Less than one year since its debut, Albishorn is back with its third chronograph. The Thundergraph continues the brand’s theme of “imaginary vintage,” this time taking inspiration from mountaineering, specifically the Swiss expeditions to Everest in 1952.

With a focus on legibility, the Thundergraph features an unusual “California ghost” dial in petrol blue. Available in a limited run of 99 pieces that will be produced over a period of three years, the Thundergraph features a new iteration of the brand’s proprietary manually wound chronograph movement, developed by founder Sébastien Chaulmontet.

Initial thoughts

I’ve been following Albishorn since its launch, and have become more impressed with each new release. The Thundergraph is my favourite to-date, retaining the best elements of its stablemates while introducing an appealingly bold take on the California dial.

The stainless steel case of the Thundergraph largely mirrors that of the earlier Type 10 and Maxigraph, and retains the appealing asymmetric form and red anodised aluminium chronograph monopusher. The case is actually just 39 mm at the case band, but wears larger due to its 42.7 mm bezel.

Where the Thundergraph differs most from its siblings is its dial, which offers a sunburst finish in petroleum blue, which pairs perfectly with the rose gold-plated hands and dial markers. The so-called “California ghost” dial features Roman numerals on the top half of the dial, but rather than Arabic numerals on the bottom half, the dial features two large sub-dials, for running seconds and elapsed minutes, respectively.

The movement inside the Thundergraph is a continuation of Albishorn’s ever-expanding lineup of proprietary movements. Ticking at 4 Hz for up to 65 hours, the ALB03 M is a COSC-certified manually wound chronograph movement just 5.70 mm thick.

At CHF3,650 before taxes, the Thundergraph offers an attractive value proposition, especially since retail prices for the more traditional, iconic chronographs from Omega, TAG Heuer, and Breitling have moved increasingly up-market in recent years. Considering its slim, proprietary caliber, thoughtful design and construction, and 99-piece limitation, the Thundergraph is a lot of watch for the money.

The signature case

The Thundergraph is close in concept and construction to the earlier Type 10, differing primarily in the dial design. The now-signature red anodized aluminum monopusher at 9:30 is retained, as is the rest of the case save the bezel, which is brushed rather than DLC-coated.

The watch also keeps the bronze crown from the Type 10 Sihlwald edition, but it actually works better with the mountaineering theme of the Thundergraph because the engraved Albishorn logo resembles a snow-capped peak.

The mountaineering theme continues on the case back, which features an engraving of a Swiss cross and a rope, a period-correct callback to the emblem of the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research. I criticised the Maxigraph for its case back engraving, which looked too modern, and praised the Type 10’s more vintage-leaning sterile case back, but I think this engraving really works and adds meaningfully to the design.

California ghost

With so much in common with its predecessors, the unique character of the Thundergraph is found on its dial, which was inspired by the so-called “error-proof” dials of the 1940s. Now more commonly known as California dials, they feature Roman numerals on the top half of the dial and Arabic numerals on the lower half. The dial features a sunburst finish in petroleum blue, which contrasts nicely with the rose gold-plated hands and dial markers.

Albishorn has termed the Thundergraph dial a “California ghost” dial because the Arabic numerals that would normally be found on the lower half of the dial have been replaced by the running seconds and chronograph minutes counters (though it must be said these sub-dials do feature Arabic numerals).

The mountaineering theme is expressed through the emphasis on legibility, which is enhanced by a great deal of Super-Luminova, including on all five hands. Speaking of the hands, they are colour-matched to their associated functions. For example, the hours, minutes, and running seconds hands are rose-gold plated, while the elapsed seconds and minutes hands are painted red.

Slim and trim

Albishorn’s ace up its sleeve, and the reason it’s been able to launch a distinct caliber in each of its first three models, is Dr Chaulmontet, the brand’s founder who happens to be a prolific and well-connected movement designer.

At the heart of the Thundergraph is the ALB03 M, which is essentially a variant of the Type 10’s ALB02 M that omits the chronograph operating indicator.

The movement shares its DNA with the Valjoux 7750, but the architecture has been redeveloped by Dr Chaulmontet to be 16% slimmer. This enables Albishorn to get cal. 7750-level performance from a smaller package, but requires more careful hand-assembly than a typical, off-the-shelf industrial chronograph movement would normally need.

Overall, the ALB03 M is just 5.7 mm thick, but retains the characteristics of precision and durability that made the cal. 7750 so dominant. The movement is also chronometer certified by COSC, which is uncommon for unusual calibers from startup brands.

Key facts and price

Albishorn Thundergraph

Diameter: 42.7 mm
Height: 12 mm
Material: Steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 100 m

Movement: ALB03 M
Features: Hours, minutes, seconds, and chronograph
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Winding: Manual
Power reserve: 65 hours

Strap: Leather strap with pin buckle

Limited edition: 99
Availability: Available directly from Albishorn
Price: CHF3,650 before taxes

For more, visit Albishorn-watches.ch.

Jean-Pierre Hagmann passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on the night of March 7, 2025 at the age of 84. With his passing, the watchmaking has lost the most important case maker of the last 50 years. He was a friend whom I first met some 35 years ago.

Born in Geneva in 1940 to a mechanic, Jean-Pierre was a living legend whose talent was evident from a young age. Jean-Pierre was an incredibly versatile and gifted precision machinist and craftsman. No mechanical problem was too difficult for him to tackle.

“If you have a complex mechanical problem, you have to break it down into many small steps,” he once told me. On another occasion, he said, “I’m lazy by nature, so I always look for the simplest and quickest technical solution, which is often the perfect one.”

After training as a jeweller at Geneva’s School of Fine Arts in 1956, Jean-Pierre didn’t want to go straight into the profession. His youthful curiosity and fervor led him to seek variety and adventure. Initially, he applied to Holiday on Ice, the iceskating theatre company, as a professional figure skater and taking the role of a clown. When that didn’t work out, he spent two years repairing coffee machines in the bistros of Geneva.

Later, he worked as a mechanic in a racing motorbike workshop. Jean-Pierre’s boss recognised his talent and introduced him to one of the most famous racing drivers of the time, Etienne de la Mar. With his technical finesse Jean-Pierre helped  the Frenchman win the European championship.

Even after that, motorcycling remained Jean-Pierre’s favourite hobby throughout his life.

The “JHP” hallmark, often found on the lugs

A career in case making

Before starting in his profession in 1972, Jean-Pierre quickly built a few sailing boats and giant model airplanes. He then worked for several years for well-known Geneva jewellery manufacturers such as Ponti Gennari and Gay Frères.

His career as a case maker began at the company Jean Ecoffey & Fils in Geneva, a manufacturer of metal watch bracelets and chains. Recognising his talent, the company’s management saw an opportunity to enter watch case manufacturing. In a short time, Jean-Pierre built up the necessary machinery and organized the automation of the work processes.

Around 1983, after a brief stint with the famous dial maker Stern Création, Jean-Pierre decided to open his own case-making workshop in Geneva. By now, he was known in the industry for taking on particularly challenging tasks, and he no longer had to worry about a lack of orders. His first customer was Svend Andersen, followed by Jean-Claude Biver who was then establishing a new brand known as Blancpain. In this way, Jean-Pierre also indirectly paved the way for the emergence of what we now know as independent watchmakers.

In the decades to come, he was to produce special cases for practically all major Swiss watch brands. His specialty were cases for minute repeaters, for which he had developed a unique feature that gave the watches an extraordinary sound. This innovation also led to a collaboration with Patek Philippe on cases for watches with complicated movements. Created for Patek Philippe’s 150th anniversary in 1989, the ref. 3974 with minute repeater and perpetual calendar is particularly well-known among collectors.

The Patek Philippe ref. 3974

Cases with the magical “JHP” stamp now enjoy a price premium in the collectors’ world. However, Jean-Pierre reached the pinnacle and absolute highlight of his career as a case maker with the production of the Star Caliber 2000. Launched at the turn of the millennium, the Star Caliber was a limited series of ultra-complicated pocket watches – five sets of four watches each with a double-sided display and numerous complications.

The Patek Philippe Star Caliber 2000

In 2016, Jean-Pierre sold his workshop to his long-standing customer Vacheron Constantin, which gave him the task of training a new generation of case makers.

After completing his mission, he went into temporary retirement before taking on the Herculean task of setting up the case workshop for the ambitious young watchmaker Rexhep Rexhepi, founder of Akrivia, in 2019. Then aged almost 80, Jean-Pierre made the impossible possible in no time at all. Just months later, the first “JHP” cases were launched by Akrivia, starting with the Chronomètre Contemporain “Only Watch”.

Rexhep Rexhepi (left), and Jean-Pierre Hagmann

Recognition

The year 2024 was the year of public recognition and reward for Jean-Pierre, when he received accolades that that no other supplier in the watch industry has ever received.

First, in September 2024, he received the Prix Gaïa in the Artisanat et Création category that focuses on artisanal craft and creation. Considered by some to be the Nobel Prize of the watch industry, the Prix Gaïa is awarded annually by the MIH (International Museum of Horology) in La Chaux-de-Fonds to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to watchmaking in their lifetime. I had the honour of delivering the introductory speech for Jean-Pierre’s prize.

In his acceptance speech, Jean-Pierre said with pride and humility, “During my long career, I have improved practically every production step in the manufacture of handcrafted housings.

He added, “I’m probably the last case maker in Switzerland who still masters all the traditional production steps and methods.”

Jean-Pierre Hagmann at the 2024 GPHG

Just two months after this unique recognition, he received the Lifetime Achievement award at the 2024 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG).

Two days before his death, I got a call from Jean-Pierre, who full of enthusiasm, telling me about his new workshop at the bracelet manufacturer Laurent Jolliet as well as a mandate to produce the case prototypes for a new collection soon to be launched by the revived Universal Genève.

But more than all his professional achievements, I will always remember Jean-Pierre as a generous personality, someone with high ethical and moral standards, and man for whom respect and recognition were more important than financial gain and professional success.

Au revoir Jean-Pierre.

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Louis Erard has enjoyed a good run of independent watchmaker collaborations recently, and keeps it up with the Le Régulateur Louis Erard x GoS. Following last year’s Vianney Halter edition, the GoS regulator adopts the Swedish watchmaker’s signature material: artisanal Damascus steel forged by the hand of a Swedish swordsmith.

The watch retains the usual Louis Erard case and movement, but has a dial of acid-etched Damascus steel hand made by Conny Persson, the knife maker who produces the exotic alloys employed by GoS, which was founded by watchmaker Patrik Sjögren in 2007.

Initial thoughts

I respect and admire the craft behind GoS watches, which utilise Damascus steel that is sometimes incredibly patterned. But I find the brand’s aesthetic a little too much, especially when the dials are matched with aggressively styled cases. Whereas in the Louis Erard collaboration the heavy patterning of the dial is offset by the clean lines of the no-frills, 39 mm case.

More importantly, the GoS regulator is one of the few Louis Erard editions that incorporates an actual example of the collaborator’s craft, as opposed to just being a design exercise. Even though I liked the earlier Vianney Halter and Kudoke editions, they were just watches designed by the respective watchmaker’s input. The GoS regulator, on the other hand, has a dial in an artisanal material – and it remains at the same affordable price as past collabs.

Exotic alloy

GoS was founded by bladesmith Johan Gustafsson and Mr Sjögren – the brand name represents their surnames – to combine Damascus steel with watchmaking. Since 2021 Mr Sjögren has been the sole owner of the brand and now relies on Conny Persson, another Swedish knife maker, for the steel that he uses primarily for watch dials and sometimes cases.

Patrik Sjögren

Each Damascus steel dial was made by Mr Persson, who folds various steel alloys together to create layers of metal that result in the signature woodgrain appearance of the material, also known as pattern-welded steel.

Mr Sjögren then gives each dial a chemical bath that enhances the colour of the dial as the acids in the bath react different with each layer of steel. The result is the high contrast, black-and-silver striations found on the dial, each of which is unique.

The Damascus steel dial is matched with notched chapter rings for the hours and minutes, echoing the style of GoS watches. This continues with the sword-shaped hands in blued steel, and the seconds pointer in the form of a triskelion, both recurring motif in GoS dials.

The rest of the watch is stock Louis Erard, save for the crown that replicates the shape of the GoS crown. The polished steel case is 39 mm wide and a thick 12.82 mm high. That’s because the movement inside is a no-frills Sellita SW266-1 that’s made even taller with the addition of a regulator display module. Another detail unique to the GoS edition is the grey-tinted sapphire crystal on the back, which helps to camouflage the industrial appearance of the movement.

Key facts and price

Louis Erard Le Régulateur Louis Erard x GoS
Ref. 85248AA03.BSA02

Diameter: 39 mm
Height: 12.82 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 50 m

Movement: Sellita SW266-1
Functions: Hours, minutes, and seconds
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 38 hours
Frequency: 28,8000 beats per hour (4 Hz)

Strap: Salmon leather with pin buckle; additional calfskin strap

Limited edition: 178 pieces
Availability: Now at Louis Erard online store and retailers respectively
Price: CHF4,250

For more, visit louiserard.com.

Echoing its own contrasting approach to design, MB&F is growing its affordable M.A.D. Editions with the addition of the more conventional M.A.D.2. Conceived by Eric Giroud, a longtime designer who designed the very first MB&F watch, the M.A.D.2 has a 42 mm round case that contains a self-winding movement with a bidirectional jumping hour.

Modelled on a DJ’s turntable, the M.A.D.2 debuts in two variants. Orange is available only to MB&F owners, otherwise known as “The Tribe”, as well as “Friends”, associates and partners of the brand. Green will be available to the public and sold via an online raffle as was the case for earlier M.A.D. Editions.

Initial thoughts

Two things stand out about the M.A.D.2. One is that it’s a fairly conventional round watch, as opposed to the more exotic style of the M.A.D.1. This is a logical evolution of the affordable-MB&F concept since it echoes the segmentation of MB&F’s own catalogue between the sci-fi Horological Machines and classical Legacy Machines.

The second notable aspect is that it’s Swiss made like the recent M.A.D.1S; the base movement is La Joux-Perret G101 while the jump hour module is also Swiss according to MB&F. In contrast, the original M.A.D.1 was assembled in Switzerland with imported components, including a low-cost Miyota base movement (however, the Swiss G101 is actually based on a Miyota construction). While being “Swiss made” doesn’t make it a better watch or necessarily mean every component is made in Switzerland, it does give it a little bit more cachet.

The watch itself looks more conventional than its predecessor, though it has similar dimensions. The case is large at 42 mm by 12.3 mm, but it was definitely designed to stand out. Visually I find it less interesting than the M.A.D.1, but the M.A.D.2 is arguably a better watch because it is higher spec. Amongst other things, it feature a bidirectional jumping hour, which is a tangible upgrade to the base movement.

Visible through the back is the G101 movement with its oversized rotor

Turntable style

The 42 mm steel case of the M.A.D.2 has rounded surfaces and edges which, according to MB&F, were inspired by a 1990s design of Mr Giroud’s that never made it into production.

The M.A.D.2 is essentially a regulator-style watch with the hours and minutes separated into registers. Hours are on the right counter, while minutes are on the left, with each indicated by a pointer shaped like a guitar pick.

The hours are jumping, so the hours disc jumps forward one step at the top of each hour. Minutes on the other hand, are dragging, so the minute continuously rotates. Notably, the jump hour can be set forwards and backwards. In contrast, most traditional jump hour mechanisms can only be set forwards, though such mechanism are typically larger and more complex digital-style displays in a window.

As with the M.A.D.1 and several MB&F watches, the M.A.D.2 employs a rotor that’s part of the design. Reworked to be substantially wider than the base movement, the rotor is visible from the dial. It’s decorated with Super-Luminova dots that create a spinning illumination effect in the dark.

Key Facts and Price

MB&F M.A.D.2 by Eric Giroud

Diameter: 42 mm
Height: 12.3 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: La Joux-Perret calibre G101 with jump hour module
Functions: Hours and minutes
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 64 hours

Strap: Leather strap with folding buckle

Limited edition: No, but orange only available to “The Tribe” while green is available to the public via raffle
Availability: Only via raffle that will open from April 1, 2025 for one week
Price: CHF2,900 excluding taxes

For more, visit the raffle page.