While big-name luxury manufacturers such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet typically enjoy the lion’s share of the attention among the greater collecting community, the various independent watch brands arguably offer an even greater level of intrigue for enthusiasts. In addition to existing in significantly smaller numbers, the watches produced by high-end independent brands also tend to offer far more unique and out-of-the-box designs, along with exclusive technologies and a certain “if you know, you know” quality, which makes them only recognizable to die-hard enthusiasts. Interest in the independent segment of the market has rapidly been on the rise, and below we take a closer look at the top 7 independent watch brands for collectors in 2024.
F.P. Journe
Founded in 1999, F.P. Journe is the eponymous brand of the watchmaker François-Paul Journe, and the renowned independent company is proudly headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. For many collectors, F.P. Journe represents the pinnacle of contemporary Swiss watchmaking, and the brand’s models are characterized by a distinct aesthetic identity that incorporates both classical and modern design elements. Despite having a history that spans merely a fraction of what is offered by other high-horology brands, F.P. Journe has experienced a meteoric rise in popularity over the course of the last decade, and the Swiss manufacturer is widely considered to be one of the godfathers of the independent watch movement.
As an exclusive high-end independent brand, F.P. Journe produces approximately 900 to 1,000 watches per year, which places its annual output significantly below many other luxury manufacturers. Consequently, global demand for F.P. Journe’s timepieces significantly exceeds their relatively limited supply, and even the brand’s entry-level models such as those from the Chronomètre Souverain and Élégante collections are virtually unattainable at a retail level. While F.P. Journe’s least expensive watches start at a five-figure price point, the brand’s more complex models like those from the Linesport and Résonance series can often sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars at a retail level, with one-of-a-kind pieces (such as those created for the Only Watch charity auction) realizing prices that can reach into the millions of dollars.
MB&F
When it comes to ultra-modern and futuristic luxury watches, MB&F is undeniably an industry leader and the independent Swiss brand has won numerous awards for its distinct and innovative timepieces. With headquarters in Geneva, MB&F was founded in 2005 by Maximilian Busser, and the name of the company stands for “Maximilian Busser and Friends,” which recognizes the various artists and watchmakers that the brand collaborates with to create its watches. MB&F produces a fairly wide assortment of different models, although all of the brand’s watches are united by a distinctly modern aesthetic that places a strong emphasis on the mechanics of the piece and an inherently futuristic design language.
At the time of writing, MB&F only produces a few hundred watches per year, and the brand’s models are divided into two main categories, which are known as the “Horological Machines” and “Legacy Machines” collections. While the MB&F Horology Machines series consists of the brand’s most unusual and avant-garde models like the Aquapod HM7 and HM6 Space Pirate, its Legacy Machines watches, such as the LM1 series and Legacy Machine Perpetual Evo models offer a more traditional overall appearance with round cases and comparatively paired-back designs. Additionally, while all of MB&F’s watches are accompanied by five-figure and six-figure prices, the independent brand also operates an affordable sister company known as M.A.D. Editions, which creates limited-edition timepieces that pair MB&F’s signature space-age identity with modified third-party movements. That said, it is important to note that M.A.D. Editions is a separate brand, and its models (which typically retail for a few thousand dollars) are not technically considered MB&F watches.
H. Moser & Cie.
Originally founded in St. Petersburg in 1828, H. Moser & Cie. was formally relaunched in 2005, and the Swiss brand currently operates from its headquarters located in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Many H. Moser & Cie. watches feature traditional designs infused with distinctly modern flourishes, and in less than two decades since its official relaunch, H. Moser & Cie. has firmly asserted itself as a major player within the independent luxury watch industry. Despite having an estimated output of approximately 3,000 timepieces per year, the Swiss independent brand is universally celebrated for the quality of its products, and H. Moser & Cie. is even the official watch sponsor for the BTW Alpine Formula One Team.
While H. Moser & Cie. produces watches that offer some of the highest levels of finishing available within the industry, the brand often embraces a slightly playful and irreverent personality that you rarely find within the high-end segment of the market. While models like the Pioneer Centre Seconds and Endeavour Tourbillon offer a fairly traditional appearance, the brand’s Streamliner integrated bracelet watch is characterized by a noticeably more modern aesthetic. In addition to being celebrated for its distinct design language, H. Moser & Cie. is also a true manufacturer, and the brand even creates its own hairsprings, which is a feat that you rarely find even among the industry’s most prestigious brands. H. Moser & Cie. watches consist of more than 95% Swiss-made components, and while the majority of the brand’s models are priced somewhere in the five-figure territory, highly complicated and gem-set pieces can often sell for over a hundred thousand dollars, both at a retail level and on the secondary market.
Greubel Forsey
Founded in 2004 by watchmakers Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey, Greubel Forsey is widely considered one of the world’s most prestigious independent watch manufacturers, and the company consistently receives high praise from collectors and enthusiasts for its innovative designs and immaculate finishing. With its headquarters in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, Greubel Forsey only produces a few hundred watches per year, and while nearly all of the brand’s models are accompanied by six-figure prices, it is not uncommon for Greubel Forsey’s most exclusive timepieces to cost more than a million dollars.
Often characterized by a highly technical and architectural aesthetic, Greubel Forsey’s watches excel from both a visual and performance standpoint, and many of the independent Swiss brand’s models like the Tourbillon Cardan and Balancier Convexe series feature multi-axis tourbillons that help promote optimal timekeeping. Rather than hiding their movements below a dial like most traditional timepieces, Greubel Forsey watches proudly showcase their mechanics, and their finely finished components are integrated with their displays to create a highly technical and cohesive appearance that exudes a sense of refinement. Unlike many luxury brands that offer an attainable point of entry into their collections, Greubel Forsey only produces extremely high-end watches, and while a six-figure investment is virtually guaranteed, you will be hard-pressed to find a higher degree of finishing anywhere within the industry.
De Bethune
Originally founded in 2002 by collector David Zanetta and fourth-generation watchmaker Denis Flageollet, the independent brand De Bethune quickly garnered a strong reputation within the collecting community due to its futuristic designs and numerous horological innovations. Along with technologies such as patented balance wheels, silicon escapements, and résonique oscillators with incredibly high frequencies up to 100 times faster than traditional mechanical movements, De Bethune also pushes the envelope when it comes to its use of materials, and you will even find De Bethune models such as the Dream Watch 5 with cases crafted entirely from solid blocks of meteorite.
In 2021, De Bethune received a major capital investment when WatchBox purchased a majority stake in the independent manufacturer, further strengthening the Geneva-based brand and laying the financial groundwork for its future. While De Bethune’s least expensive models like the DB22 and DB25 can often be purchased for a high five-figure price, the vast majority of the Swiss brand’s offerings like its popular DB28 models exist somewhere in the six-figure range, with premium models like the DB Kind of Grande Complication reaching prices of nearly half a million dollars. The rising interest in high-end independent watches has brought significant attention to De Bethune in recent years, and while the company has experienced a significant rise in popularity over the course of the last decade, De Bethune remains a boutique luxury offering with a total output of just a couple hundred watches per year.
Urwerk
Unlike most luxury watch companies that look to classical designs and antiquity for inspiration, the Swiss independent brand Urwerk embraces a decidedly modern and space-age aesthetic. Founded in 1997 by master watchmaker Felix Baumgartner and designer Martin Frei, Urwerk represents a different approach to high-end watchmaking, and the brand’s models look like they could have come straight out of a high-budget science fiction film. Despite adhering to inherently contemporary and futuristic design language, Urwerk is a proper high-horology manufacturer, and every aspect of the brand’s watches is executed to impossibly high standards with a total output of less than a couple hundred pieces per year.
Urwerk watches exist in a variety of shapes and styles, although the brand is arguably most famous for its models with wandering hour displays that use a carousel-mounted satellite system to represent the time, such as what can be observed within its popular UR-100 collection. Additionally, unlike other companies that decorate their watches with traditional finishing techniques like perlage or guilloché, Urwerk tends to prefer a highly modern and technical aesthetic with micro-blasted surfaces and DLC/PVD coatings. With that in mind, the level of attention to detail present within Urwerk’s catalog is just as high as what you get from other premium independent brands that adhere to more classically styled designs. For the most part, Urwerk’s watches cost somewhere in the five-figure range, although some of the brand’s rare and premium models like the EMC TimeHunter and UR-120 series can be priced well over a hundred thousand dollars.
Laurent Ferrier
Born in 1946, Laurent Ferrier is a third-generation Swiss watchmaker who discovered an interest in high horology at a young age due to early exposure to his father’s work. After graduating from watchmaking school, Laurent Ferrier joined Patek Philippe, where he helped develop the Gerald Genta-designed prototype Nautilus and worked his way up through the company’s ranks over the course of the next three decades, ultimately becoming the brand’s technical director. After leaving Patek Philippe in 2009, Laurent Ferrier started his own eponymous brand, and the company has quickly become one of the world’s top independent luxury watch manufacturers with its headquarters located in the Plan-les-Ouates canton of Geneva, Switzerland.
Laurent Ferrier released its first watch in 2010 and won the Grand Prix de d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) award for best men’s watch that very same year with its Galet Classic Tourbillon Double Spiral. Today, with a total annual output of just several hundred pieces, Laurent Ferrier is very much a small-scale luxury operation, although the independent brand has rapidly built itself a strong reputation within the enthusiast community due to its refined designs and superlative finishing, along with an incredibly high level of execution that exists within every aspect of its products. Additionally, compared to similar high-end independent watch companies with similarly limited annual outputs, Laurent Ferrier exists at a slightly more accessible price point, and aside from the brand’s top-of-the-line models like the Grand Sport Tourbillon, which can cross the six-figure threshold, the vast majority of its offerings can be purchased for a mid-five-figure investment.