Independents

Watch Commission
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Both are slightly weird brands

Schwarz Etienne are best known for making movements for others. They are redoubling an effort to bolster their own brand through design, and in my mind they're killing it. The watches they are making are clever, with beautiful dials, and remarkably well finished. They feel younger and cool without trying too hard. It's not cheap though, and you're paying for something you really need to love.
www.schwarz-etienne.ch
Moritz Grossmann is harder for me. The company has the horological chops, winding one is a genuine pleasure. To my taste their design falls short though, and it often feels like an attempt to out-geek Lange & Söhne, but ending up with an IWC look. That's not an insult, I own ten Portugiesers, I just wish Grossmann was a little less committed to its Germaness and brought on designers. Let them at least do one line that takes some risk. I wasn't exaggerating when I wrote that their Benu Contemporary Date or GMT are the only two lines I really like, and it took the collaboration with Voutilainen to put me over the top.
en.grossmann-uhren.com
In both cases you need to be watch dork, which I totally am.