The New Schwarz Etienne 1902 Petite Seconde

Sometimes, moving forward means going back to recover the good things from the past. That appears to be the case at Schwarz Etienne, a small, independent brand from La Chaux-de-Fonds that wants to raise its profile and become better known on the watch scene. Founded in 1902, the brand is now in the hands of CEO Florian Brossard. Keen to exploit Schwarz Etienne’s high level of vertical integration, the brand’s full potential is about to be unleashed. Presented during Geneva Watch Week 2025, the 1902 Petite Seconde collection marks a new chapter in the brand’s design language. A blend of old and new, the three-hand dress watch in three dial colours reveals a refined sector dial design, and the movement heralds the return of the brand’s signature finger bridges.

Brossard has an interesting background. Trained in micromechanics and movement design, he was involved in rebuilding the legendary Minerva manufacture, followed by long stints at Montblanc and Greubel Forsey. As he points out in the interview, Schwarz Etienne is a diamond in the rough and is often better known for its private label activities than its own watches. As part of an independent watchmaking group owned by entrepreneur Raffaello Radicchi, Schwarz Etienne manufactures its watches and movements in-house and provides movements to third-party brands like Ming.

The 1902 Petite Seconde shares several features with the Roma Petite Seconde, a model that has inspired collaboration watches featuring guilloché dials and movement decorations by Kari Voutilainen, as well as the recent Geometry models with fascinating deconstructed guilloché designs by Eric Giroud. The first representatives of the new 1902 collection have 39mm titanium cases with a thickness of 10.9mm and polished and satin-brushed finishes. A contemporary choice of material, the lightweight properties of titanium enhance comfort.

Available in three colours – silver, slate grey or rose gold – the dials are reminiscent of old-school sector dials, a format that is enjoying a revival these days. Popularised in the 1920s, sector dials, also known as scientific or railroad dials, divide the dial into distinct geometric segments to enhance legibility. Regardless of the dial colour, the dials of the 1902 models play with different levels and share a white peripheral railway-style minutes track with thicker black markings on the quarters and Arabic numerals at 5-minute intervals. Slightly raised, the wider opaline-finished chapter ring hosts the applied and polished indices, alternating between elongated and rounded arrows at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock with double arrows at noon and rectangular indices.

The indices at 5 and 7 o’clock are truncated to accommodate the framed and slightly raised small seconds counter with its external white railway track and snailed interior. The grained central area of the dial, also slightly recessed, produces a circular separation between the chapter ring. In tribute to the brand’s heritage, the lance-style hour and minute hands have a sandblasted facet and a polished facet.

A mix of old and new, the 1902 is powered by the brand’s in-house ASE300.00 calibre, an evolution of the ASE200 powering the Geometry watches. With a micro-rotor on ball bearings, the barrel can store an impressive 86-hour power reserve. The mainplate is decorated with a contemporary sandblasted finish, while the bridges feature concentric and circular Côtes de Genève. The finishings are exemplary, with a sunray decoration on the ratchet wheel and hand-polished teeth. Like the bridges found on the ASE 100, the movement features four elegant finger bridges, one of them securing the 3Hz balance wheel. 

The three models are paired with alligator or calfskin straps with a rubber lining and a titanium pin buckle. The retail price is CHF 18,000. More information at schwarz-etienne.ch.