A whirlwind weekend in Geneva of auction sales, Only Watch and the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève has confirmed the rise and rise of independent watchmakers.
He has put his name to some five hundred watches in total, and currently produces around twenty a year. Vianney Halter, winner of the 2016 Prix Gaïa, uses mechanical science to further his retro-futuristic vision of watchmaking. The kind that could run on steam!
For Vianney Halter, in Paris for Belles Montres, the tourbillon is an exercise in style that makes no contribution to precision, but beautifully demonstrates the watchmaker's savoir-faire.
Vianney Halter, founder of Janvier Manufacture, came to this year's Baselworld with no new products but the same deep-seated conviction that watch "creators" should have their say, even if people don't like what they hear. Interview.
The Salon de la Haute Horlogerie in January paved the way. Now Baselworld follows suit as watchmakers lean towards simpler models, competitively-priced collections at entry level, and a heart-to-heart with the past.
Step over the threshold at Manufacture Janvier in Sainte-Croix and you immediately understand that this is a temple to watchmaking in the most traditional sense, although not without some concessions to modern technology.