When it comes to the watches you see online, it can often become repetitive. We decided to bring to light some great watches from companies that perhaps fly under the radar compared to the some of the other well known watches.

Schwarz-Etienne - “Ode to the 70s”

Schwarz-Etienne is a company that was founded in 1902 by Paul Arthur Schwarz and his wife Olga Etienne. Based in Neuchâtel, they were a manufacture of mechanical movements. In its more recent history, they began designing and producing their own watches under the Schwarz-Etienne name. The ‘Ode to the 70s’ was released at Baselworld in 2019. It is a 44mm white gold watch that has a very distinct, groovy multi-coloured dial design that is made of enamal with the Champlevé technique. It features a micro-rotor at 9 o’clock with ‘Peace + Love’ written on it bringing us back to a century of harmony. The watch also has a tourbillon magnificently displayed at 1 o’clock. The strap is made of blue jeans and it has a folding white gold clasp on it. This watch definitely brings to life the vibrant colours that were used in fashion during this era and shows how one can have fun with watchmaking.

Autodromo - Group B Series 2 Automatic

Autodromo was founded more recently and combines modern and affordable watchmaking with a classic car aesthetic. The watch was named after an era of motorsports from 1982-86 and pulls on many of the design and innovative elements that took place. The watch is a homage to the technical advancements in exotic materials that were made during this time period. The watch measures 39mm in diameter and is made of titanium making it extremely light and nimble similar to the cars of this era. It runs on a miyota 9015 movement. The bracelet is integrated, giving the watch extremely smooth lines to it right down to the way the buckle fits with the bracelet. It really shows the great aspects of design that came out of this period and is a relatively affordable watch.

Armin Strom - Gravity Equal Force

Armin Strom was a watchmaker from Burgdorf who released the first watch to bear the Armin Strom name at Baselworld in 1984. Serge Michel and Claude Greisler took the company over from Strom. In order to understand the innovative nature of the Gravity Equal Force watch, one must understand how force is delivered in a watch. Torque is delivered from the mainspring of a watch to the balance wheel. The force it delivers is irregular; strong torque is delivered when the mainspring is fully wound and as the power reserve wanes, the torque weakens. The difference in torque has an effect on the oscillation rate of the balance wheel. In order to deliver constant torque, Armin Strom developed a stop-watch declutch in the barrel of the mainspring to regulate the force delivered the to balance wheel, thus fixing the variability in the force. All this in a 41mm stainless steel case - how much more beautiful can it get?

Enjoy!