It all began with encounters…
Moments of sharing with friends, collectors, clients…
Passionate exchanges with colleagues and old companions along the way.
From these conversations came an obvious truth: the desire to create my own brand and bring a first collection to life.
A collection designed as a tribute to the timeless beauty and remarkable simplicity of mechanical watchmaking.
The movement - a heartfelt choice
The movement was the very first step in this adventure.
This 30 mm caliber has marked my career: I restored it many times, and each time it impressed me with its precision, robustness, and unique identity.
After months of searching, I gathered around twenty of these movements, driven by the desire to revive an emblematic caliber from the 1940s and 1950s.
It quickly became clear: this movement had to beat at the heart of my first collection.
All that remained was to give it a new life.
A symbiotic case
After the movement, it needed a worthy setting.
Inspired by the aesthetics of the 1940s and 1950s, I designed a 39 mm round case, comfortable and perfectly adapted to the wrist. A true symbiosis between the case and the movement.
The transparent back reveals the caliber and its decoration. With the help of my prototypist, I chose a screwed back with a dodecagonal (12-sided) shape, ensuring a secure fit while leaving space for engravings.
Every detail has been considered: even the crown was dimensioned for a natural and effortless winding.
A tribute to traditional codes, revisited with my own standards of quality.
The creation of this case would never have been possible without the precious support of artisans, colleagues, and friends.
Their skills, advice, and encouragement allowed me to develop a matrix for production in very small series.
One anecdote reflects this challenge well: the time spent adjusting the stamping press and changing tools far exceeded the time needed to cut the few pieces I required.
This project is therefore much more than a personal venture: it is the result of a collective effort, without which this case would never have come to life.
The look of the dial
The dial is the gaze of the watch: it immediately captures attention and defines its personality.
For this collection, I drew inspiration from historical models, favoring a sober and functional aesthetic.
Every detail was carefully studied: the shape of the indexes, the balance of the hands, the overall proportions.
The result is a dial that is legible, elegant, and timeless, blending respect for watchmaking tradition with my own vision of balance and simplicity.
The Ajoie seal symbol
Each creation bears the Seal of Ajoie: the “vouivre,” a mythical creature, half-dragon and half-bird, with a pointed tail.
This mysterious and fascinating symbol has been tied to the region of Porrentruy since Antiquity. No one truly knows when it first appeared, but today it forms an essential part of its identity.
Integrating it into my watches was an obvious choice.
More than a motif, this seal embodies my roots and pays tribute to the rich watchmaking tradition of Porrentruy.
My thanks to all the artisans
This adventure is theirs as much as mine.
I know how demanding it is to work on small series, yet each artisan accepted the challenge at my side.
To them, I dedicate this first collection.
My special thanks go to:
– My friend Hughes Jolidon (Créajo, Courfaivre), for his technical guidance and valuable advice.
– Claude Ourny, prototypist, with whom I worked extensively on the case design.
– Damien Gatherat, stamper, who enabled the creation of the tool for the case.
– AM Polissage (Audrey Moureaux), for the polishing of the cases.
– Sebal (Bassecourt) and Erma (Boécourt), for the sapphire crystals.
– Vicro (Porrentruy), for the dials.
– Daniel Guélat (Courtedoux), for the cliché.
– Estima (Granges), for the hands, the only company I worked with outside the Jura canton.
– Technocut (Bonfol), for laser engraving.
– Mondor (Delémont), for galvanization.
– Isoswiss (Boécourt), for the rubber straps and crowns.
– Swisskh (Delémont), for the abrasive wheels used to decorate the bridges.
And finally, a very special mention to my children:
– Léa, graphic designer, who imagined my logo.
– Quentin, for his precious advice as a watch design specialist.
This first collection is much more than a personal project: it is the fruit of a collective journey, carried by the passion and craftsmanship of many artisans.
Through it, I pay tribute to the Jura watchmaking tradition while affirming my own identity, inscribed in every detail of design and execution.
This is how the first chapter of the Christian Etienne brand is written, with the ambition to share and extend this watchmaking passion far beyond Ajoie.
