Our selection of dress watches (2/3)

After Lip, Orient Star and Hamilton in the first part of my article on dress watches, here is a new selection with three new brands: Michel Herbelin, Longines and Pequignet.

Michel Herbelin Inspiration 1947

Michel Herbelin may not be the first name that appears on Forum à montres (FAM) but this French brand offers some models that I personally find pleasing to the eye and to wear. The one that caught my attention is a hand-wound model, the first in this selection.

Once again, I prefer to change the original strap which is in alligator-style leather for a gray strap in real alligator which seems perfect for this watch.

This model benefits from a well-designed case, with contained proportions, I find it immediately elegant to wear. In the case of this watch, the length of the lugs is also very contained, which allows it to be easily integrated without overthinking the diameter of the watch on paper.

The blue dial is not sun-brushed as one might think by simply looking at the photos seen on online stores, it has a plain shade with all its sobriety. If at a brand like Junghans, the glass is plexiglass, Here it is a sapphire. Its appearance is slightly domed which contributes to the elegance of the whole.

We can also see the particular shape of the case, with about 10 mm thickness, the watch is rather thin and I therefore recommend choosing an equally thin strap in order to maintain overall consistency.

If there is one reservation I can make, it is mainly at the level of the crown which is set with a cabochon (a synthetic stone). Presumably, the aim is to bring a dose of originality but I find it dispensable for my part.

The crown is larger than usual, which doesn't really shock me because it could be a nod to crowns from an older era. There's also a practical side because, with manual winding, you'll be using the watch's crown – it seems obvious – regularly.

The watch features a small second hand at six o'clock as a small reference to vintage watches.

The presence of the small second is for me a real plus because it is the most common complication until the end of the 50s. Nowadays, it is the central second which largely predominates. This little reminder of the past is obviously in keeping with the watch's reference, Inspiration 1947. I would like to make a remark for this model: the small second is a bit too close to the hour and minute hands.

Change of scenery and bracelet. While I obviously recommend the leather bracelet for formal occasions, you are also free to adopt another bracelet such as this gray Nato with this pattern that is off the beaten track.

The indexes are long and allow the dial to be "filled" to avoid giving it an impression of emptiness. The presence of the date is a concession to modernity, The fact that the date window is not the same color allows it to be visible on the dial. Maybe some will prefer that the date window is the same shade as the dial but I think we should not be too obtuse about this.

And here is the movement which is a hand-wound Sellita, itself a "copy" of the ETA 2804-2. We notice the decoration which is in good taste, with blued screws bringing a little touch of color to the caliber.

Michel Herbelin is a French brand that uses only Swiss movements for its watches. Also, the movement of this model is a SW216-1 which is the Sellita equivalent of the ETA 2804-2.

As a general rule, I am less convinced by the majority of Sellita movements, like the vast majority of SW200 (clone of the 2824-2) for example. But, once is not customary, I find it well finished and the decorations are in good taste. The visible back that I do not find necessary on almost all watches is rather a little extra here due to the finish and decorations of the movement.

The strap supplied with the watch being a simple alligator-style calfskin and available in brown, I recommend exchanging it for a genuine alligator strap. And I personally find it harmonious to pair it with a grey strap without contrasting stitching in a dressy context. The black strap would not have been the most judicious for a watch with a blue dial.

To give you an idea of ​​the Nato strap I chose to wear, I allow myself to deliberately play with the patterns of the strap and the shirt.

Where to find it?

Available on the Ocarat online store .

Longines Conquest Heritage

The Longines Heritage collection remains for me without a doubt the most interesting of the brand in terms of aesthetics. It must be remembered that the Longines brand was for decades the direct competitor of Omega, before integrating what would later become the Swatch Group. The vintage models literally took off second-hand and it is not surprising: they are among the most beautiful watches of the golden age of watchmaking.

A great Longines classic, revisited to include the date at 12 o'clock and a more modern diameter.

This is a personal opinion, but the old Longines Conquest is one of the most beautiful watches of this golden age: the embodiment of classic style – in the best sense of the term – and of perfectly mastered elegance. Longines relies in part on its Heritage collection which allows us to rediscover these watches from the past revisited through reinterpretations that take up a large part of the design of its old models.

In daylight, you can obviously have fun enjoying the reflections of the sky on the watch. Small confession: the hardest watches to take a photo of are those with a black dial.

The selected Conquest Heritage makes it possible to make the link between two eras: our modernity, which often requires the presence of a date window on the dial as well as a slightly larger diameter associated with a reminder of the design of the late 50s and early 60s. I chose the model with the black dial, which enthusiasts call "gilt" . Vintage "gilt" models are generally the most expensive because black dials are among those that preserve the least well due to exposure to the sun after several decades of wear or because of moisture that seeps in due to worn gaskets.

The black dial, the gold indexes and hands so specific to the Conquest, a classic design... Longines offers models which still today retain a great deal of seduction.

The case is 40 mm compared to the 35 mm of the original. Personally, the 35-42 mm suits me perfectly but, for some, the 35 mm can be a little limited in favor of more "in tune with the times" diameters like the 38-40 mm. It should be noted that the model also exists with the original 35 mm.

It is not chosen directly because other models are offered in this price range in the selection, but it represents a serious option for those who are absolutely looking for a more contained diameter. On the mechanical side, the watch is equipped with the well-known 2824-2 which no longer needs to be presented in terms of reliability.

Where to find it?

Available from the Maier online store and also from many watch retailers.

Pequignet Royal Manual Manufacture

France, a true land of high-end watchmaking, There are practically no more manufacturers capable of producing watches that are truly made in France.

A big exception: Pequignet Manufacture.

A French watch with the latest high-end movement produced in France and more precisely in the heart of the lands of French watchmaking: Franche-Comté.

Pequignet Manufacture is the top of the range of the Pequignet brand, a brand that was founded in 1973 by Emile Pequignet and which managed against all odds to endure through the most turbulent period in watchmaking – the quartz crisis obliges – while other French brands were bought out like Breguet, Cartier or Leroy by Swiss groups or went through difficult times before gradually getting back on their feet like Lip. In the 2000s, after the founder passed the baton, the brand wanted to expand and create a new high-end manufacture caliber, the first in France for years: the Calibre Royal .

For an independent brand that does not have the financial backing of Rolex, the Swatch Group, LVMH or Compagnie Financière Richemont, it was ambitious, even too ambitious. The Calibre Royal was very expensive to design, make reliable and produce. The Pequignet company had to be recapitalized twice.

Its liquidation in 2017 was a shock to people like me who care about watchmaking and more particularly about the past – almost completely liquidated – of French watchmaking, although it had been at the forefront with Switzerland for centuries.

On Watch Forum, we were a few to hope that this company is taken over and not dismembered: a certain group would have liked to buy the patents of the Royal Caliber not to use it later but rather to "bury" it in the archives , others would have wanted to buy back the stocks of watches from the main range in order to then sell them through online sales... but finally four employees were chosen by the court to take over the case.

On its original strap, supplied by a French saddler, the Pequignet looks much more casual. And yet, the Pequignet adventure has not been easy in recent years. It should be remembered that this model was born after the takeover of the brand by four of its employees in order to relaunch the brand's high-end and allow the company to continue to exist.

The Royal Calibre is a high-end calibre that stands out for its elegance and the use of a technology that is practically no longer used in watchmaking. : the large barrel. There are several possibilities to increase the power reserve of a watch. In the high-end and luxury sectors, for example, brands use several small barrels instead of one.

The large barrel occupies a much larger space in comparison, but it allows the Calibre Royal to display 88 hours of isochronism power reserve on automatic models. and an isochronism of 100 hours for the manual model. In other words, once fully wound, the Pequignet Manuelle Royale will take a little over four days before needing to be wound by the crown.

The Calibre Royal, in its manual version. A pleasure for the eyes, an expensive movement to produce for the brand and the last survivor of the high-end movements produced in France.

Manually winding a watch, when it comes to a good movement, is a pleasure for those who appreciate beautiful mechanics. With a little experience, you can "feel" through the crown while winding it if the movement is of quality or not. An "old tractor" like the ETA 2824-2 will never be as pleasant to wind as a movement like the Calibre Royal, it is obviously incomparable but I recommend you try to understand the difference.

This caliber is very expensive to produce , much more than most brands present in the high end, with the exception of luxury/Haute Horlogerie, which considerably limits Pequignet's margin on their models featuring the Calibre Royal... and for once, this is really not the norm in watches, you really get what you pay for.

The watch itself has a silver sunray dial that I find refined and includes a small second at 6 o'clock, which is different from other Pequignet Manufactures that traditionally include an off-center small second in addition to the power reserve. Arabic numerals and railroad tracks are present around the dial. The mention Made in France is present and fully justified. The case is that of the Rue Royale model, and I appreciate the shape of the lugs that I find very suited to the style of the watch. .

The watch has a diameter of 42 mm, which in my personal case suits me but may not be the case for smaller wrists.

The watch has an apparent caseback and this is justified because it reveals a beautiful movement worthy of interest. And besides, we will notice the absence of the oscillating weight. The finishes are not left out with a Cote de Genève perlage.

We never get tired of this manufacture movement. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to benefit from such an interesting and elegant movement at this price level. The watch can legitimately show its caliber through an apparent caseback, which is this time totally justified.

The Pequignet Manufacture straps are of high quality, supplied by a French saddler, which is consistent with the Made in France offered by the brand for the Manufacture collection. For my part, my preference goes to a black alligator model from the brand, more interesting in a dressy context, than the gold leather provided, the latter being obviously more suitable in a casual context.

On a black alligator strap, the watch proves to be suitable for a formal context, with added French charm and a perfectly reasonable price for its segment as the cherry on the cake.

At 2850 euros, the Pequignet Manuelle Royale is an excellent entry point to fine mechanics . A level of finish and a manufacture movement at this price is absolutely not the rule in this segment. Many more famous brands offer at best ETA or even Sellita in this range and some brands even display it at 5000 or even 6000 euros. And all this makes this Pequignet Manuelle Royale one of the best options available in the current watchmaking offer.

Where to find it?

Available on the Pequignet online store or also visible and available at Antoine de Macedo boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris for example.