The Art of Movement Construction, the Beauty of Human Craftsmanship

In contemporary haute horlogerie, the emergence of a new independent watchmaker is rarely a simple event. It requires more than technical competence, an original design, or an appreciation of traditional craftsmanship. It demands the ability to bring together an entire ecosystem of specialized knowledge, transform a personal vision into a coherent mechanical object, and establish an identity capable of standing alongside some of the most respected names in modern watchmaking.

Simon Brette’s arrival on the independent scene in 2023 was remarkable precisely because he achieved this with his first commercial timepiece.

The Chronomètre Artisans was immediately recognized for its exceptional movement construction, highly elaborate finishing, unusual dial architecture, and a particularly thoughtful relationship between mechanics and decoration. Its success was not confined to specialist enthusiasm. The watch received the Horological Revelation Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in 2023, establishing Simon Brette as one of the most closely watched new names in independent horology.

Yet the significance of the Chronomètre Artisans extends beyond its award, its scarcity, or the demand it generated.

At its core, the watch is an expression of a particular philosophy: the belief that mechanical watchmaking is strongest when engineering and craftsmanship are not treated as separate disciplines, but as complementary forms of intelligence.

The movement is conceived as an architectural system. The dial becomes a field of engraving, depth, and contrast. The case is designed with an understanding of geometry and ergonomics. The finishing is not simply applied to make the watch appear luxurious. It becomes an essential part of the object’s identity.

Simon Brette is therefore not merely a watchmaker who has created a beautiful watch.

He is a movement constructor who has developed a personal vision of how a mechanical timepiece should be conceived, executed, and experienced.

Simon Brette: From Mechanical Engineering to Independent Watchmaking

Simon Brette grew up in France, surrounded by the world of craftsmanship and manual creation. His father was a carpenter, and the environment of his father’s workshop played an important role in shaping his understanding of materials, tools, precision, and the value of work performed by hand.

This early exposure is particularly meaningful when considering the Chronomètre Artisans.

The watch’s distinctive hand-engraved dial, its case construction, and the carefully considered relationship between its mechanical and decorative elements reflect an understanding of craftsmanship that extends beyond horology.

Brette initially pursued a career in mechanical design and engineering. His interest in watchmaking eventually led him to specialized studies in Switzerland, where he developed the technical foundations required for movement construction.

After graduating in 2011, he joined Chronode, the complications and innovation workshop founded by Jean-François Mojon.

Chronode is known for developing complex movements and technical solutions for established watchmaking brands. Its work requires a combination of mechanical engineering, movement architecture, prototyping, and an understanding of how an innovative concept can be transformed into a reliable production mechanism.

Brette’s time at Chronode was formative.

He worked on movement development for brands including IWC and HYT, and contributed to the development of MB&F’s Legacy Machine 1 and Legacy Machine 2. These projects exposed him to the technical and conceptual demands of contemporary independent watchmaking.

The Legacy Machine series is particularly relevant to Brette’s later work. MB&F approaches watchmaking through a highly distinctive relationship between movement architecture and visual expression. The mechanical system becomes the principal design element, rather than remaining concealed behind a conventional dial.

Brette subsequently joined MCT, where he worked as a project manager, before returning to MB&F in a project-management role.

His responsibilities involved translating movement concepts and designs into completed watches. This required coordination between designers, engineers, manufacturers, suppliers, and watchmakers.

The experience was important because it provided Brette with a comprehensive understanding of the watchmaking process.

He was not only designing components. He was learning how to manage the entire journey from concept to finished object.

By the time he decided to establish his own brand, he had spent more than a decade developing his expertise within respected watchmaking environments.

In 2021, he chose to create his own independent manufacture.

The decision was motivated by a desire for creative freedom, a commitment to traditional craftsmanship, and the opportunity to develop watches without compromising his personal vision.

The Chronomètre Artisans would become the first expression of this ambition.

The Birth of Simon Brette: Independence Without Isolation

The name Simon Brette represents a particularly interesting model of independent watchmaking.

The brand is founded upon the personal vision of its creator, but the production of its watches is not based on the assumption that every component must be manufactured by a single individual.

Instead, Brette works with a carefully selected network of specialists.

This approach is known in traditional Swiss watchmaking as établissage, a system in which a watchmaker or manufacture coordinates the work of specialized suppliers and artisans.

Historically, établissage was fundamental to the Swiss watchmaking industry. Different craftspeople were responsible for different elements of a watch, including movement components, cases, dials, hands, and finishing.

The system allowed highly specialized skills to develop while enabling the final watch to be assembled and regulated under the direction of the watchmaker or manufacture.

Brette’s approach is rooted in this tradition.

His independence does not mean isolation. It means that he retains control over the concept, movement architecture, technical decisions, design direction, and final execution, while working with specialists whose expertise allows the watch to achieve a higher level of refinement.

This distinction is important.

The Chronomètre Artisans is not the product of a single pair of hands. It is the product of a coherent vision realized through the collaboration of exceptional artisans.

The watch’s identity remains personal because the entire process is organized around Simon Brette’s creative and technical direction.

Chronomètre Artisans: The First Watch

<PRIVATE_PERSON> Brette introduced the Chronomètre Artisans in April 2023.

The initial edition was created as a subscription series of twelve watches, each produced in zirconium.

The watch immediately attracted considerable attention among collectors and specialist publications.

The GPHG awarded it the Horological Revelation Prize in November 2023, recognizing it as one of the most significant new creations in independent watchmaking.

The Chronomètre Artisans was subsequently developed into further editions, including titanium, rose gold, and stainless steel.

Although the materials and visual treatments evolved, the fundamental movement architecture remained consistent.

The Chronomètre Artisans is a time-only watch.

It displays central hours and minutes, with an offset small-seconds indication positioned at approximately 9:15.

There is no perpetual calendar, minute repeater, world time, or tourbillon.

This restraint is deliberate.

Brette’s objective is not to demonstrate technical ability through the accumulation of complications. It is to concentrate his attention on the quality of the movement, the architecture of its components, the finishing, and the relationship between the mechanism and the dial.

The watch’s complexity lies in its execution rather than its list of functions.

This is one of the reasons the Chronomètre Artisans has become such a compelling object within contemporary independent watchmaking.

The SBCA Calibre: Movement Construction as Architecture

A Mechanical System Designed from the Ground Up

At the heart of the Chronomètre Artisans is the manually wound SBCA calibre.

The movement measures approximately 33.30 mm in diameter and 7.80 mm in thickness. It operates at 18,000 vibrations per hour, equivalent to 2.5 Hz, and provides approximately 72 hours of power reserve.

The movement incorporates two mainspring barrels arranged in parallel.

Its architecture is designed around a large balance wheel, a visible gear train, and a highly symmetrical mechanical composition.

The calibre contains approximately 194 components before the dial is fitted, with the complete watch comprising approximately 226 components in the original subscription configuration.

The movement is constructed with a strong emphasis on mechanical visibility.

Rather than hiding the gear train beneath a conventional plate, the design exposes significant elements of the transmission system. This creates a relationship between the movement’s technical structure and the visual experience of the watch.

The SBCA calibre is not a conventional movement that has been skeletonized for decorative purposes.

Its architecture is designed to reveal the mechanism from the beginning.

The result is a movement that communicates its mechanical logic through its construction.

Twin Barrels: Energy and Autonomy

The SBCA calibre uses two mainspring barrels arranged in parallel.

This configuration provides approximately three days of power reserve.

The purpose of the twin-barrel arrangement is to provide a suitable energy supply for the movement while maintaining a coherent architecture and an appropriate balance between torque and autonomy.

The barrels are visually prominent, particularly in the rose-gold edition, where their finishing creates a striking contrast with the surrounding bridges.

The winding system is also a significant part of the movement’s identity.

Brette developed an innovative click system that simplifies the winding mechanism by allowing several conventional components to be replaced by a single integrated element.

This is an example of the kind of engineering decision that is easy to overlook when evaluating a watch purely through its external appearance.

The innovation is not necessarily dramatic.

It is the result of understanding a mechanical system in detail and identifying an opportunity to improve its construction.

The Large Balance Wheel: A Regulating Organ with Character

The SBCA calibre incorporates a large balance wheel with variable-inertia adjustment weights.

The balance oscillates at 2.5 Hz, a relatively low frequency compared with many modern mechanical wristwatches.

The frequency is equivalent to 18,000 vibrations per hour.

A lower frequency is not automatically more accurate or more desirable. Chronometric performance depends on the complete movement, including its balance, hairspring, escapement, energy transmission, adjustment, and operating conditions.

However, the choice of frequency contributes to the movement’s character.

The large balance wheel is visually expressive, and its slow oscillation can be observed through the openworked sections of the dial.

The variable-inertia weights allow the watchmaker to adjust the balance’s moment of inertia and regulate its rate.

The movement uses a free-sprung balance rather than a conventional regulator index.

This arrangement allows rate adjustment through the balance’s inertia weights, without altering the effective length of the hairspring through a traditional index regulator.

The hairspring incorporates a Breguet terminal curve, a historical solution intended to improve the concentric expansion and contraction of the spring during oscillation.

The use of this curve reflects Brette’s interest in traditional chronometric principles.

The balance is therefore not simply a visual feature. It is a central component of the movement’s technical identity.

The Hacking Seconds Mechanism

The SBCA calibre incorporates a stop-seconds mechanism.

When the crown is pulled into the time-setting position, the balance is stopped, allowing the wearer to set the time precisely.

The mechanism is particularly interesting because it is implemented through a distinctive S-shaped component.

This detail is visible through the movement and contributes to the calibre’s visual character.

The hacking mechanism is a reminder that the Chronomètre Artisans is not simply an artistic object.

It remains a practical mechanical wristwatch, with attention paid to the details of setting and daily operation.

The Wolf’s-Tooth Winding System

One of the more subtle features of the SBCA calibre is its wolf’s-tooth gearing.

The ratchet wheel and winding crown incorporate this traditional tooth profile, which is associated with historical precision watchmaking.

Wolf’s-tooth gearing is particularly recognizable in the work of certain classical chronometer makers and independent watchmakers who seek to preserve the visual and mechanical language of earlier horological traditions.

In the Chronomètre Artisans, the feature is not merely decorative.

It contributes to the movement’s construction and winding architecture.

The combination of wolf’s-tooth gearing, the twin barrels, the integrated click system, and the visible winding mechanism creates a movement that is mechanically distinctive without relying on an elaborate complication.

The SBCA Calibre: Principal Specifications

• Movement: SBCA, manually wound
• Diameter: approximately 33.30 mm
• Thickness: approximately 7.80 mm
• Frequency: 18,000 vibrations per hour, or 2.5 Hz
• Power reserve: approximately 72 hours
• Jewels: 24
• Mainspring barrels: two, arranged in parallel
• Balance: large, variable-inertia, free-sprung
• Hairspring: Breguet terminal curve
• Functions: central hours and minutes, offset small seconds
• Stop-seconds mechanism
• Visible gear train
• Movement components: approximately 194 before dial assembly

These specifications reveal the nature of the Chronomètre Artisans.

It is a time-only watch whose complexity is concentrated in the movement’s construction, finishing, and mechanical details.

The Dial: A Surface Transformed into an Art Form

The Chronomètre Artisans Dial as a Work of Métiers d’Art

One of the most distinctive features of the Chronomètre Artisans is its dial.

The dial is not a conventional flat surface with applied markers and printed indications.

It is a carefully constructed composition that combines hand engraving, openworked sections, contrasting materials, and mechanical visibility.

The original subscription edition used a solid 5N rose-gold dial decorated with a hand-engraved dragon-scale pattern.

The decoration was created by Yasmina Anti, a specialist in hand engraving, calligraphy, and painting.

The pattern is particularly significant because it reflects a connection between the watchmaker’s vision and the craftsman’s interpretation.

Brette did not simply select an existing decorative motif.

The dial decoration was developed specifically for the watch.

The result is a surface that combines depth, texture, and light.

The dragon-scale pattern is not a repetitive industrial engraving. It is created through a process that requires the engraver to work with precision and consistency while maintaining the individuality of the decoration.

The dial therefore becomes an expression of human craftsmanship.

Openworked Architecture

The Chronomètre Artisans dial is partially openworked.

The left side reveals elements of the gear train, including the third and fourth wheels supported by two parallel bridges.

The right side reveals the time-setting mechanism and associated components.

This asymmetrical arrangement creates a visual balance between the decorative dial and the mechanical architecture.

The movement is not fully exposed, nor is it completely hidden.

Instead, the dial acts as a carefully controlled window into the mechanism.

This is an important distinction.

Many skeletonized watches expose the movement in order to maximize visibility. Brette’s approach is more selective.

The dial retains a strong identity of its own, while the openworked areas reveal enough of the movement to create a sense of depth and mechanical complexity.

The result is an object in which the dial and movement are not separate visual elements.

They form a single composition.

The Central Hour Hand: A Classical Reference Reinterpreted

The central hour hand is inspired by the observatory-style hand associated with Urban Jürgensen and the work of Derek Pratt.

Brette reinterprets this design with a distinctive angular detail at the tip.

The hand is flame-blued and mirror-polished, creating a visual effect that changes according to the light.

The minutes are indicated through a separate arrangement, allowing the dial to maintain a strong sense of balance despite its asymmetrical architecture.

The hands are particularly important because they establish a connection between the watch’s contemporary design and the historical traditions of precision watchmaking.

The Chronomètre Artisans is not an exercise in nostalgia.

It draws upon historical forms and reinterprets them through a modern mechanical and aesthetic language.

Yasmina Anti: The Human Hand Behind the Dial

The Chronomètre Artisans would not have its distinctive identity without the work of Yasmina Anti.

Her contribution is particularly important because the dial is one of the most visually recognizable elements of the watch.

Anti has worked in engraving, calligraphy, and painting for more than twenty-five years.

For the Chronomètre Artisans, she created the engraved signature, the numerals, and the dial decoration.

The dragon-scale motif was developed specifically for the subscription edition.

This work requires an exceptional level of precision.

The engraver must create a consistent decorative pattern while maintaining the depth and texture of each individual element.

The decoration must also remain compatible with the dial’s geometry, the openworked sections, the applied components, and the overall visual balance of the watch.

This is not simply the application of ornament.

It is the creation of a surface that becomes an essential part of the watch’s identity.

The collaboration between Simon Brette and Yasmina Anti illustrates a broader principle of independent watchmaking.

A watch can be mechanically conceived by one person while its final expression depends on the specialized knowledge of another.

The value of the collaboration lies in the fact that each craft contributes to a coherent whole.

The Chronomètre Artisans is particularly notable for.