If you haven’t heard of Julien Coudray 1518, get familiar.

I accidentally stumbled upon this independent brand during Baselworld, when former colleague came out to greet me from the Julien Coudray booth in the independents’ pavilion. After catching up and gossiping about the watches at the fair, my friend put on his jeweler’s gloves and came out with one of the Julien Coudray watches. My oh my… How could a brand I’ve never heard of come out with one of the most exquisite watches I’ve seen all year?

Let’s talk a little about the brand. Julien Coudray 1518 was launched in 2012 by Le Locle based Fabien Lamarche, a well-respected manufacturer and supplier to countless haute horlogerie brands. The name Julien Coudray comes from one of the earliest known French watchmakers to be officially termed a “horloger”. Julien Coudray was one of and quite possibly the  first watchmaker to be appointed by the royal court of 16th century France. Julien Coudray is also credited for creating the first spring-loaded portable movements ever.

The notion behind using his name, arguably the oldest in the industry right now, was not to simply acquire a story to tell. It’s more like paying homage not only to a brilliant watchmaker, but also to an epoch where there were no such things as suppliers and specialized watchmaking tools and instruments. It’s about mastering every skill required to make a watch fit for a king. Today, Julien Coudray offer highly exclusive and often unique pieces of haute horlogerie that can be customized with one-off dials and movement decorations. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING is manufactured in-house at their Le Locle manufacture, from the case, dial and movement to even the display stands!

One of the watches I handled at Baselworld that totally blew me away was the Classica 1548. At a first glance, it looked like any other classical time-only watch, with a white dial and Roman numerals. But after examining it closely, I understood that Julien Coudray’s work was anything but mediocre.

With cues from an ornate clock or pocket watch of centuries past, Julien Coudray’s dials are true works of art. The dial is made of 13 fire-enameled parts, but this isn’t your average enamel. Most brands (or should I say dial manufacturers) use a ceramic base to which the enamel is applied. Julien Coudray however use the traditional method where the enamel is applied to a solid 18ct gold plate, which is then fired in the “grand feu” method. Ceramic is much less prone to transformation during heating, which makes the dial maker’s job much easier and the rejection rate of dials significantly lower. But Julien Coudray aren’t the type to go down the easy route.

The dial is void of any text; you can’t even find the brand name. The fleur de lis inspired logo is engraved onto the white gold applied hour-marker plaque at 8 o’clock. Above the center of the dial is a small, rimmed opening that I thought was simply a design element added to mimic keyholes on clocks. It turns out this is actually a service indicator, where after 4 years of running an “oil change” teardrop symbol appears. With it’s multi-level dial and slightly domed enamel hour markers, the Classica 1548 has a certain old world charm that I wish I saw more of in the watch industry.

Even the lance-shaped hands are unique, with their flame-blued edges and satin-brushed top. Clearly, no detail is overlooked and no expense is spared in making this charming piece.

The 43mm round polished white gold case might look simple enough, but you’d be wrong in assuming so. Also manufactured and finished in house, the multi-component case has fluted top and bottom bezels, but what I find particularly interesting is the incurvate case side, which is considerably more challenging to machine and finish than a flat or rounded case.

The movement is Julien Coudray’s own Calibre JC 1548, with plates and bridges crafted out of solid 18ct white gold. This is part of Julien Coudray’s philosophy that every watch should have a movement made of the same material as the case. In fact, it takes about 1kg of solid 18ct gold to make one Julien Coudray watch, and you can definitely feel it in the balanced heft of the piece.

The manual winding movement uses a double barrel to provide a power reserve of over 100 hours. The original escapement is fitted with a balance wheel made of titanium and gold, beating at 28’800vph. The decoration is done in a unique hand-engraved pattern on a satin surface with beautiful beveling and polishing on the edges. Keep in mind that as the movement is made of solid gold, it’s significantly harder to decorate and angle than more pedestrian brass. And because the engraving won’t be to everyone’s liking, Julien Coudray offer alternative and custom finishes as well.

I sincerely believe that Julien Coudray are on the verge of becoming a veritable force to be reckoned with among independent watchmakers and brands. If you’re not convinced, wait until I share with you my manufacture visit…

More information at www.juliencoudray1518.ch