[English Version] Berneron Questions the definition of the 21st-century watch
- 3월 26일
- 9분 분량
최종 수정일: 3월 26일
How can a watch that dismantles convention resonate so deeply with contemporary taste and sensibility? Sylvain Berneron revisits the very definition of a watch, expanding its boundaries across disciplines.
Mirage 38mm Sienna
Diameter: 38mm
Case: 18K yellow gold
Water Resistance: 30m
Movement: Caliber 233
Power Reserve: 72 hours
Dial: 18K yellow gold
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Strap: Barenia leather
Is it art, a timepiece, or fashion? Those who encounter Berneron’s creations for the first time often describe them as “something never seen before.” Yet it is precisely this resistance to clear definition that forms their allure. Remarkably, his watches are embraced and understood by a wide spectrum—from newcomers to seasoned collectors, experts, artists, and fashion enthusiasts—more so than those of many established brands.
History has seen artists such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse, and Marc Chagall achieve both critical acclaim and public recognition during their lifetimes. Through unconventional visual languages, they drew audiences into art, secured the support of patrons, and established international reputations. By challenging institutional norms, they redefined artistic paradigms and left an enduring mark on art history. In a similar vein, Sylvain Berneron is a CEO of Berneron who transformed elements once deemed impractical within the watch industry into a singular, cohesive work. With his debut creation, Mirage, he made a powerful impact, earning the Audacity Prize at the 2024 GPHG. Just two years after founding his brand, Berneron received formal recognition for his capabilities. He is a founder who persistently asks, “What should a watch for the 21st century be?”—a creator who proposes new directions for the industry while demonstrating an acute understanding of both the market and the times, earning him the distinction of a “successful” contemporary artist.
Before establishing his own brand in 2022, Sylvain Berneron spent 15 years working as a product designer for major companies. He began his career in the automotive industry with BMW and Porsche, before moving into watchmaking with IWC and later Breitling. Over the past five years, he served as Breitling’s Creative Director, eventually becoming the youngest Chief Product Officer (CPO), solidifying his presence within the industry. With the trust of Breitling CEO Georges Kern, he embarked on an unusual path—launching his independent brand while retaining a partial creative role within Breitling. This flexible arrangement, allowing him to pursue an independent project with the CEO’s approval, remains exceptionally rare in the industry. Today, from his atelier in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Sylvain Berneron presents a new creation each September under the motto “Derestricted Horology,” continuously challenging conventions and redefining the art of watchmaking.
The entire Mirage 38mm collection is currently sold out for new orders through 2029.
Mirage 38mm Prussian Blue
Diameter: 38mm
Case: 18K white gold
Water Resistance: 30m
Movement: Caliber 233
Power Reserve: 72 hours
Dial: 18K white gold
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Strap: Barenia leather
A closer look at Berneron’s watches reveals several layers of bold ambition. First, he presents a new movement every year. He has consistently upheld the principle of developing an entirely different movement for each new release, and all three collections unveiled to date embody distinct architectures and innovative technologies. Second is his use of gold for the movement itself. The main plates and bridges of every collection are crafted in 18K gold, with the Mirage collection in particular regarded as among the thinnest gold movements currently in production. Third, while actively reflecting the voice of the market, he continuously pushes the boundaries of his own limitations. Through his watches, one can clearly read what contemporary collectors desire, as well as the creative experiments he seeks to pursue. Sylvain Berneron remains a distinctly 21st-century watchmaker, with a wealth of messages he wishes to convey through his creations.
Gold, According to Sylvain Berneron
While each person may hold a different view of what constitutes the most valuable material, those who favor gold will find themselves in the right place. The oldest known gold artifacts date back approximately 6,500 years, discovered at the Varna Necropolis in present-day Bulgaria. In ancient Egypt, as early as 3000 BCE, gold was regarded as the flesh of the sun god—a belief confirmed through hieroglyphs and archaeological remains. Across millennia, gold has transcended time, culture, and geography to retain its value. Even in today’s volatile digital era, gold continues to symbolize stability, beauty, and enduring worth. Whether worn on the skin or stored in vaults, it functions as a living legacy passed down through generations.
Sylvain Berneron is a watchmaker who rigorously studies the use of gold as a material. The Mirage 38mm, which delivered a shock comparable to that of the Cartier Crash upon its debut, drew widespread attention for its organically twisted case and movement, as if caught in a perpetual swirl. What truly shook the industry, however, was that every single component—from the case and hands to the buckle, spring bars, and movement—was crafted in 18K gold. The reasons behind his deep appreciation for gold will be further explored in the upcoming GMT KOREA April issue interview dedicated to the theme of gold.
Convincing the Radical
Before founding his brand, Sylvain Berneron carried around stacks of sketches and concepts, seeking advice on his future direction—but was discouraged by people around him. The primary concern was the sheer scale of investment required. Creating an asymmetrical movement like that of the Mirage demands immense cost, and the idea of producing it entirely in gold was so radical that even the movement manufacture Le Cercle des Horlogers initially found it difficult to accept.
What followed was a process of persuasion. While gold has traditionally been used in movements, its inherent softness makes it extremely challenging to maintain structural stability while reducing thickness. This difficulty becomes exponentially greater in ultra-thin constructions. Moreover, machining gold requires meticulous cleaning of CNC equipment, as any residual brass can severely compromise quality. Errors during production necessitate reclaiming and recycling the entire material, further increasing costs.
At this critical juncture, support came from prominent collectors such as Ronak Madhvani and Auro Montanari (also known as John Goldberger). With their backing, the project regained momentum, and after extensive persuasion, Le Cercle des Horlogers joined the endeavor. The result was the Mirage 38mm, whose movement—crafted in 18K gold, including the base plate and bridges—achieved an astonishing thickness of just 2.3mm.
The gear train is made of brass to manage friction, the winding wheel of steel to withstand torque, and the balance wheel of titanium. It is equipped with four gold regulating weights for precise fine adjustment. The manually wound movement operates at a frequency of 3Hz and delivers a power reserve of approximately 72 hours.
The Collector’s Choice
In a November 2025 interview with GMT KOREA, titled “Two Timepieces I Collected This Year,” Ronak Madhvani and Auro Montanari shared their perspectives on Sylvain Berneron’s Mirage collection. Auro Montanari selected the Mirage 38mm Prussian Blue, emphasizing his special connection with Sylvain Berneron. He had pre-ordered the watch roughly ten months in advance and received it in August 2025, praising its stability on the wrist as well as its uncompromising anti-magnetic performance and technical refinement.
Ronak Madhvani, on the other hand, chose the Mirage 38mm Sienna. He recalled first encountering the watch in London in 2022, when it existed only as a simple sketch and demonstration prototype, yet it immediately captivated him. He added that, within his collection largely composed of vintage pieces, this watch has secured its place as a contemporary work of significance.
Mirage 34mm
Diameter: 30 × 34 mm
Case: 18K white or yellow gold
Water Resistance: 30 m
Movement: In-house manual-winding Calibre 215
Power Reserve: 72 hours
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Dial: Tiger Eye or Lapis Lazuli
Strap: Calf leather
We Still Have More to Show
Berneron unveils a new creation and movement every September. Judging by his trajectory so far, he appears to be a maker who relentlessly pushes himself toward ever more extreme challenges. One of the most striking aspects of the Mirage collection is that its case form originates from the movement design itself. Mirage is a design born from rigorous mathematical thinking based on the Fibonacci sequence. While many watches merely reference the golden ratio, Berneron translates it into tangible form, realizing a truly original structure.
The Fibonacci sequence begins with 0 and 1, with each subsequent number formed by the sum of the two preceding ones, and its ratios gradually converge toward the golden ratio (approximately 1.618). The design process starts from a basic circular case—chosen to preserve wearability and familiarity—into which a Fibonacci spiral is introduced at the center. From there, specific points along the spiral (c1, c2, c3) define a scalene triangle, while circles with diameters of 5, 8, and 13 establish the core structure of the case. The form is further developed through tangents, additional centers (c4, c6), and even a secondary Fibonacci spiral that determines the placement of the small seconds. The final shape emerges within a clearly defined mathematical framework.
Another noteworthy feature is the “inverted hand stack.” Typically, the minute hand sits on top, but in this watch the hour hand is positioned above the minute hand. By leveraging the shorter length of the hour hand, the sapphire crystal can be placed closer to the bezel’s edge, effectively reducing the overall case thickness. To achieve this, the motion works were relocated toward the bridge side. In conventional construction, the cannon pinion is mounted on the center wheel shaft to drive the minute hand before transferring motion to the hour hand. In the Mirage 38mm, however, the cannon pinion is positioned ahead of the hour wheel, completely reversing the architecture. Though it may appear simple, the solution reflects a considerable depth of thought.
The subsequent Mirage 34mm is a compact dress watch—measuring 34mm in height, 30mm in width, and approximately 7mm in thickness—designed for greater versatility across different settings. The use of natural stone dials, inherently unpredictable and demanding in craftsmanship, posed a significant technical challenge. At the same time, the caliber 215, with a thickness of just 2.15mm, had to maintain reliable performance within an ultra-thin structure—presenting yet another hurdle. In a configuration where the case, movement, and dial function as an integrated whole, reducing thickness directly impacts durability and precision. The newly developed dedicated caliber, tailored to the case geometry, delivers a 72-hour power reserve at a frequency of 3.5Hz—an exceptional achievement for a movement of such compact dimensions.
Quantième Annuel Silver
Diameter: 30 × 34 mm
Case: 18K white or yellow gold
Water Resistance: 30 m
Movement: In-house manual-winding Calibre 215
Power Reserve: 72 hours
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Dial: Tiger’s eye or lapis lazuli
Strap: Calf leather
An Intuitive Annual Calendar: Quantième Annuel
What, then, of the Quantième Annuel? With this recent release, Berneron introduces a model that contrasts with his established style, expanding his spectrum from artistic objects for daily wear to high-precision complication watchmaking. The first model in this collection is an annual calendar, designed to reduce the complexity and inconvenience typically associated with setting and maintaining such complications.
The in-house caliber 595 adopts what Berneron calls a “cross architecture,” featuring two regulators—one dedicated to timekeeping and the other to calendar functions. Time (hours, minutes, seconds) is read vertically from top to bottom, while calendar information is displayed horizontally from left to right. The dial is offered in silver or black, set upon a lacquered 18K gold base plate.
Although annual calendars are often considered simpler than perpetual calendars, they can still be cumbersome in daily use. Most require adjustment via pushers using a separate tool, and resetting day, date, and month after the watch has stopped can be tedious. Additionally, so-called “dead zones” pose a risk of damaging the mechanism if adjustments are made at certain times, requiring careful attention from the wearer.
The Quantième Annuel was conceived to overcome these limitations with a more intuitive and practical approach. Time and date are adjusted via the crown, as with a standard watch, while the day and month are set using two pushers integrated into the case band. Unlike conventional annual calendars—which require adjustment for three days in common years and two in leap years—this model only requires correction in common years, automatically accounting for leap years. Most notably, it features no “dead zone,” allowing safe adjustment at any time. A protective mechanism ensures that if an error occurs during setting, the date automatically resets the date to the first day of the following month.
Caliber 595, named after its 5.95mm thickness, is a manually wound movement with a radically unconventional layout. The gear train is concealed, while the winding train dominates the caseback, echoing the cross-shaped architecture of the dial. Energy management was a central challenge: at the end of each month, four jumping and retrograde indications are activated simultaneously. To handle this, energy is individually accumulated via snail cams for each display, avoiding direct draw from the mainspring at the moment of transition. Two barrels are connected in series, providing a power reserve of 100 hours.
A New Watch to Be Unveiled This September
The main plate and bridges are crafted entirely from solid 18K gold. The plate features a subtle frosted finish, while the barrel bridge is adorned with a guilloché pattern reminiscent of Geneva stripes, creating a refined visual contrast. Bridge edges are meticulously hand-finished with anglage, and all screws are black-polished to achieve mirror-like surfaces that reflect light only at specific angles. The large barrel jewel is set within polished countersinks, adding to the overall level of finishing.
The platinum case presents its own challenges, being both highly prone to scratches and difficult to finish. To address this, a modular steel layer has been introduced, allowing six key components—including the bezel, four lug steps, and the hunter-case pusher—to be replaced.
Looking ahead to September, Berneron continues to pursue yet another ambitious challenge with a new collection. The name “Berneron” engraved on each watch reflects the conviction of Sylvain Berneron—a man who makes choices without regret and stands firmly by them.
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