating movements from scratch and a constantly refreshing its style (without abandoning its core design codes).

Their timepieces are designed, produced, tested and assembled at its workshop, the Le Cercle des Horlogers in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Their independence has given them considerable freedom to experiment and innovate, leading to their 13 in-house calibres. Their signature case is the drum-shaped Piccadilly (redesigned in 2017 by famed designer Eric Giroud), which is present throughout their catalogue such as the Dual Time Terracotta Titanium. In 2024, the house introduced the SMA07 skeleton calibre, which is 3.25mm thin while vibrating at 36,000vph. It is viewable through the Ripples Skeleton, which itself has been engineered to be remarkably slim to accommodate such a lithe movement.

Breva derives its name from the warm, southern wind that shapes the microclimate  around Lake Como in Lombardy, Italy. In 2013, they presented the Génie 01, a wristwatch with a mechanical altimeter and barometer, taking the definition of a "tool watch" as a personal challenge. This mix of Italian elegance, Swiss precision and utility is what ultimately defines the watchmaker.

CEO and owner Julien Haenny has leveraged his two decades of experience in the watch industry to produce their latest creation, the Segreto di Lario. The movement is based on the Chronode C101 calibre, designed by another revered watchmaker, Jean-François Mojon. It runs two barrels for seven days of power and shows that reserve in two parts: six days on one retrograde indicator and the final day on another, alongside retrograde seconds. The hidden seventh day is, in Breva's words, a secret moment to embrace "la dolce vita", or the "good life."

A personal favourite, Frederic Jouvenot is the eponymous house of watchmaker Frédéric Jouvenot, who has cut a path through the world of horology, first as a movement developer in Minerva then as a co-founder of Concepto. Unlike traditional watchmaking, Jouvenot comes up with a visual idea first, then all the moving pieces are built around it. 

This is perhaps best expressed by the Helios Tradition, a mechanical sundial in a 39mm case. Every hour, the twelve hand-finished rays rotate 180 degrees in sequence. This is magnitudes more captivating to see in person, as the resulting interplay between light and shade completely change how the dial looks depending on the current time of day. This complex structure is thanks to more than 100 components, with an in-house calibre with double that number at 200. These timepieces are made-to-order from the Manufacture, available in a wide range of natural stone dials such as malachite, tiger's eye, turquoise, mother of pearl and more. It is certain to be a conversation starter, and an incredibly impressive feat of engineering.

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