Van Brauge Watches brings New Yorkers to London’s WatchPro Salon

British microbrand Van Brauge Watches will be presenting two fresh collections at WatchPro Salon that have launched within the last year.

The FiftyThree range, and and more recently The New Yorker family, have both been unveiled this year by the family-run business, which has been based just outside the historic town of Windsor since it was founded in 2015.

Its mission is to make high quality watches that blend classic designs with modern technology.

The company’s founder and owner, Max Van Brauge, wants to follow in the great tradition of venerable watchmakers by creating timepieces with the precision and engineering that will ensure they survive for generations to come.

“Our mission is to preserve traditional watchmaking techniques while creating design innovations that both honour history and stand out from mass produced products,” Mr Van Brauge says.

Central to Van Brauge Watches appearance at November’s WatchPro Salon will be the unveiling of its New Yorker classic three-handers, which take inspiration from the Art Deco movement that helped shape iconic skyscrapers like the Empire State building in the 1930s.

The collection launched this summer with five styles; four in steel and an 18ct rose gold version.

They come in 38mm satin brushed cases, inspired by the styling of early 20th century watches, with a mid-century box-style sapphire crystal protecting dials in olive, champagne, silver, bronze and anthracite grey for the rose gold piece.

The complex and sophisticated dials have Roman numeral hours and, Arabic minutes and seconds divided into tenths to highlight the accuracy of the watches.

Hours and minutes hands are lit up with Superluminova, as are the hour markers.

They curve towards their perimeters so that the box-shaped glass acts like a magnifier for the split seconds.

Dials and cases are classical, but there is a surprise when you flip the watch over to reveal a VB – 24A automatic movement, based on a Sellita SW300, customised with an oscillating weight in the shape of the Empire State building.

The movement has a Glucydur balance, Anachron balance spring and a Nivaflex 1 mainspring.

Steel versions of the New Yorker are on sale for £2,200