SJX Watches
Hands-On: Cleguer Horology Inspiration One
Mathieu Cleguer makes his debut under his own name, with the intricate Inspiration One. The relatively young movement constructor is well known in the industry but has not produced watches under his own name until now. Having worked for various movement specialists — including a stint at Akrivia — Mr Cleguer launches Cleguer Horology with a thoroughly impressive debut featuring a proprietary escapement. Initial thoughts Although the market for artisanal time-only watches has becoming increasingly crowded, sometimes a new creation comes along that genuinely stands apart. This is the case with Cleguer Horology’s Inspiration One — a watch that that is surprisingly refined and technically imaginative for a new maker’s debut. Mathieu Cleguer is representative of a new class of independent watchmakers who are not ‘watchmakers’ in the traditional sense. Instead, he is an engineer, with the training and experience to bring fundamentally new concepts to life, so long as he can find the manufacturing partners and bench watchmakers to help realise his vision. It’s a fundamentally different background than what we’re used to seeing — George Daniels, Kari Voutilainen, and François-Paul Journe started their careers doing hands-on restoration work long before they designed movements of their own. But times have changed, and the emergence of engineer-led brands is a new trend made possible by the depth of the supplier network in Switzerland. For the visual design of...
