Peter Speake-Marin: An English Gentleman

Founded in 2002 by English watchmaker Peter Speake-Marin and is based in Bursins, Switzerland.

After graduating as a watchmaker from Hackney Technical College in London in 1985, Speake-Marin went to Switzerland to do an in-depth course in horological complications at the WOSTEP school in Neuchâtel. Peter then returned to London and joined Somlo Antiques, heading the antique watch restoration department. After seven years at Somlo, Speake-Marin went back to Switzerland in 1996 to develop and build high-end complications for Renaud & Papi (now Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi SA)

The first timepiece to bear the Speake-Marin name was a hand-made tourbillon pocket watch, called the Foundation Watch because it formed a template for future Speake-Marin watches through the spade shaped hands and pleated crown, watchmaker’s topping-tool motif, (here in the shape of the tourbillon cage) and hand-engraving.

Completing this unique piece earned Peter Speake-Marin a place with the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI) and it set the 'foundation'paved for the Speake-Marin collection.

Launched in 2002, Peter Speake-Marin’s first wristwatch was the Piccadilly. Various Piccadilly series and unique pieces have been created since, the first of which was the Original Piccadilly featuring enamel dial.

The Piccadilly case features screwed lugs, pleated crown and a drum-like case shape, which was inspired by the movement holders Peter Speake-Marin worked while at Renaud & Papi, and named after his seven years in antique restoration at Somlo in Piccadilly, London.

Resilience, which has a white oven-fired vitreous enamel dial and central blued-steel hour, minute and second hands, was launched in 2012. The colour of oven-fired enamel fades extremely slowly over centuries, so keeps looking new for far longer than normal dial treatments

For the rest of this story .... will let the pictures do the talking ....