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Plan-les-Ouates

Geneva industrial suburb; modern manufactures of Patek Philippe (1996), Vacheron Constantin (2005), Piaget (2001), Rolex case-making.

Hands On: Grand Seiko Spring Drive UFA Ushio 300 Diver SLGB025 and SLGB023 SJX Watches
Grand Seiko Spring Drive UFA Ushio Apr 27, 2026

Hands On: Grand Seiko Spring Drive UFA Ushio 300 Diver SLGB025 and SLGB023

At Watches & Wonders, Grand Seiko launched its best dive watch yet, the Evolution 9 Spring Drive Ultra Fine Accuracy (UFA) Ushio 300 Diver SLGB023 and SLGB025. As a product, it is both shocking and obvious, combining everything Grand Seiko collectors have longed for: a moderately sized case, an improved bracelet and clasp, and a 300 m depth rating. It all comes packaged in a titanium case and an enthusiast-favourite no-date format, and retails for slightly less than Grand Seiko’s existing premium dive watches. It’s a strong statement from a brand looking to gain traction in the luxury sports watch segment. Initial thoughts Seiko’s dive watch pedigree is one of the strongest in the industry, from their iconic saturation divers of the late 1960s to the gone but not forgotten SKX. Yet the flagship Grand Seiko brand has struggled to field a compelling dive watch. Bulky cases, strange proportions, odd depth ratings, and clumsy clasps held back past offerings. Fortunately, Grand Seiko has finally overcome these shortcomings and can finally boast a highly competitive diver’s watch. I made a wishlist for Watches & Wonders 2026 not long ago, at the top of which was my vision for a Grand Seiko UFA Spring Drive diver. To be clear, I’d already known a dive watch using the new cal. 9RBx family of Spring Drive movements was coming based on trademark filings, but I wished for something that many Grand Seiko collectors have wanted for years – a moderately sized dive watch, wit...

First Look – Chapter Two in the Revival of L. Leroy with the New Elyor Flying Tourbillon Monochrome
Apr 24, 2026

First Look – Chapter Two in the Revival of L. Leroy with the New Elyor Flying Tourbillon

Parisian watchmaking maison L. Leroy was founded by Basile-Charles Le Roy in 1785 and became the official watchmaker to King Louis XVI and later to Napoleon I and Queen Victoria. Expanding operations to Switzerland, L. Leroy produced marine chronometers for the French Navy and amassed 384 gold medals in chronometry competitions. Iconic masterpieces like the […]

First Look – The New Panerai Luminor PAM01735 and Forged Titanium PAM01629 Monochrome
Panerai Luminor PAM01735 Apr 17, 2026

First Look – The New Panerai Luminor PAM01735 and Forged Titanium PAM01629

The Luminor is in the spotlight this year with several vintage-inspired novelties that celebrate Panerai’s legacy as a supplier of precision instruments to the Italian Navy. Following the first generation of combat diver’s watches in the mid-1930s, glowing with radium-based Radiomir, Panerai developed a less harmful luminous substance known as Luminor, which would eventually denote […]

Watches & Wonders: Grand Seiko’s Nature-Inspired SBGZ011 Spring Drive Limited Release Shows The Shape of Water Worn & Wound
Grand Seiko s Nature-Inspired SBGZ011 Spring Apr 16, 2026

Watches & Wonders: Grand Seiko’s Nature-Inspired SBGZ011 Spring Drive Limited Release Shows The Shape of Water

Deep in the heart of a primeval forest lies a waterfall whose fresh spring waters are unspoilt by man, and whose mystic beauty is an endless source of inspiration - for the band of artisans who quietly engrave by hand some of the most intricately detailed watches in the world. It’s not a Studio Ghibli movie: the Tateshina Falls are real, located in central Japan’s Nagano Prefecture, which is also home to Grand Seiko’s Micro Artist Studio. And at Watches and Wonders 2026, a limited release pays tribute to this serene locale with a Spring Drive model that, according to Grand Seiko, “conveys time’s eternal flow in nature.”  The Masterpiece Collection SBGZ011 takes Grand Seiko’s sharp-edged 44GS case - rendered in platinum - and imbues it with hand-engraved lines from lug to lug, around the bezel, and entirely within the dial (save for a thin minute ring). These dashed silver lines flow in colliding swirls, bursting forth and blending into each other with seeming chaos; Grand Seiko suggests that they represent spring water bubbling forth from below the earth’s surface. On the bezel and the case’s flat surfaces and intersecting ridges, the patterns appear even more dramatic, resembling petals of a monochromatic flower. And on the dial, the white-gold hands and markers provide smooth, brilliant contrast, while the Grand Seiko and Spring Drive logos are carved and inset in their own boxes.  The manual-winding Caliber 9R02 is Grand Seiko’s thinnest Spri...

First Look – Cartier Unveils a Trilogy of Santos-Dumont with Precious Metal Bracelets Monochrome
Cartier Unveils Apr 16, 2026

First Look – Cartier Unveils a Trilogy of Santos-Dumont with Precious Metal Bracelets

As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. In 1904, Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont approached Louis Cartier, complaining that pocket watches were impractical in flight – he needed both hands on the controls. Louis Cartier’s solution not only marked the birth of an icon but is also widely considered the first purpose-built men’s wristwatch. […]

First Look – The Chopard L.U.C XPS Prussian Blue in Lucent Steel Monochrome
Chopard L.U.C XPS Prussian Blue Apr 15, 2026

First Look – The Chopard L.U.C XPS Prussian Blue in Lucent Steel

Chopard celebrates 30 years since the founding of its Manufacture in Fleurier, and the L.U.C collection, named after Louis-Ulysse Chopard, continues to highlight the brand’s most technical and refined timepieces. Among the anniversary releases, the new L.U.C XPS Prussian Blue presents an evolution of the sector-dial model in green introduced in 2024. This new edition […]

First Look – The New, Compact 36mm A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Annual Calendar Monochrome
A. Lange & Sohne Apr 15, 2026

First Look – The New, Compact 36mm A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Annual Calendar

The Saxonia Annual Calendar is a relatively young but important member of A. Lange & Söhne’s repertoire. Launched in 2010 as an “everyday” complication, the annual calendar offers a more practical, slightly less complex alternative to the brand’s high-end perpetual calendars while maintaining Lange’s classic Saxon aesthetics. Initially available in 38.5mm cases – but discontinued […]

Watches & Wonders: The Chopard L.U.C. 1860 Chronometer, Like the Original from Three Decades Past, May be Worth The Wait Worn & Wound
Chopard L.U.C 1860 Chronometer Like Apr 14, 2026

Watches & Wonders: The Chopard L.U.C. 1860 Chronometer, Like the Original from Three Decades Past, May be Worth The Wait

Louis-Ulysse Chopard founded his eponymous watch company in 1860, but it took over 100 years for the brand to truly come into its own. In 1996, and after three years of development, the company debuted its own in-house movement. The wait seemed to have been worth it. The L.U.C 96.01-L immediately drew acclaim for beautiful finishing, embracing the microrotor, and COSC certification. It, and the subsequent L.U.C. 1860 dress watch, marked a sea change from reliance on third parties to true independence, arriving at a resurgence in fine mechanical watchmaking. Thirty years later, the L.U.C. family has expanded into dozens of variants, complications, and movements. But at 2026’s Watches & Wonders, Chopard pays tribute to 30 years of in-house manufacturing with a continuation of that vaunted original. The L.U.C 1860 Chronometer uses the same dial and microrotor movement from 1996, albeit with their own upgrades and unique design tweaks.  The intricate white-gold dial features guilloché finishing in the center, emanating in scalloped waves from the Chopard logo and nameplate. The concentric circles are separated by thin bands of white gold, and delicate spear-shaped markers point inward, toward the dauphine hands. At 6 o’clock, the small-seconds dial echoes the twin-circle pattern of the overall dial, and Chopard specifically mentions the lack of a date window “to preserve purity.”  Where the first L.U.C. 1860 had a white dial with gold accents, this Chronometer wears...

Patek Philippe’s New Celestial Blasts Off SJX Watches
Patek Philippe s New Celestial Blasts Apr 14, 2026

Patek Philippe’s New Celestial Blasts Off

Patek Philippe updates its Celestial line for the third time, following the addition of a pointer date in 2012 this generation adds the time of sunrise and sunset, and a daring new design for the formidable, space-age 47 mm lug-less case. It also introduces a novel way to account for the transition between summer and winter time, solving a significant shortcoming of astronomical watches for users in Europe and the Americas. Initial thoughts I’ve long thought that Patek Philippe’s greatest strength, other than its massive industrial investments, was its remarkable design diversity. Today brands seem to pursue a unified design language across all of their watches. And while this result is a strong visual identity for the brand, it is extremely limiting. Patek Philippe has no such limits, and the brand has about two dozen different case styles in the current collection, and hundreds in its back catalog. While this leads to its fair share of design misses, at least to my sensibilities, it can also lead to striking successes. I’m sure many will disagree, but I see the new Celestial as the latter. A wristwatch with the time of sunrise and sunset is long overdue from Patek Philippe, and this watch adds the ability to adjust those indications to account for daylight savings time. This addresses the complication’s greatest flaw, but as it is pre-programmed for Geneva, it is somewhat moot if you live at very different latitudes, a flaw the planisphere also shares. Historical...

Patek Philippe’s Celestial Ref. 6105G Blasts Off SJX Watches
Patek Philippe s Celestial Ref 6105G Apr 14, 2026

Patek Philippe’s Celestial Ref. 6105G Blasts Off

Patek Philippe updates its star chart “Grand Complication” for the third time with the Celestial Sunrise Sunset Ref. 6105G. The ref. 6105G adds the time of sunrise and sunset – cleverly integrated into the date scale – and a daring new design with a formidable, space-age lug-less case in white gold that’s 47 mm across. The ref. 6105G also introduces a novel way to account for the transition between summer and winter time, adding a corrector that shifts the sunrise and sunset scales, solving a significant shortcoming of astronomical watches for users in Europe and the Americas. Initial thoughts I’ve long thought that Patek Philippe’s greatest strength, other than its massive industrial investments, was its remarkable design diversity. Today brands seem to pursue a unified design language across all of their watches. And while this result is a strong visual identity for the brand, it is extremely limiting. Patek Philippe has no such limits, and the brand has about two dozen different case styles in the current collection, and hundreds in its back catalog. While this leads to its fair share of design misses, at least to my sensibilities, it can also lead to striking successes. I’m sure many will disagree, but I see the new Celestial as the latter. A wristwatch with the time of sunrise and sunset is long overdue from Patek Philippe, and this watch adds the ability to adjust those indications to account for daylight savings time. This addresses the complication...

In-Depth – The Grand Seiko Spring Drive UFA Ushio 300 Diver, GS’ Smallest and Most Accurate Dive Watch Monochrome
Grand Seiko Spring Drive UFA Ushio Apr 13, 2026

In-Depth – The Grand Seiko Spring Drive UFA Ushio 300 Diver, GS’ Smallest and Most Accurate Dive Watch

While dive watches are fundamental to Seiko’s Prospex collection, the concept is slightly less natural for Grand Seiko. At first sight… Indeed, the higher-end brand of Seiko Corporation has been active in the field of purpose-built diving instruments since 2008, delivering impressive models, whether in terms of specs, looks or, unfortunately, size. One of the main complaints heard […]

The New Bianchet UltraFino Maserati - One Of The Better Car-Watch Collaborations I’ve Seen In A While Fratello
Apr 8, 2026

The New Bianchet UltraFino Maserati - One Of The Better Car-Watch Collaborations I’ve Seen In A While

Honestly, I usually take car-watch collaborations with a pinch of salt. Too often, they feel like the easy and somewhat lazy option. Add a logo, pull in a color, mention “performance” a few times, and somehow, that’s meant to be a job well done. While that may be enough for the marketing side of things, […] Visit The New Bianchet UltraFino Maserati - One Of The Better Car-Watch Collaborations I’ve Seen In A While to read the full article.

The Nivada Grenchen Antarctic Erotic - A Classic With A Secret Fratello
Nivada Grenchen Antarctic Erotic - Apr 1, 2026

The Nivada Grenchen Antarctic Erotic - A Classic With A Secret

Nivada Grenchen often blends heritage with irreverence, but its latest release surprises even more. Based on the Antarctic platform, the new Antarctic Erotic 38mm updates a familiar design with something completely different, hidden from plain sight. At first glance, it’s a classic, everyday watch. Underneath, though, a playful, subversive detail is revealed only to the […] Visit The Nivada Grenchen Antarctic Erotic - A Classic With A Secret to read the full article.

A Fresh Palette for the Breguet Tradition SJX Watches
Breguet Tradition Breguet refreshes Mar 31, 2026

A Fresh Palette for the Breguet Tradition

Breguet refreshes its Tradition collection for 2026 with new colourways and expanded grand feu enamel dial options across five references, building on the momentum of the brand’s 250th anniversary year. The line-up spans four automatic variants of the Seconde Rétrograde and one manually wound GMT, all underpinned by the architecturally distinctive cal. 505 that has defined the collection since its 2005 introduction. Initial thoughts Inspired by an original Abraham-Louis Breguet’s montres à tact pocket watch from the late 18th century, the Tradition collection, released in 2005, was Breguet’s first major new model family under Swatch Group management. The central barrel placement and unusual gear train arrangement perfectly captures the essence of the original pocket watches, and this aspect of the design remains as recognisable and distinctive as ever, despite the a growing number of independent watchmakers that have introduced watches with a similar layout. In fact, the cal. 505 is so successful as a contemporary interpretation of Breguet’s work that a variation of it was adapted for use in the award-winning Classique Souscription 2025 introduced last year. For 2026, the Tradition collection has been slightly refreshed with modern colourways and more grand feu enamel dial options. The five new models include four automatic variants of the Seconde Rétrograde, one of which features a diamond-set bezel, and one manually wound reference with a dual-time complicatio...

Celebrating The Spirit Of The 1920s With The Semicolon Anachron Jump-Hour Watch Fratello
Christopher Ward C1 Jump Hour Mk Mar 30, 2026

Celebrating The Spirit Of The 1920s With The Semicolon Anachron Jump-Hour Watch

It is safe to say that the past 12 months have been all about the renaissance of the jump-hour watch. With the Cartier Tank à Guichets, Audemars Piguet Neo Frame Jumping Hour, Christopher Ward C1 Jump Hour Mk V, Maen × Nico Leonard Jump Hour, and Louis Vuitton Tambour Convergence Pink Gold, we have seen […] Visit Celebrating The Spirit Of The 1920s With The Semicolon Anachron Jump-Hour Watch to read the full article.

Introducing the Venezianico Nereide Verdigris Worn & Wound
Venezianico Nereide Verdigris Mar 23, 2026

Introducing the Venezianico Nereide Verdigris

The beauty of Venice lies in the fact that, despite the precipitous threat of falling into the ocean and being permanently patinated by tourists, pigeons, and the brackish lagoon water of the canals, there is an elegance to it that can’t easily be matched. The irony is not lost on me, dear Reader, to write about the merits of growing older when my forehead is currently pinpricked with 20 milliliters of Botox. And yet, I don’t have the beauty of Venice – nor the self-assuredness of La Serenissima when it comes to aging gracefully. But, luckily for us, Venezianico has developed a watch to honor the changing beauty of the city through its latest watch, the Nereide Verdigris. The idea behind the watch comes from the way Venice evolves over time. Salt air, humidity, and lagoon water gradually transform the city’s metal surfaces, giving copper and brass the green and turquoise tones that have become part of Venice’s visual character. With the Nereide Verdigris, Venezianico brings that same effect to the dial. Each one begins with a brass base that goes through a controlled oxidation process to develop its verdigris patina. Because the metal reacts differently depending on small shifts in temperature, oxygen, and surface conditions, no two dials come out exactly the same. The end result is a heavily textured surface that shifts between green, turquoise, and blue depending on the light, revealing multicolored tones across the dial that is quite bellissima, if you ask me....

In Depth: Breguet No. 160 Montre d’Or SJX Watches
Breguet No 160 Montre d’Or Mar 23, 2026

In Depth: Breguet No. 160 Montre d’Or

Abraham-Louis Breguet’s No. 160 exists first as legend. The standard account describes a secret commission for Marie Antoinette, incomplete when she faced execution, requiring forty-four years to finish. Theft, recovery, mystery, and royal romance: the narrative contains all the necessary elements of mythology. Yet this fame is recent. From its 1783 inscription in the order books through the 19th century, the watch remained largely unknown outside the Breguet workshop but for a few private collectors. Only when Sir David Lionel Salomons acquired it, nearly 140 years later, did the wider horological world learn of its existence, thanks to his careful cataloging and the watch’s public exhibition in 1923. Salomons gave credit to Breguet’s mastery on a scale previously unrecognised, establishing No. 160 as the supreme example of complicated watchmaking and the prime masterpiece of its maker. Sir David Lionel Salomons’s 1921 work on Breguet and the collection he assembled seems to be the first source to mention Marie Antoinette. Image SJX composite – Sotheby’s Subsequently, many sources have reported that the commission demanded every known watch complication and that no time constraints or limits were placed on its design or cost. The workshop records, however, tell a story that differs from both obscurity and legend. No. 160 appears in the 1783 order books as three words: “No. 160, Montre d’Or.” The entry stands alone, anonymous, unexplained and without cont...

SJX Podcast: Watches & Wonders Wish List SJX Watches
Girard-Perregaux Mar 20, 2026

SJX Podcast: Watches & Wonders Wish List

Watches & Wonders is less than a month away, so for episode 32 of the SJX Podcast we’re talking about what we’d want to see from some of the major brands like Patek Philippe, Grand Seiko, and Tudor. It’s always difficult to make predictions, and the best releases from every year are usually a surprise, but Andrew put together a few picks that we believe would be crowd-pleasers, were they to be released. SJX and Brandon also discuss the latest minute repeater from Girard-Perregaux, and SJX’s own sold-out collaboration with Habring²: the Chrono-Felix Medicus chronograph. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.  

Seiko’s New Marinemaster Gives the People What They Want SJX Watches
Seiko s New Marinemaster Gives Mar 18, 2026

Seiko’s New Marinemaster Gives the People What They Want

Less than two years out from its 2024 relaunch, Seiko refreshes its flagship dive watch with the new Prospex Marinemaster 1968 Heritage Diver’s Watch HBF001 and its limited edition counterpart, the HBF002. Both models feature a ceramic bezel, longer power reserve, better promised timekeeping, and a much-requested tool-less micro-adjust clasp - tangible upgrades that justify a near 25% premium over the previous generation. The regular production model launches alongside a more flamboyant 1,000-piece limited edition designed in collaboration with the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). Initial thoughts Seiko relaunched the Marinemaster brand three years ago with an unexpected trio of compact skin-divers. This was followed by a return to form the following year with a pair of 300 m Hi-Beat Diver-inspired models that dispensed with the “Professional” branding, front-loading case construction, and helium impermeability that distinguished Marinemasters of the past, but offered a more compact 42 mm size and a much improved bracelet. However, it still used the same stamped clasp body found on entry-level divers, just with an upgraded swing arm, and relied on the aging cal. 8L35 movement while Seiko rolled out the improved cal. 8L45 in the similarly priced King Seiko Vanac. The new HBF001 solves all of those problems, and introduces only a few new ones. Given the similarity to the SLA079, Seiko clearly felt the need for unambiguous differentiatio...

First Look – The new Fortis Marinemaster M-44 DLC Gravity Black and Black Resin Monochrome
Fortis Marinemaster M-44 DLC Gravity Mar 13, 2026

First Look – The new Fortis Marinemaster M-44 DLC Gravity Black and Black Resin

First introduced in 2021 alongside its smaller, less pro-oriented M-40 version, the Fortis Marinemaster M-44 was part of the new collections to mark the renewal of the brand, and yet it carried a name with historical importance. For once, not a watch linked to pilots, the Marinemaster (specifically the rugged, high-performance M-44 versions) is more […]

TAG Heuer Names Béatrice Goasglas CEO SJX Watches
TAG Heuer Names Béatrice Goasglas CEO Mar 13, 2026

TAG Heuer Names Béatrice Goasglas CEO

After the unexpected departure of its last leader at the start of the year, TAG Heuer has announced Béatrice Goasglas will take over as chief executive officer starting May 1, 2026. Currently president of the brand’s Americas division, Ms Goasglas’ background lies in digital marketing and client experience. She joined TAG Heuer in 2018 as vice-president of Digital & Client Experience, before rising to head the Asia-Pacific market. Notably, she worked with Frederic Arnault on Connected smartwatch during her stint at TAG Heuer headquarters, at the time one of the brand’s most important projects. Mr Arnault rose to chief executive of TAG Heuer, then moved on to head the LVMH Watch Division. He is now leading “quiet luxury” label Loro Piana, although Mr Arnault is known to retain an eye on the watch brand he once led. Prior to that, she held digital marketing and client-relations roles in fashion and cosmetics. While this background e-commerce and client relationships is an unusual background for the chief of a mainstream watch brand, it is perhaps useful and fitting for the luxury watch industry in the 21st century, and also revealing as to where TAG Heuer wants to go.  

Sainte-Croix: The Beating Heart of Mechanical Art SJX Watches
De Bethune explains Denis Flageollet Mar 13, 2026

Sainte-Croix: The Beating Heart of Mechanical Art

The Jura balcony awakens under the March sun. Between sky and mountains, the village of Sainte-Croix and the l’Institut de la Mécanique d’Art (IMA), seem suspended in silence. Yet behind this tranquillity lies one of the most remarkable centres of mechanical art, also known as the automata, for the institute is home to the Association Mec-Art pour la Mécanique d’Art, which is also open to the public to further its mission to promote the craft of automata. “Watchmaking mechanics is industry – serial production. Mechanical art is about unique pieces, for which we use entirely different methods. Some brands focus exclusively on one or the other, while others operate at the crossroads of both – like De Bethune,” explains Denis Flageollet, the cofounder of De Bethune who founded the Association Mec-Art in 2016 together with François Junod and Nicolas Court, both automaton makers. IMA occupies the building originally constructed by Reuge in 2016, which was acquired by De Bethune in 2023. The building now hosts mechanical art activities for Reuge, Van Cleef & Arpels and De Bethune, as well as the Association Mec-Art. “Mechanical art depends on an ecosystem of artisans,” he adds, pointing to the uniquely concentrated geography of Sainte-Croix, “the only town where all these skills coexist.” François Junod agrees, “We live in a natural incubator. Here, everyone talks about mechanical art.” It is precisely for this reason that when Junod was invited to ...

Grand Seiko Teams Up With Shohei Ohtani For Global Partnership Teddy Baldassarre
Grand Seiko Mar 12, 2026

Grand Seiko Teams Up With Shohei Ohtani For Global Partnership

Grand Seiko is announcing a new global partnership with Major League Baseball player Shohei Ohtani this week through something called the Grand Moments Project, which kicks off April 1, 2026. Ohtani, who is a star pitcher (and designated hitter) for the defending world series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, not to mention the reigning National League MVP, hails from the Iwate prefecture of Japan, which is also home to Grand Seiko’s Studio Shizukuishi. The partnership represents a mutual respect, and shared philosophy around the value of, and approach to, time.  The Grand Moments Project encapsulates this approach to every moment with intention and sincerity, and over time, the accumulation of those moments “refines the quality of time itself”. This is a partnership that seeks to acknowledge the methodical approach to every action we take, and celebrate the process itself over just the end result. Shohei Ohtani represents this ethos with an astonishing career made through a pursuit of excellency moment by moment. The 31 year old phenom comments “To carry forward a part of Grand Seiko’s heritage, shaped through decades of dedication, is something I deeply value.”  Ohtani’s unique evolution within the sport of baseball is an apt corollary to Grand Seiko’s approach to watchmaking. Neither represents a straightforward journey, with Ohtani choosing to embrace his talents on both sides of the field as both a pitcher and a hitter while working his way from the Hokk...

Fratello Talks: New and Pre-Owned Watches We’d Buy For €5,000 Fratello
Mar 5, 2026

Fratello Talks: New and Pre-Owned Watches We’d Buy For €5,000

What watch would you buy with €5k in your pocket today? And what if you could spend no less than €4,500? That’s the hypothetical dilemma we’re tackling on Fratello Talks today. RJ, Daan, and Nacho have taken the challenge, and in this week’s episode, they go through their picks. They were shocked at how few […] Visit Fratello Talks: New and Pre-Owned Watches We’d Buy For €5,000 to read the full article.

Hats-Off to Hugo Rittener’s Le Majordome SJX Watches
Mar 2, 2026

Hats-Off to Hugo Rittener’s Le Majordome

The niche market for modern automatons just a little less tiny with Hugo Rittener’s Le Majordome, a mechanical butler that pop ups and greet the onlooker on demand. In the tradition of historical automatons, Le Majordome is entirely mechanical and driven by complex clockwork, and made entirely by hand. Initial thoughts Hugo Rittener is a young automaton maker from the Vaud region of Switzerland. Having cut his teeth working with François Junod, one of the most celebrated talents in the field, Mr Rittener has now gone into business for himself. Against this backdrop, Le Majordome (“the butler” in English) represents a foundational release. Compared to the timepieces we sometimes call mechanical art, this tabletop automaton serves no actual utility; there’s no time-telling and no complication other than the bronze figure itself. In terms of pure mechanical art, this is as artful as it gets. Having taken over 1,000 hours of work, from design to finishing, the (Le) Majordome is a mechanical animation of a bronze-sculpted and gold-plated butler figure, which raises his top hat towards those who actuate the mechanism.   Mr Rittener poetically describes the Majordome as an automate d’accueil - meaning “welcoming automaton”. The mechanical butler does in fact greet its audience, so it could be used as an extravagant welcoming party trick. Hugo Rittener will make 10 pieces of the Majordome in total, over the course of some years. Given the highly artisanal process...