The Constructors: Meet the Wizards Behind the Most Incredible Contemporary Timepieces

David Candaux

Candaux is best known for his work at Jaeger-LeCoultre where he was responsible for the bulk of innovations related to the maison’s chiming watches, creating the Master Minute Repeater as well as the Hybris Mechanica a ̀ Grande Sonnerie. In 2011, Candaux left Jaeger-LeCoultre and established his own independent atelier in the Vallée de Joux. He continued designing movements for various brands such as MB&F and Van Cleef & Arpels before launching his personal brand, D. Candaux.

The watch to own: D. Candaux 1740 Half Hunter

D. Candaux 1740 Half Hunter
D. Candaux 1740 Half Hunter

Eric Coudray

Eric Coudray

Having spent two decades at Jaeger-LeCoultre before joining Cabestan in 2008, Coudray is responsible for creating some of the most definitive tourbillon movements of the early 2000s, including the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gyrotourbillon and the Cabestan Winch Vertical Tourbillon. Today he runs the complications workshop TEC Ebauches. His more recent breakthrough in multi-axis tourbillon design was the use of a 19th-century Potter escapement to increase its speed, which has been adapted in both the Purnell Spherion Tourbillon and the MB&F LM Thunderdome.

The watch to own: MB&F LM Thunderdome

MB&F LM Thunderdome
MB&F LM Thunderdome

Jean-François Mojon

Jean-François Mojon

Following a decade-long stint at IWC, Jean-François Mojon founded complications specialist Chronode in 2005 and has been involved in the design and development of movements for a diverse range of brands, from Hermès to MB&F to Urban Jürgensen. Indeed, he was the man behind the acclaimed Hermès Arceau L’heure de la Lune as well as the Urban Jürgensen Chronometer P8, the first wristwatch to incorporate a pivoted detent escapement.

The watch to own: Hermès Arceau L’heure de la Lune

Habring2

Habring2

In 2004, Richard and Maria Habring created their own brand, Habring2, in Austria, after several years of designing complications for prestigious brands. Habring2 is well-known for designing complex movements but presenting them in an unassuming display. Their complications include the patented Crown Operation System (COS), where the chronograph function is operable through the crown, without any pushers. The Doppel 2.0, a split seconds chronograph, was later followed by the Perpetual-Doppel, a perpetual calendar with a monopusher split seconds chronograph. Other Habring2 complications include the Foudroyante or “flying seconds” and an in-house movement with a jumping seconds mechanism.

The watch to own: The Perpetual-Doppel

The Perpetual-Doppel
The Perpetual-Doppel
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