WATCHES : Antoine Martin Independence At Its best!

ANTOINE MARTIN INDEPENDENCE AT ITS BEST!  
Posted by Swiss Watch Authority / Watch Pick - Posted 02.16.2012


STATE-OF-THE-ART SWISS WATCHMAKING HAS A NEW NAME: ANTOINE MARTIN. ALPNACH, FEBRUARY 2011. WITH HIS OWN WATCH MANUFACTURE AT THE HEART OF SWITZERLAND, IN ALPNACH NEAR  LUCERNE, MASTER WATCHMAKER MARTIN BRAUN  HAS REALIZED HIS VISION OF ESTABLISHING A NEW AND UNUSUAL BRAND FEATURING HIS OWN MOVEMENTS IN THE LUXURY WATCH SEGMENT. THE NAME OF THE NEW BRAND IS ANTOINE MARTIN, AND THE MAN APPOINTED  TO MANAGE IT IS BRUNO JUFER, WHO HAS ENORMOUS EXPERIENCE OF  THE INTERNATIONAL WATCH MARKET. THE  FIRST WATCH COLLECTION, DEVELOPED AND MANUFACTURED EXCLUSIVELY AT THE COMPANY’S MODERN WORKSHOPS IN ALPNACH WILL BE UNVEILED AT BASELWORLD 2011 FROM 24 TO 31 MARCH.


A watchmaker of exceptional talent, Martin Braun founded his company MHO AG (Manufacture Horlogère Obwalden) in 2009 with the declared aim of realizing his idea for his own watch movement, featuring the Swiss club-tooth lever escapement he had developed himself. After almost two years of intensive work, the first ANTOINE MARTIN movement developed and manufactured entirely in the company’s workshops is ready. It is a fascinating hand-wound movement with an integrated perpetual calendar, large date display and six-day power reserve. Development of the second movement, an automatic, will be completed by mid-year. Both movements, featuring unprecedented technical innovations, are absolute highlights in watch design and are available exclusively to the new brand, ANTOINE MARTIN.


AN INDUSTRY EXPERT AS CEO: The man appointed to manage the brand is CEO Bruno Jufer, who has enormous experience of the watch industry. He has previously held positions with Maurice Lacroix, Jaquet Droz, Zenith and, most recently, as a member of executive management with Carl F. Bucherer. The new ANTOINE MARTIN watch collection was born under Bruno Jufer’s management. “Our watches are a distillation of all our expertise, our desire to create something totally unusual, and our passion for exquisite design, technology and topquality materials,” he explains. The brand and its first watch collection will be presented to the industry and the general public at Baselworld, the world’s largest watch and jewellery fair.


A CLEAR VISION: According to Bruno Jufer, the brand has a clear vision. “We aim to establish ANTOINE MARTIN as a luxury watch manufacturer of worldwide renown. The brand will be a benchmark for innovative technology in movement construction and stand for unique watch design.” Master watchmaker Martin Braun and entrepreneur Antoine Meier jointly founded the manufacture and provided its name. The combination ANTOINE MARTIN has a pleasing ring and has a similar pronunciation in all the world’s major languages. The decision not to resurrect and relaunch an existing brand name was a conscious one. “What we’re doing now is making use of all the expertise we’ve amassed in the past and gearing it entirely towards the future. We aren’t drawing on a tradition established by long-gone founders: our developers and master watchmakers all live in the present and are under no obligation whatsoever to follow predefined routes. Our independence as regards technology and design is reflected in our current and future products,” says Antoine Meier.


THE BRAND VALUES: INNOVATION, UNIQUENESS AND THE SPIRIT OF THE TIMES. The force driving ANTOINE MARTIN forward is that of innovation. “We set out every day in search of new ideas and ways of incorporating them in watch movement design: we aim to go beyond existing boundaries and to give unconventional ideas a chance,” adds Martin Braun. The individuals behind ANTOINE MARTIN plan to develop state-of-the-art wristwatches featuring complications that make sense for a demanding target group: people who take an interest in technology, have high expectations as regards quality and are looking for unusual luxury products. No more. And no less. The upcoming world premiere at the Basel Watch and Jewellery Fair is sure to create a sensation. Within the industry itself but also among individuals in search of a luxury watch of a very special kind. 


ANTOINE MARTIN AT BASELWORLD 2012 WITH THEIR NEWEST COLLECTION "QUANTIÈME PERPÉTUEL AU GRAND BALANCIER“ : The case is hardly to be topped in terms of complexity. In order to showcase the wondrous interplay of polishing and satin finishing, this case was conceived to include detachable strap lugs. Thus, the recesses are polished to a high gloss, while the upper parts remain matte. The strikingly designed flanks, which lend the case its unique lines, are also individually secured. An unmistakable element of an ANTOINE MARTIN watch is certainly the crown, which is reminiscent of classic Bauhaus design. This case in its entirety is a lavish construction comprising 85 individual components.The designers at ANTOINE MARTIN have also left nothing to chance with regard to the dial. A modern interpretation of classic guilloché embellishing the centre and a completely new style of applied numerals combine to create this watch’s very striking face. The vertical placement of the perpetual calendar’s day and month displays and the leap year indication at the 12 o’clock position were only possible thanks to a few new tricks up the engineers’ sleeves.