David Candaux, an eminent Swiss independent watchmaker from the Vallée de Joux, is celebrated for fusing innovation and traditional craftsmanship. This spring, we saw his latest pieces at the Geneva office of the Phillips auction house.
UPDATE – 10 June: As the conclusion to Phillips’ spring season of watch sales, The New York Watch Auction: XII achieved $25 million, selling 100% by lot and 100% by value. Lot 79, David Candaux DC6 Solstice Bleu – mentioned below – was sold for $241,300, well above its estimate.
Contemporary independent watchmaking showcases a more and more vibrant scene populated by skilled artisans known for innovation, uncompromising craftsmanship, and typically small-scale production. Philippe Dufour, François-Paul Journe, Kari Voutilainen or the still young Rexhep Rexhepi are only a handful of the watchmakers widely respected by the collector community. With his creative and innovative pieces and extraordinary hand crafting and perhaps even more limited production, David Candaux certainly belongs to this group.
As the son and the grandson of master watchmakers, David Candaux has always been surrounded by the timekeeping craft. After the Joux Valley Technical School, he started his career at Jaeger-LeCoultre, where he dedicated 18 years to mastering various facets of watchmaking, including prototyping and manufacturing complications. He also initiated the restoration department at the Grand Maison. He had the opportunity to work on the Grand Complications of the brand, including the Hybris Mechanica à Grande Sonnerie and the Master Minute Repeater.
He collaborated with esteemed brands as a ‘concepteur horologer’ (HM6 ‘Space Pirate’ for MB&F or the Inversion Principle by Fonderie 47) and founded his own brand in 2017. His contributions have earned him membership in the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI) in 2019.
The lake, mountains and forests of the Vallée de Joux have greatly influenced the watchmakers’ over the past centuries. For David, the nature is not only inspiration, but offers exciting free time activities. David is a keen mountaineer, paraglider, snorkeler, and Alphorn enthusiast with a passion for adventures and extreme sports. The high dose of adrenaline provides a great balance to the outstanding patience necessary for handcrafts and engineering.
‘Le Coeur et l’Esprit’
With the motto ‘Le Coeur et l’Esprit’ (‘The Heart and Mind’) his brand has three pillars – innovation, mechanical excellence and superlative finishing. Using traditional finishing techniques and employing self-developed titanium processing methods, he creates about 15 timepieces a year at the highest quality.
Between 13-15 March 2025, Phillips PERPETUAL hosted an exclusive exhibition of his works in London, together with other ‘luminaries of independent watchmaking’ such as Konstantin Chaykin, Raúl Pagès, Theo Auffret and Charles Frodsham. David’s DC6 Solstice Bleu creation will be part of the Phillips The New York Watch Auction: XII in June.
The DC1 is the inaugural timepiece of his brand with the manual-winding caliber 1740, constructed entirely from Grade 5 titanium. As mentioned above, this material required the development of new manufacturing and hand-finishing techniques. The piece features innovations such as his patented ‘magic crown’ winding system at 6 o’clock, and a 30-degree inclined bi-plan flying tourbillon positioned at 9 o’clock that further enhances chronometric precision. The crown is a retractable crown, which unlocks under pressure and offers three positions: neutral, reset, and winding. The winding position is marked with a red ring indicator. The architecture with the bridges and the gear train inclined by 3° is a signature of his, creating a cascading visual effect together with the asymmetrical design of the watch face.
The DC6 collection feature the all-titanium movement, the signature magic crown and the 30-degree inclined tourbillon, too. The piece was inspired by the robust 19th century ‘half-hunter’ pocket watches, that were easy to hold and had protective covers with visible time display. The DC6 Titanium has two small spherical crystals in specially machined sapphire: one covers the time indications (hours-minutes), the other the tourbillon. The Pointe du Risoux, the hand-engraved guilloché pattern on the dial is not covered by glass, offering an additional sensory experience through touch.
The DC7 was originally born in 2021 and it has the most ‘traditional’ face among the Candaux creations with a central hour-minute hand. As David explains the design was imagined in resonance with the laws of nature, observed by Leonardo da Vinci who derived his Vitruvian Man from them, or by Darwin. It showcases symmetry on the 3 o’clock – 9 o’clock axis and asymmetry on the 6 o’clock – 12 o’clock axis.
The 30° tourbillon sits at 12 o’clock and the piece is powered by the new caliber H70 manual-winding movement with 72 hours power reserve. The sunray dial is slightly domed and the skeletonized central hands follow the curve of the dial and are highlighted with Swiss Super-LumiNova. The titanium cased blue dial version we saw in Geneva this time comes in a limited edition of 8 pieces.
Photo credits: David Candaux. Loupiosity.com
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