Independents
Nitediver offers a unique perspective on ochs und junior, focusing on their unconventional approach to watchmaking and their new Lucerne headquarters. This article highlights how Ludwig Oechslin's philosophy translates into a distinct brand experience, from product development to retail.
New store and headquarters
On the occasion of their new shop, I visited the new ochs und junior headquarters, shop and home base which is conveniently located in walking distance from my home in Lucerne.
The ochs und junior shop is not what you would except from a watch store. The location is busy, but not next to the tourist area where Lucerne's leading jewelry retailers - Bucherer, Guebelin and Embassy – are located. No fancy shop window decoration. No posh furniture. In fact, you would not notice that watches are sold here except for the few watches that are hanging on a simple display. But then, ochs und junior is certainly not "just another brand". What they do is pretty different in almost every aspect – from the process the watches are developed, how they are manufactured, presented and also how they are sold. This brings us back to the shop. When you enter the place, you notice space, a few stylish pieces of furniture with a reduced design, a photo studio on the background and of course the huge Gaggia Espresso machine. The room oozes creativity and work in progress.
If you happen to know Ludwig Oechslin, the mastermind behind the innovative watch concepts, you will not be surprised that things are a bit different here.
Not your typical watch store…
Dr. Ludqig Oechslin studying some technical papers (or was it the local newspaper?)
Beat Weinmann looking fondly at the 1960's Gaggia espresso machine.
They are also selling products from a few friends that fit the same philosophy: custom made quality products, reduced to the maximum.
The company and the philosophy behind the watches
Ochs und Junior was founded by Ludwig Oechslin, Beat Weinmann and Lucerne based watch retailer Embassy in 2006. The same team plus Paul Gerber were behind the MIH watch, with its intelligent annual calendar. In the mean while, Embassy pulled out of the company and – just announced last week - Ulysse Nardin comes on board. This closes a creative circle: Ludwig Oechslin has designed a number of specialty watches for UN in the past.
What is the ochs und junior approach to watchmaking?
· Functionality rules – simple and reduced design.
· Simplification instead of complication, or reduce to the maximum.: this goes for the complications that Ludwig Oechslin develops – as well for the design. There is no brand name on the dial neither on the case. (only on the strap). Reduce to the max also with regard to packaging. Outer box and inner box? Nope. Just a cardboard with the instruction printed on it.
· Highly customizable – especially with regard to colours (watches of the TINTA line)
· Highly personal interaction with the customers. With the tiny number of watches they sell every year, Beat gets to know every single customer.
· "open source" approach to innovations – no patents (however with the latest news of Ulysse Nardin joining, UN will get the right to patent the innovations)
· "Low impact", sustainable approach using ecological materials wherever possible: vegetable tanned leather, reduced packaging.
· Full transparency rather than secrecy as is it common in the watch industry. ochs und junior lists all suppliers on their website.
· No polishing or decoration of the case and movement: Traditional high end watchmaking requires fine finishing even of the parts that are hidden from the eye of the customer. Not so with ochs und junior: even the visible parts are allowed to show signs of the machining and hence are not polished. (the exception being the Kal. 41 movement of Paul Gerber in the anno cinquanta)
In short, I would call it the "non-watchmakers approach to watchmaking" – or "watches - reduced to the max"
The watches
The watches can be classified into four product lines.
1. The anno cinquanta line: innovative calendar mechanism, exclusive Paul Gerber movement, cased in gold or silver.
2. The tinta line: highly customized watches (colour scheme of dial, hands and strap) built on order
3. idea line : a few watches stemming from theochs und junior development history, cased in silver
4. The settimana junior: Ludwig Ocheslin's watch for children.
The anno cinquanta
Introduced in 2009, the anno cinquanta features the highly innovative annual calendar mechanism. To my best knowledge, the way of displaying the date is completely unique and new. ochs und junior says that it is as easy and quick to read as a normal date (with numbers). Well, I believe that it will take the owner a while to get used to it. While the date, day of week and month indication is radically different from other annual calendars, I find it amazing how Ludwig Oechslin managed to reduce the number of components from typically 40 for an annual calendar to just three.
The display shows Friday, May 7
Case and dial
· White gold, red gold or silver case; diameter 43 mm, height 12.5 mm
· 18 ct gold dial, heat-patinated
· Sapphire crystal caseback
· 18 ct gold hands
Movement
Paul Gerber self-winding movement; 100 hours power reserve; heat-patinated gold rotor. The hand-built calibre is 36 mm in diameter and is finely adjusted by an eccentric screw-type micrometric regulator.
Functions:
Annual calendar indication comprising just three parts. Indication by means of three orange dots.
The anno cinquanta cased in silver
The fine Kal 41 movement made by Paul Gerber
Sample of the functional dial, milled out of a massive block of copper.
Annual calendar module of the anno cinquanta
The watch shows Wednesday, April 5
Nice combination with a blue dial and beige hands and strap
The tinta line is the most accessible line of watches, with regard to the price-performance ratio. ochs und junior offers a calendar, a calendar moon phase and a dual time version. All of them are custom build – the customer chooses the dial colour freely (Pantone colour range). With regard to the hands, customers choose from 10 standard colours, (customized colours are possible as well) and a wide range of strap colours. So every watch is as individual as its owner.
Your choice of colours for the dial….
Colour swatches everywhere
10 different colours are available fort the hands.
Noteworthy, and radically different from other watch brands, is the packaging. No box. Just a cardboard, stamped with the instructions. I still not sure whether I like this or not, yet it fits the concept of "reduce to the max".
Radically different: the packaging consists of a cardboard, stamped with the instructions.
Printing blocks: no need for a printing company here…
The mese tinta
The mese tinta is the next development stage of the anno cinquanta, however without annual calendar function – it just provides the date of the months. The way of displaying the date is even more refined than with the anno cinquanta. Anno cinquanta resorts to separate indications for the date (the number 5, 10 15 etc is not a dot, but a oval shaped boring). The mese tinta however uses a "date spiral" and cleverly makes use of the minute indication for the date. Every two minutes stand for one day. So six-o'clock (or 30 minutes) stands for the 15th. In the graphic below, the watch shows the 11th.
The display shows the 11th
Case and dial
· Titanium case; diameter 39 or 42 mm, height 10.2mm, Water resistant to 50 m
· Dial: Any choice of dial colour; choice of 10 luminous shades for hands and indices
· Any choice of dial colour; choice of 10 luminous shades for hands and indices Titanium buckle
Movement
· Self-winding ETA 2824 movement
De Bethune DB25 Reference DB25
The DB25 represents De Bethune's entry in the 44.5mm manual-wind category, distinguished by its silver dial configuration within the DB25 series. This reference launched in 2006 and continues the brand's approach to contemporary haute horlogerie complications.
The 44.5mm case is crafted from 18k white gold with a fixed bezel and sapphire crystal. Water resistance extends to 30 meters. The manual-winding caliber DB2105 movement provides a substantial 120-hour power reserve. The watch features a leather strap attachment.
This reference appeals to collectors seeking De Bethune's technical approach to timekeeping in a precious metal case. The extended power reserve and manual-wind operation position it for enthusiasts who appreciate hands-on interaction with their timepieces. The 44.5mm sizing places it in contemporary proportions within the independent watchmaking segment.
..the concept, in total! The watches are really so interesting. I like the plain nature of them, yet there is a sophistication in the "plain-ness". The industry as a whole seems to have backtracked from the BigBang, gimmickery supersports to a traditional silhouette. But, the Ochs und Junior models are very clever. The silhouette is traditional, yet contemporary. The level of choice afforded the client is tailor fit. Now, we see the boutique and the concept is rounded in total and you get an eve
I would dare to call the OuJ way the 'no-compromise way of watchmaking' - in other words: essential watchmaking ! Cheers (and thanks Stefan for a great article! Magnus
its simple, easy to read and can be obtained in funky colours. i can see this appealing to the female sector in the smaller size. thanks for the review Graham
Servus Vienna! Thanks for you comment – you are absolutely right "essential" or "no-compromise" watchmaking is a very suitable description of what the ochs und junior team does. Regards from Luzern, Stefan
I never considered them as ladies watches (no diamonds…) but you have a good point. The colour range will appeal to ladies. And with the new 39mm case option, it may be even easier to suit the female taste. Thanks for your comment and have a good day, Stefan
thanks for your thoughtful comment. I hope you have the chance to visit the ochs und junior store in Lucerne once. It is worth the visit. regards, Stefan
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