Fourteen months, and we tell you where you are in them.
Sixty watches leave this room each year and every one of them was spoken for before it was started. A deposit of €1 500 holds a slot; you pick the reference eight weeks before casing, and you get a photograph at each of the five stages.
- Deposit
- 1 500 €
- Slots left, 2027
- 22
- Wait
- 14 months
The same axis, re-labelled in months
There is no showroom. The room on the left is the whole company: two benches, a lathe from 1962, a timing machine, a dust cabinet and a safe, under one north window that has never been replaced.
It buys a position, not a watch.
€1 500 fixes your place in the queue and nothing else. The reference, the dial and the strap stay open until month ten, which is when we order the dial — and that is the point after which the deposit stops being refundable, because the dial is already paid for.
- On the deposit1 500 €, refundable to month 10
- On casingBalance due, 14 days before delivery
- Price fixed atThe day the deposit clears
- Transfer of slotAllowed once, no fee
The short list of refusals.
Most of these have been asked for more than once. Saying no in public is cheaper for both of us than saying it by letter in month nine.
- NoEngraving on the case back or the dial
- NoA date window, or a second time zone
- NoDiamonds, anywhere, at any price
- NoJumping the queue for a higher price
- NoSelling through a shop or a platform
Six things people ask in the first letter
Can I pay the whole amount now?
No. We take €1 500 at the start and the balance fourteen days before delivery. Holding your money for a year is a loan we have not asked you for and cannot insure.
What if I change reference at month nine?
Fine, and free. After month ten the dial is cut and a change costs the dial: €640 for Réf. 01 or 02, €2 100 for the enamel on Réf. 04.
Do you ship outside France?
Insured courier anywhere the carrier will cover the declared value, at cost — roughly €90 inside the EU. Duties and local tax are yours. Inside France we hand it over here, and most people come.
Is the price going up?
It went up 6 % in January 2026 because the hairspring supplier did. Your price is the one on the day your deposit clears, in writing, whatever happens afterwards.
Can I visit while mine is being made?
Saturdays, by appointment, two people at a time. Not on a weekday: an open movement and a conversation do not go together, and dust from a coat is a week of work.
What happens if I sell it?
Tell us the serial and we transfer the service record to the new owner. We do not buy watches back and we will not value one for an insurer — ask a loss adjuster, not the maker.
Write to the bench
Hélène reads these on Tuesday mornings and answers in order. Tell us a wrist measurement and which reference you are leaning towards; neither is binding and both save a letter.
- By post
- 14 rue des Granges, 25000 Besançon
- By telephone
- +33 3 81 64 22 07, Tue–Fri 14:00–16:00
- Answered in
- Four working days, longer in August
The list closes when sixty is reached.
We do not keep a reserve list beyond sixty, and we do not open 2028 until the last 2027 watch is cased. When it closes, it closes until roughly the following March.
- Letters atMonth 2, 6, 10, 13 and delivery
- WarrantyFive years, parts and labour, transferable
- First serviceYear five, €680, booked by us
