Patrick_y introduces Fleming Watches, a new ultra-high-horology brand founded by collector Thomas Fleming. This article explores how Fleming, a passionate enthusiast, assembled a 'fantasy team' of industry luminaries like Kari Voutilainen's dial company and Jean-François Mojon for movement design, turning a collector's dream into a tangible reality. Patrick_y's initial post delves into the brand's philosophy and the meticulous craftsmanship behind its inaugural timepieces, setting the stage for a vibrant community discussion on its merits and market position.
Let's say you're very passionate about watches. It's like your all consuming hobby. Would you consider starting a watch brand?
Well... Plenty of people play Fantasy Football - in America this is a game where you pick certain players to be members of your American Football team. Are you soccer inclined? The same concept can be applied to any other sport. If you were starting a watch brand, whom would you choose to be your "Fantasy" team?
Enter Thomas Fleming. Fleming, a young watch collector who really caught the watch collecting virus badly (I'd say he has a serious condition that's worse than most terminal illnesses) decided to make his own watch. Hailing from Virginia, USA, Mr. Fleming is not exactly in a watch-making area - and thus he flew to Switzerland to handpick team members for his Fantasy Football team. I'm pleased to say, today, that Fantasy has become reality - and boy, did he choose a great team.
Imagine if you had an unlimited budget and could choose anyone to help you make your dream watch - whom would you choose? The only thing Fleming could not do was go back in time and bring Breguet back to life and have Breguet in his company - but short of doing the impossible, he certainly created an amazing team. Here are a couple famous names: Voutilainen's dial company makes the dials. Jean-Francois Mojon (this fella helped MB&F with the movements on many Legacy Machine models) is involved in the movement.
I'll let the photos do the talking/writing.
Dial here is created by Voutilainen's in-house dial maker. Strap is by Jean Rousseau. This is the platinum model.
The Jean-Francois Mojon is involved in the movement. Notice this spring bag applying tension to the ratchet for the main spring barrel. Bar springs made from solid blocks of metal are used rather than easier-to-find wire springs as this signifies haute horlogerie. In fact, the Geneva Seal (a set of rules for top quality watches) forbids wire springs. Also notice the fat anglage and the extremely difficult curved balance spring bridge that is polished by hand in the black-polish method.
This is the Tantalum model - this model will appease many on WatchProSite as it's got a great modern look and the WPS community does not always insist on precious metal cases - we care about inner beauty first! Notice this is the first case I've ever heard/read/seen that has tantalum and pierced lugs - this is a detail that I cannot imagine many case manufactures are willing to do.
Fleming's designs are elegant, classic, and yet have a tough of modernity to them - the pierced lugs and the double goudrons on the case scream modernity. Yet the dials hint at the classic movement and haute horlogerie overall. This is the rose gold model. Probably my favorite model - although I'm hesitant to put that in stone since I haven't seen the three models yet.
This amazing movement shows off incredible finishing and polishing techniques. Jean-François Mojon didn't make an easy design - this one is quite the challenge. The movement is incredibly beautiful, rich in movement finishing complexity, and has some unexpected touches - such as the balance wheel bridge (super hard to polish this part) and the power reserve (I always like a good power reserve) indicator which is on its own bridge secured by two screws. Just a reminder, Mojon developed this movement and has developed movements for Czapek, Harry Winston, MB&F, and other top-level watch brands.
Full disclosure, I have not met any of the completed watches in person yet. I haven't even gotten any emails from the manufacture nor a public relations company - these photos are photos gathered on the internet. But seeing this is impressive. So impressive that I felt compelled to share this on WatchProSite. Also, full disclosure on the photos, all these photos were gathered on the internet - and not provided to WatchProSite by the brand. They appear to be corporate photos and thus, WatchProSite takes no credit for these photos.
Okay, so some of you now want one. As usual, please contact the manufacturer through their website Fleming.watches is the website. The pricing - albeit very high - is actually quite reasonable considering the ultra-high quality in these watches. Most watches retail around 50,000 Swiss Francs or around $55,000 US dollars. Coming from professional experience in the watch industry and in the contract-manufacturing industry, I can say with certainty, that the company has a razor thin margin here and is probably likely losing money on every watch sold on variable costs alone - and that's before amortizing the design and fixed costs. Manufacturing these things at this quality level in ultra low volume gets horrendously expensive. Fleming is a for profit company - but for the moment, he's almost running a charity.
Fleming is a new watch brand that is completely independent. The founder and creative director, Thomas Fleming, is a young passionate watch collector who decided to take playing "Fantasy Football" into the watch world. The brand is completely independent - there is no common stock available for purchase on any over-the-counter market. I urge you to visit the website Fleming.watches and read the website - it's surprisingly transparent, Fleming is so transparent that he even identifies where he sources many of his major parts - something that you wouldn't see in most brands. One can tell here that Fleming thinks like a watch collector and has applied that empathy to his website.
What are your thoughts? Want to play some Fantasy Watch Brand? Looking to stop being a passive collector and become an active creator? Whom would you have on your watchmaking team? Whomever you choose - I would say that Fleming here has a great design and has played the game well! I look forward to your comments! Regardless of your thoughts of this specific watch, I think we can all agree - this is an impressive achievement and definitely a brand to watch for interesting products in the future!
Photo Credits: All photos are not from WatchProSite and are attributed to Fleming.
