The Mirage by Sylvain Berneron is one of the most sophisticated watch designs to have come down the pike in recent years, and one that gives nothing up in terms of mechanics and performance. Since 2023, Berneron has introduced one new watch every year, with the original Mirage followed by the Mirage 34mm and the Quantième Annuel. This September brings the Mirage 38 Miroir, which has a new inverted movement conceived as a mirror image of the original calibre. Gold is once again used with unreasonable thoroughness. Available in white or yellow gold, the case, hands, baseplate, bridges and even spring bars are all made from 18K gold, and can now be ordered with a matching full-gold bracelet.

Watches with inverted movements are somewhat in vogue and are difficult to get right in terms of legibility. The absence of markers on such watches is ordinarily a bugbear of mine, since the result can look like a movement with hands laid over it rather than a watch conceived as a whole. Berneron, however, has handled the problem with his customary care. The Mirage 38 Miroir is far more integrated than it first appears. The movement was smartly designed such that the sector guilloché on the barrel bridge, together with the separate train bridge, acts as markers for the hours from 11 to 6. On the left side of the dial, steps in the mainplate mark the remaining hours with the screws at either end of the balance bridge indicating 7 and 10.

The case dimensions remain unchanged at 38mm × 34mm with a thickness of just 7mm. On the wrist, the Mirage has the rather remarkable quality of seeming to melt into place. As a recap, the asymmetrical shape was derived from Fibonacci numbers. It is one of the most impressive exercises in watch design I have ever seen, and the considerable ingenuity involved is worth a closer look. In brief, two Fibonacci spirals and a series of circles with diameters that follow the same sequence determine both the case outline and the placement of the fourth wheel pivot. The result may appear arbitrary, but nothing about it is.

The watch retains all the qualities of the original, including the inverted hand stack. To reduce thickness, the hour hand is mounted above the minute hand rather than below it. Because the hour hand is shorter, the crystal can begin sloping down towards the bezel once it has cleared its tip, allowing for a slimmer case without making concessions to the movement.

To achieve this, the motion works were reconfigured and relocated to the back of the movement. In a conventional watch, the cannon pinion, which carries the minute hand, fits around the center wheel arbor, while the pipe of the hour wheel fits around the cannon pinion. This places the minute hand above the hour hand. However, in the Mirage, the cannon pinion is lengthened and made to surround the hour wheel pipe, which passes through it and projects further upwards, allowing the hour hand to sit above the minute hand.

The new Calibre 283 retains the 30 × 28mm footprint of the original Calibre 233, though it is slightly thicker at a still remarkably slim 2.83 mm. Its key specifications are otherwise identical, with a 72-hour power reserve and a 21,600vph balance with an inertia of 7 mg·cm². These figures reflect highly efficient use of the available volume in pursuit of high performance. The balance wheel is made of titanium and free-sprung with turnable weights.

The decoration differs subtly but appreciably from that of the original, specifically in the sharp internal angles now incorporated into the white gold bridges. The choice of materials and finishing across the movement is especially appealing and creates depth in a slim movement. The base plate and escape wheel bridge are in yellow gold and have a frosted finish, while the white gold bridges are CNC-engraved with a guilloché pattern that resembles radial Geneva stripes. The barrel ratchet wheel is laser engraved with a pinecone motif, another reference to the Fibonacci sequence, as the scales of a pinecone naturally form opposing spirals with numbers that are typically consecutive terms in the sequence. The balance bridge, on the other hand, is made of steel and finished with circular graining.

With all the components brought to the dial side, the Mirage 38 Miroir has a solid gold caseback, which flows into a matching gold bracelet. Designing a bracelet is tricky business at the best of times, and even more so when it must be paired with a slim, asymmetrical case. The seven-link construction gives it a suppleness particularly well suited to the slender watch. Rather than having straight end links which will leave an unsightly gap, they are shaped and fit snugly onto a step in the caseback.

The clasp is open-ended and offers tool-free adjustment across three positions. It cannot be resized easily while on the wrist, as an on-the-fly system would require a thicker mechanism. Instead, the fit is adjusted by positioning a locking bar in one of the slots in the opposing blade and securing it with a safety tab before folding the clasp shut. Its seven rows of links alternate between satin-finished and polished surfaces, with each bracelet requiring 150 hours of finishing. It is slim yet satisfyingly hefty at almost 125 grams and well worth seeking out and trying in person. It can also be retrofitted to existing Mirage 38 models in Prussian Blue and Sienna, while a bracelet for the 34mm Mirage will become available in early 2028.

Truth be told, I would not have expected an inverted movement in a shaped watch to work this well, and it would never have occurred to me that its decoration and levels might be made to serve as hour markers. It is yet another testament to Berneron’s tendency to leave nothing unconsidered. Prices begin at CHF 72,500 on leather, rising to CHF 130,250 for the full gold bracelet. The CHF 57,750 premium is formidable, amounting to almost 80 percent of the price of the watch on strap, but its solid 18k gold construction and the considerable handwork involved makes it easy to understand. Production is business as usual; the model is not a limited edition and will be produced at a rate of 36 pieces per color and per year, for a period of 10 years before incremental upgrades are made.

Tech Specs: Berneron Mirage 38 Miroir

Movement Manual winding Calibre 283; 72 hours of power reserve; 3 Hz or 21,600 vph
Functions Hours and minutes; with exposed fourth wheel serving as the seconds indicator
Case 18k yellow gold or white gold; 38mm x 34mm x 7mm, water-resistant to 30m
Strap Grained calf leather or full 18k gold bracelet
Price CHF 72’500 excl. VAT (leather strap); CHF 130’250 excl. VAT (bracelet)
Availability Produced at a rate of 36 pieces per color and per year, for a period of 10 years (series A). First deliveries will begin in October 2027