Petermann Bédat - A Brand Profile

At Esperluxe, we eat, sleep, breathe independent watchmaking. It's what excites us most in the horology world, and the same applies for many of our clients. Of course, a big part of this passion and excitement isn't only for what already exists; it's also for the future. So when we saw Gaël Petermann and Florian Bédat's first product under their eponymous brand, Petermann Bédat, we recognized immediately that independent horology has some exciting times ahead.

The Petermann Bédat 1967 marks the official arrival of the watchmaking duo with an unusual deadbeat seconds complication. Named "1967" to memorialize the year the first quartz prototype watches were produced, the deadbeat seconds ticks from second to second like a quartz watch - a bit of comedic symbolism for the horologically inclined.

All comic relief aside though, Petermann Bédat's first timepiece is nothing short of exceptional. The deadbeat seconds mechanism on the movement shows the beautiful complexity in even the most seemingly "simple" complication. The large frosted steel bridge holding an independent going train and four-jewel anchor creates the second by second beat of the timepiece. Inspired by a watchmaking school watch created in the 1970’s, Gaël and Florian found some very notable help and mentorship from Dominique Renaud, the watchmaking master and founder of the notorious complications supplier, Renaud & Papi. The rest of the movement takes some cues from both watchmakers’ background at A. Lange & Söhne. The large barrel bridge, akin to the three-quarter plate, as well as the cock with swan neck regulator both nod to the German watchmaking aesthetics.

Overall, the hand-wound caliber 171 movement remains on the top-notch level it occupied when the young watchmakers shared their original prototype about a year ago. So where's the biggest improvement from prototype to fully finished 1967? We spoke about the progress and biggest lessons the duo has gathered from their first cycle through the product development process, and Florian Bédat said,

"The most important thing we learned is that when you make a product focus[ed] on collectors, independent watchmaking with a high price, it has to be perfect [in] every aspect. When we came to the design section [of the process], we barely put importance in the dial and focus[ed] completely on the movement because it was more in our domain as watchmaker[s]. [I]t spoke more to us, but at the end, it was a mistake from us to not put so much attention on the dial."

And voilà, the revamped dial on the 1967 brings this timepiece to a whole new level. Though it has a sector layout, paying homage to vintage Art Deco aesthetics, the sapphire chapter ring makes this an unusual example of tradition and modernity playing very well together. It feels both strongly connected to the past and the future. Semi-skeletonized, the sapphire chapter ring affords, what we find to be, a very stimulating view into the black-polished keyless works from 2 to 4 o’clock on the dial.

The truth is, we could talk about the 1967 all day, but the timepieces are only as good as their creators and everyone wants to see passion and progress. At its finest, tenacity to push beyond the status quo is the heartbeat of watchmaking independents. Though a high bar, the best deliver on this consistently. This is why many of the true collectors and horology fanatics track watchmaking growth over time - we are all eager to see brilliance. So far, Petermann Bédat is building good momentum and moving in an exciting direction. We look forward to seeing what else they have in store in the future.