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One of the biggest trends in the last few years has been the introduction and growth of boutique brands. These brands, like Hautlence, HD3, MB&F, Jean Dunand, Richard Mille and others work outside of the mainstream watch industry, essentially making the watches that no mainstream brand dares to make, while at the same time satisfying a growing cadre of collectors and watch lovers who just have to have that one of a kind or extremely limited piece.
Now, several of the boutique brands that were launched only a few years ago are quite well established and strong. Hautlence is already into its third series of watches and are succeeding quite well. HD3, founded by designer Jorg Hysek with two other designers, is selling strongly around the world and Hysek couldn't be happier with his new watch industry life. All these brands have introduced new product at the BaselWorld and SIHH shows, to great response.
A new company to the mix is being introduced this show season, Maitres du Temps (Masters of Time) from watch industry veteran Steven Holtzman. "For the past eight or nine years, I had wanted to start my own brand," explains Holtzman, who distributed Roger Dubuis, Jorg Hysek, Fortis and others in the USA. "The concept is to be able to work with some of the best craftsman in different areas -- watchmakers, enamellers, master developers, and so on. We have put together an initial group of about a dozen different masters and what we are doing is forming little groups of collaborations where they can all contribute to a single timepiece. Our first project is Peter Speake-Marin, Roger Dubuis and Christophe Claret. The following six projects and six groups are entirely new masters."
Sound like an interesting concept and something that should prove successful in a watch environment that is increasingly demanding the exceptional.