Emerging Challengers

The watch world has never been more diverse and exciting. Here is a curated selection of six young, not-so-well-known brands of various price points.

- Ruckdee Chotjinda

Brand knowledge is a good thing to have, even if we are not buying, because its story, design or little details may inspire us in ways we could not anticipate. The sheer origin alone can raise eyebrows: the founder of Geneva-based Akrivia is from Kosovo; Hajime Asaoka is crafted in Tokyo; Phenomen is unapologetically French; Undone hails from Hong Kong; Lundis Bleus and L&JR are Swiss but not without a good twist. Let’s take a good look at each one of them.

OLD-SCHOOL PERFECTION

We previously interviewed Akrivia’s founder, Rexhep Rexhepi, in 2017. The conditions of his home country during wartime pretty much shaped the 31-year-old’s independent spirit. According to his account, there were no such things as toys; you had to make one if you wanted one. It was around this time that he became impressed by a watch his father brought back from Switzerland.

Fast forward to the end of the war, Rexhepi relocated to Switzerland where he channelled his curiosity into serious study. In 2012, the twenty-something was able to launch Akrivia – Greek for “precision”. Akrivia is dedicated to tradition and timelessness where production and finishing are concerned but with a touch of contemporariness in its design. All of the models introduced in the first five years were tourbillons. So impressive were his creations that Kari Voutilainen once described him as the most promising young watchmaker he’d seen in a while. Akrivia’s first non-tourbillon model, the AK-06, is even more visually striking. Its openworked dial reveals the mechanical parts involved in the winding and hand-setting processes, and they are all arranged in as symmetrical a way as possible. The single barrel holds 100 hours of power reserve. Akrivia’s current rate of production is only 25 pieces per year.

BLAZE OF THE SUN