Independent watchmaking rhymes with either HH or in-house production.
Let’s say you buy a movement, then design a case, hands and dial, what sets that apart from all of the kickstarter microbrands? You’d be financially independent (i.e not part of a group or holding) but that doesn’t make you on par with the production of Dufour, Smith or DeBethune.
For me it’s a combination of High Watchmaking, In-House production, custom made parts and handmade. The more the better.
Dufour, for example is an independent.
He designed his movement. He had it custom made (milling and turning operations) then hand decorates it. There’s no truly handmade part in his watch, but all is custom made and hand decorated, and everyone will agree that he’s Independent. So that is custom, hand decorated, but not in house nor handmade.
Atelier de Chronométrie use an ebauche movement, and then make by hand the parts, and more importantly the case. It’s custom, handmade, in house.
Journe has custom and in house and is independent as well.
George Daniels designed, made, decorated almost all of his parts in his workshop. That’s the most anyone achieved in a long time, and no one today does that. His finish wasn’t on par with Dufour finishes, but challenges weren’t the same. When you get a bridge made from a CNC mill that turns at 50K rpm it is easier to have a nice finish than the burrs and cut of a Hauser M1 will leave.
Kikuchi Nakagawa use an already made movement, but their finish in terms of case and hands are way above any HH brand and thus deserve their place in independent watchmaking.
I don’t see the kickstarter brands as being independent in the way people showcase their indie pieces here. They lack the high watchmaking part IMHO, but they are financially independent, so if that’s the main criteria, we should find another name for all of my examples above. After all, Journe is now partly owned by a group as well.
Best,
Tristan