Ludwig Oechslin is inviting watch lovers to the atelier of ochs und junior, an independent watchmaker he co-founded in 2006, to design and make their own watches.
There can be few better qualified horologists to learn from than Mr Oechslin, who built his reputation at Ulysse Nardin where he created the Freak movement.
He was responsible for the restoration of the Farnese Astronomical Clock in the Vatican and became a director of the International Museum of Horology in La Chaux-de-Fond in Switzerland.
ochs und junior was created with the goal of creating rigorously simple yet useful mechanical watches.
For example, annual and perpetual calendar watches have an industrial Bauhaus-inspired look instead of the more traditional combination of precious metals and complicated dials.
Astronomical watches are equally architectural.
The chance to visit ochs und junior’s atelier is inviting enough, but the company is building a day of watchmaking that ends with the creation and purchase of a personalised settimana timepiece.
As ochs und junior describes: The day begins in the morning with a quick coffee and a tour of the ochs und junior atelier. Then you will suit up and get down to business! Waiting for you at your workbench will be the case, movement, crown, hands… everything you need to assemble your own settimana.
You do not need to have any experience because a master watchmaker will be there to guide you through the process, step by step.
It isn’t possible to build a complete watch in a day, so after you complete the first stage of assembly, it will be passed over to the watchmaker who will spend the next two weeks or so timing, adjusting and testing it.
Sabina Brägger, the designer who makes the straps for ochs und junior, will be on hand. She will also help you choose your ochs und junior strap which she will then make specifically to fit your settimana.
Your settimana will go through the same quality control processes as every ochs und junior watch. It will be tested, timed, and adjusted for about two weeks. Once it has passed its “final exam”, it will be shipped to you at your home address, a lifelong reminder of your visit to ochs und junior in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
This exclusive experience, your “settimana day” in La Chaux-de-Fonds includes the supervision of the assembly of your watch and the quality control testing and shipping to you, lunch and apéritif, a city tour with a visit to Le Corbusier’s Maison Blanche, or a visit to the MIH watch museum.
The final cost is determined by the watch that you select:
settimana limited = CHF 3,800 (incl. 7.7% VAT; only a few watches still available)
settimana raw = CHF 2,900 (incl. 7.7% VAT)
settimana classic white = CHF 3,100 (incl. 7.7% VAT)
settimana classic black = CHF 3,100 (incl. 7.7% VAT)
settimana next = CHF 3,000 (incl. 7.7% VAT)
There are two settimana days available on Saturday, June 11, or Saturday, September 17. The number of participants per event is usually limited to 2 people.
If neither of those days work, please contact ochs und junio to try to set up an alternative date.
