When you've been around watches for a while, you run the risk of thinking that you've already seen it all, and that nothing is going to surprise you. This is what happened to me when my colleague Mauricio, from Relojes Increíbles, gave me the contact of Vault, a new brand in the watchmaking scene that aspires to make a place for itself in the hearts (but above all in the collection) of Fine Watchmaking fans.
After reviewing the life and miracles of its founder and CEO, Mark Schwarz, on its website, I attended the appointment with more skepticism than anything else. A perfect layman in the field (trained as an electrician, then a policeman for six years and later a career in the world of finance) decides one day to recover his childhood watchmaking passion and undertakes a pilgrimage to raise the funds, but above all, the watchmaking know-how to give shape to his dream.
I meet an enthusiastic young man (a little over 30 years old) who tells me how he got to the point of gettingAndreas Strehler, owner and alma mater ofUhrTeil,not only understand but be enthusiastic about a project that at first seems like a dream. It is a new way of reading and therefore of feeling time combined with the necessary exclusivity that Fine Watchmaking but, above all, collectors demand. And that exclusivity will be given not only by the possibility of making a custom watch in terms of finishes but also that each watch, even giving the same time, will have a different appearance from any other Vault.
Starting with the concept, we have a caliber expressly developed by UhrTeil that rotates freely inside the case thanks to a set of gears that makes said caliber move at the same rate as the minute hand. In short: to set the minutes to the hour, we will remove the crown and place the only hand on the desired minute. The curious part comes when we have to “set” the time itself: the hour dial – so to speak – is detached from the caliber itself and has its own mechanism to be adjusted. The result is that each time setting will leave the number (for example three o'clock) in a different position. This position will be marked by the sapphire sector of increasing opacity… As if this were not fascinating enough, another set of gears on the same “dial” ensures that the figures (the indices) are always seen correctly, that is, in a north-south position.
I recognize that it is somewhat difficult to understand if one does not directly manipulate the Vault V1, which is its name, but I confess that my perception of this “madman” and his project changed as I entered into its concepts following his explanations. Furthermore, the general appearance of the caliber, and its decoration, are intended to remind us of a vault door (hence the name) and how precious the time we have been given is, as one never knows when it will run out. As soon as you think about it, you have to take it very seriously... Even the crown resembles the wheels used to open a safe.
What I was seeing is nothing more than the prototype of the first series of the Vault 1, a watch that will be manufactured to order and to the taste of the future owner, at a price that starts at 50,000 Swiss francs, a figure that sounds high (and objectively it is) but compared to, for example, Richard Mille, who sells 3,500 watches a year at an average price of €300,000, it sounds even tight. And even more so taking into account that its objective and dead end is to sell about 10 (ten) units per year. More figures. The Vault caliber, manufactured by UhrTeil exclusively for Vault, is made up of 200 parts and the complete watch is made up of 401. The watch in its steel version weighs no more than 100 grams. 98, exactly. And they plan for the titanium version to weigh even less. By not losing the shape of the sapphire crystal, it is a small sculpture in itself. The only piece that, due to its complexity, could not be ordered in Switzerland.
Mark started his project four and a half years ago. From scratch because, as I said, he only had his own enthusiasm and determination. He had to start building an entire network of watchmaking and financial contacts that culminated in a meeting with Andreas Streler and the support of a private foundation that helps start-ups with a future. Their commercial strategy is simple - depending on how you look at it -: direct distribution (the deal is always with Mark himself) and promotion and search for potential clients on social networks. A seductive mix of daring with the poise of someone who is convinced of what they do.
The acid test will be at Baselworld 2018, where Vault will share a stand with Andreas Strehler and an old acquaintance: Beat Haldiman, the creator of hidden tourbillons. A good pair of groomsmen on an unmissable date.
www.vault.swiss
