Fabian Pellet emerged last year as one of the more interesting and unusual independents with the L’Essentiel. Where most new faces in the field are freshly-graduated watchmaking students, Mr Pellet was previously a watchmaking teacher. A Swiss native working in Tokyo since 2022, Mr Pellet is one independent watchmaker to watch.

The new version of L’Essentiel looks virtually identical to the three-piece platinum limited run from 2024. This updated model is now housed in a titanium case, and even though the production is inherently limited, it extends beyond three pieces.

Initial thoughts

The watch itself appears unassuming at first: a simple time-only model with a white enamel dial and a case defined by fairly plain lines. But when taking a closer look at the finer details, especially when turning the piece over, this can’t be dismissed as just another time-only indie piece.  

The movement inside the watch is clearly meant to be the center of attention, thoughtfully hidden underneath the simple, pocket watch-like dial. The calibre was crafted fully by hand; Mr Pellet does not use CNC machines even for the cutting of the raw blanks for the mainplate and bridges. The movement is clearly heavily influenced by a historical watches, both visually and in terms of its construction, which adds to its flair.

All of its qualities aside, L’Essentiel remains a time-only watch, which has become somewhat of a trope with both new and established independents. It seems like a new watchmaker is launching a new time-only watch every few months now.

The market is arguably evolving, and today’s launches probably have a slim chance of achieving the success of Philippe Dufour’s Simplicity or the Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain. Maybe it is time for enthusiasts to move on from pricey, time-only watches. This being said, the CHF60,000 retail price of L’Essentiel is in line with the current market, so it is at least priced comparably to the competition.

Vintage-inspired dial and case

Born in Lausanne – a city not necessarily known for its watchmaking heritage – Fabian Pellet completed his apprenticeship in the famed Vallée de Joux and then pursued further specialisation in watch restoration in Le Locle. His time spent in the region is subtly apparent in his work with the L’Essentiel, since the dial especially is reminiscent of classic pocket watches from Le Locle. 

The two-piece grand feu enamel dial is printed with slender Roman numerals for the hours and a railroad track for the sunken small seconds sub dial. Apart from the watchmaker’s signature, the dial is devoid of other inscriptions. The most particular element of the watch face are the blued hands. The hour and minute hands have an interesting shape, which reminds of a halberd’s spear point.  

Turning to the habillage, one can admire the simple but clean lines of the 8 mm-thick titanium case. The case with its lipped bezel and fully polished surfaces fits the vintage theme quite well, although it lacks a strong personality.

The polished case has a very rounded profile on the case band, from which the lugs break off abruptly. The crown is well-proportioned and unsigned. The diameter of 39 mm was definitely an inspired choice, since it doesn’t wear large while also being sufficiently accommodating for the ample movement. 

A movement full of detail

Turning the piece over, we are greeted by the unique, straightforward and equally detailed movement, the FAP 24 evo1.

At first is quite hard to place this movement’s style: it clearly doesn’t have the classic gilded English or French look. The bridges and main plate are made from uncoated German silver, yet the bridges are not reminiscent of Saxon or Swiss calibres. 

The architecture is strongly reminiscent of one eminent watchmaker: Albert H. Potter. An American born in 1836, Potter worked in both New York and Chicago for part of his life, before eventually settling in Geneva, where he died in 1908. 

His work revolved around alternative escapements and tourbillons, with his pocket chronometer movements known for their organic bridge styling. He was admired by George Daniels and the Potter tourbillon escapement is used in the MB&F LM Thunderdome Triple-Axis Tourbillon. 

Apart from his work with experimental escapements, his pieces are known for having a unique look to them, blending classic design cues with Potter’s own aesthetic flair, illustrated below with a pivoted-detent escapement movement. Now the inspiration behind L’Essentiel’s elegant lines becomes clear. 

Example of Albert H. Potter timepiece, with his distinctive bridge style. Image – Sotheby’s

Looking closely at the Pellet-made movement, discovering the subtle details is very exciting for those “in the know”. The mainplate looks very sturdy and robust and features coarse circular brushing — which is not centered, but appears to swirl around more than one point. 

There are just two main bridges and one cock: the one that secures the barrel, an intricate C-shaped bridge securing the bulk of the going train, and the balance cock. Much like with Potter’s movement, the escape wheel gets its own finger bridge, with a gold-capped jewel. The escapement lever is similarly anchored. 

This costly method was used in high-grade pocket watches for easier maintenance and more precise adjustment of the escapement endshake. The respective jewels on the dial side are similarly anchored in a shared screwed setting, not pressure-fitted into the baseplate.

The decoration is solid, with circular brushing dominating the movement landscape. The bridges have soft, polished angles and feature wide Geneva waves. The lines are consistent from one bridge to another, as if they were cut from the same piece. One adjective that comes to mind when looking at the movement is warm, as is often the case with untreated German silver.

The large free-sprung balance is unusual and was clearly given a lot of thought. The mainspring is pinned into the balance cock itself — which makes assembly much more tedious, since the beat-error can’t be adjusted by turning the stud carrier. This sort of fixture is a really uncommon choice for modern watchmakers. It does however guarantee a higher rate stability over time. 

The hairspring features an elegant Breguet overcoil and is paired to a large 14.3 mm cut balance. Cut balances are not currently in use anymore, and this design looks to be more of a stylistic choice, rather than a functional one. Fittingly, the oscillator beats at a leisurely 2.5 Hz pace and the timepiece runs for a respectable 60 hours on a full wind. 

The balance wheel is clearly not bi-metallic, as was the case with traditional temperature-compensating split balances. The balance is made of some alloy in a dark tint, which contrasts pleasingly with the gold-hued timing and weight screws. 

One last detail inside Pellet’s L’Essentiel that pays tribute to Albert Potter’s work is the inverted barrel. The sharper eyes might have noticed there is no visible click wheel atop of the barrel, and no visible link with the keyless works.

This is because the entire keyless works are found under the dial, along with the crown wheel for winding the barrel. The portion visible on the movement side is the toothed barrel drum, which engages with the going train. A very similar construction was usually favoured by Potter himself. 

Key facts and price

Fabian Pellet L’Essentiel

Diameter: 39 mm
Height: 8 mm
Material: Titanium
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: FAP 24 evo 1
Functions: Hours, minutes, and seconds
Winding: Manual
Frequency: 18,000 beats per hour (2.5 Hz)
Power reserve: 60 hours

Strap: Alligator leather strap with titanium buckle

Limited edition: Limited production
Availability: Direct from Fabian Pellet
Price: CHF60,000 before tax

For more, visit fabianpellet.com.