Independents

Cozmopak
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Xhevdet Rexhepi

Rexhep’s brother recently unveiled his new watch, a type of dead beat minutes watch where the second hand stops at 60 for two seconds, allowing for the minute hand to jump forward instantly.  

It’s an interesting complication and one that I haven’t seen before.

The watch is priced at 83k CHF, and fifty examples will be made.  The proportions are beautiful at 38mm and just north of 8mm in thickness.

The watch has received glowing accolades across the social media universe, so I might be one of the very few detractors in saying that I don’t like it.

The dial is uninspired to my eyes.  The spoon shaped hour hand doesn’t work for me.  The case is interesting and reminds me of a disco volante shape, but the way the lugs abruptly angle downward is jarring.  The movement has appeal, but I hope that those geneva stripes turn out much finer than on the rendering.  

And this brings me to one of my biggest pet peeves regarding the new crop of watchmakers: young, up and coming talent, requesting huge sums of money based on a computer rendering.  Call me old fashioned, but I personally would feel extremely uncomfortable handing money to an unproven maker without first seeing a physical prototype.  I am much more willing to give allowances to established artisans like Voutilainen or Gauthier, who have a proven track record of success.  

But for someone engaging in their first independent attempt, I require a physical product and all the blood, sweat and tears that creating one entails.  Simply being associated with a lauded watchmaker does not qualify as strong credentials in my book.  The current crop of collectors, though, constantly chasing for the next best watch, afraid to miss any opportunity, has allowed for this type of behavior.

I’ll end by saying that I believe Xhevdet has a bright future.