Independents

Canada isn’t a hub for watchmaking; so discovering a independent watchmaker in the city I’m born in was a pleasant surprise. 

I first heard about Bradley Taylor in 2021 but couldn’t visit his workshop in Vancouver as I was living in the U.S. After moving back to Vancouver, I had the chance to tour his facility. Two people in a watch group I am in own these watches, so I’ve had quite a bit of time with them. 

Bradley Taylor’s story is impressive. He studied watchmaking in Switzerland, worked for a few brands including Patek Philippe, then came back to Canada to launch his own brand. The Lutria, which is this model, was a limited series of 24 watches sold out long ago, so when I saw one pop up pre-owned in a dial color that matches the same blue I’ve used for my consumer brands for years, I had to pull the trigger. Concurrently, I didn’t love my Parmigiani Tonda chronograph as much as I thought I would, so selling that made this easier to purchase. 

Jumping into the review. 

The Numerals

Brad designed his own take on Breguet numerals which look a lot more modern alongside a Canadian typographer and they really make this watch special. 

The dial was made by Voutilainen/Comblémine and features rose engine guilloché. The 3D effect is breathtaking in person. I’ve owned Breguet watches before, and this dial is a step up in execution. There’s not as much evidence of where the machine was lifted/moved versus the handful of Breguet’s I’ve owned. Not that any of those were bad! The pattern is quite complex and tight. Some of my watches from independents have a looser guilloche style like Benzinger or the back of my Kudoke Infinity. The pattern used on the dial is inspired by the ocean in Vancouver which is another fun detail given I go on a walk by that same ocean a few times a week.  I’ve actually been able to look at the guilloche pattern on these watches under a microscope before too when I toured Bradley’s production facility! I’ve attached an image of that. 

The Movement

The watch uses a thin self-winding Vaucher movement with a high level of finishing. The sharp internal angles are deep and crisp, and even the rotor has guilloché. Interior angles are “pulled over” which I believe is harder to do. This kind of finishing isn’t something you can really get outside of independent watchmaking unless you spend well into 6 figures with big brands, so it’s a huge part of the bang for buck you get going independent. 

Picking a random component to dive into…the rotor has the guilloche mentioned above, but even the screws on it are nicely black polished and the countersinks polished. 

Hands

Sculpted and purpled by hand—a much harder process than traditional blued hands. These are probably one of the best hands I’ve ever had on a watch. I considered asking Brad to swap them for black polished hands at first, but the purple works so well in person that I’m keeping them for now. They’re super smooth on the edge and tightly stacked, something big-name brands can’t seem to do. I remember my last Patek for example had really rough hand edges.  

The Case

The dimensions hit a sweet spot for me: 39mm wide and 9.88mm thick. The case design has a distinct art deco vibe, with a modern and aggressive crown. I think this is what gives the watch a very modern feel that allows it to dress up or down. 

Strap

The watch comes on a matte beaver tail strap that is very high quality. A neat touch is the colored underside, which adds a subtle but fun element to the design. The padding is just right, matching the case thickness perfectly. 

While I plan to swap it onto a Milanese bracelet soon for travel, this strap sets a high bar for OEM options. This is refreshing as I’ve recently purchased two watches from independents with objectively bleh straps - Armin Strom & Kudoke. Is it a big deal? No, but its an easy component to source and strikes me as lazy when I don’t get a nice stock strap! 

Water Resistance

This watch is a full on stealth diver. With 120m of water resistance, this is one of the few dress-y watches I’d trust to handle real-world travel. I bought a Staib Milanese bracelet and plan on taking this watch to the pool, beach, and wherever else I go. No need to risk leaving it in a hotel room (I stay in shitty hotels when I travel for work because I’m a cheap degenerate). The crown is screw down, which definitely is required if you plan on getting a watch wet. 

Comparison to Other Options

This might be kind of a stupid section to have in this review given these are sold out and the next piece with an in-house movement + technical complication is in a completely different - and pricier - tier, but hey, why not?

For me, a watch is the sum of its parts and how they come together holistically. In the past I’ve made the mistake of purchasing pieces because they had one element I loved…but when put together as a whole, they weren’t very good. 

With this watch, I LOVE the design, case, exquisite guilloche and the level of finishing in one compact and very wearable package. It’s basically a modernized dress watch. 

Knowing the above, I don’t think you can get the same value from large established brands. You must go independent to get things like rose engine guilloche and sharp interior angles under 6 figures. 

Therefore, the most obvious brands to compare this model to would be “value” heavy independents Laine, Benzinger, Pikullik, Kudoke etc. Usually, they specialize in a specific thing and use third-party movements to keep things affordable and because it means the buyer doesn’t have to worry about service in the future. 

I think the voutilainen dial, vaucher movement and design work come together very very well to give you something that is at the top in-terms of quality, which I think is a fair expectation for a watch with a $25.5k USD MSRP. The closest competitor would be someone like Laine’s v38 model which uses the same movement from Vaucher and offers extensive customization that includes guilloche. The Bradley Taylor has a lot more water resistance, a more interesting case, complex guilloche pattern and a more appealing design - but v38 msrp is a chunk lower. 

Again, maybe something silly to think about too much given this was a small limited run. 

Overall, owning this watch feels special—not just because it’s beautifully made and thoughtfully designed, but because it’s from someone I know personally and respect a lot. 

Brad is constantly pushing himself, adding tools like a rose engine for in-house guilloché and developing new watches with in-house movements and unique complications. He is all in. I’m excited for him to release his big piece soon. 

Once my Staib bracelet arrives and is swapped on, I’ll be sure to post some pictures of that too.