The Wait Is Over, As Kallinich Claeys Have Finished Their Marvelous Einser Zentralsekunde

Almost two years ago, we published a story about two young and talented watchmakers coming out of A. Lang & Söhne to set up shop for themselves. Johannes Kallinich and Thibault Claeys, founders of the Kallinich Claeys watchmaking atelier, were hard at work to develop and build their first watch, the Einser Zentralsekunde. On paper, it looked mighty promising, with a German Silver movement developed by the two men themselves, a three-hander set-up with contemporary touches, and a rather neat trick up its sleeve. Now, after many months of painstaking hard work and challenges, the first watches are ready, and we were lucky enough to get our hands on them! Here’s an in-depth look at the Kallinch Claeys Einser Zentralsekunde.

Johannes Kallinich and Thibault Claeys have nestled themselves in the heart of German watchmaking. With a background at one of Germany’s leading haute horlogerie manufacturers, it was to be expected they call the picturesque town of Glashütte, situated in the rolling hills of Saxony, their home. Glashütte is quite a small town, yet home to some of the best brands Germany has to offer. Right down the street from them, you can find Nomos, Union Glashütte, Moritz Grossmann, Tutima, Glashütte Original and so on.

After honing their craft at A. Lange & Söhne for a number of years and in various occupations, the idea to venture out on their own was kickstarted by Johannes’ Meisterstuk, or Masterpiece. He was granted the opportunity to create this while still working at Lange, and the feedback he received on that very watch spurred him on to start designing his own commercial watch. Talking about it with Thibault only lit the fire even further, as the two men quickly found a direction of where to go and what the watch should look like. That watch, first seen in 3D renders two years ago, has now finally become a reality.

Einser Zentralsekunde Founders Edition

Einser Zentralsekunde Guilloché

It’s been far from easy though, as we’ve learned through talking to Johannes and Thibault. Creating a watch never is, but creating a watch at this level, from pretty much scratch, is a whole other story. It would take too long to explain all the challenges in a single article (so an interview is coming soon!) but one element in particular stood out to us. It looks fairly simple at first glance, but it caused quite a few headaches; the case! More specifically, the sapphire crystal in the caseband, which reveals the linear power reserve indication. This tiny piece was one of the reasons it took 22 months and going through multiple suppliers and prototypes before finding a manufacturer that could make what was envisioned.

The design of the 41mm wide by 11mm tall case was a challenge in itself, as it’s machined as a solid piece. No soldered or screwed lugs here, which was vital to Johannes and Thibault. Then there’s the step in the lugs, that flows into the subtle recessed areas in the flanks. But the true challenge was that tiny piece of crystal. Its size and shape meant it was extremely difficult for manufacturers to cut and polish it as the tolerances were extremely small. Even the details such as the bevelled edges around the entire piece proved too challenging for some suppliers. Then there’s the mirror-like metalized layer on the outer edge, which is applied by a gas vapour process before bonding the crystal into the side of the case with an invisible UV glue. They finally managed to find a manufacturer capable of making it exactly as it should be, all the way in Mongolia! The final result, however, is quite honestly mighty impressive!

Moving from case to dial, the men didn’t make it easy for themselves in this area as well. The dial is constructed out of multiple elements, starting with a hand-hammered outer ring for the hour indices and minute track. Finished in blue, the texture is extremely refined. The centre section is either an abstract geographical design for the Founders Edition, or a more traditional guilloché design for the ‘regular’ model. This is where the only concession in finishing was made, as initially it was meant to be covered by transparent enamel but it was proving to be too challenging. The silver-coloured eccentric circle in the top half is finished with tremblage and a plaque carrying the names of the creators.

The word Zentralsekunde translates to Central Seconds from German to English, which leaves zero doubt as to the configuration of the hands. The central hour and minute hands have a very refined design, with a scalloped section down the spine and chamfered and polished edges all around. The top surfaces are straight-grained, providing a delicate touch of contrast. The central seconds hand has a needle-like tip and an openworked teardrop-shaped counterweight. The fitting of the hand on the stem is also capped, so you don’t actually see a hole and stem, as you do on most other watches.

Given their background, it’s no real surprise that the KC001.1 is crafted from German Silver. The champagne-like warmth of the material is always extremely pleasing to the eye. The movement has been developed from the ground up, with all calculations done by Johannes. The frequency it runs at is 18,000vph, and it can store up to 45 hours of power when fully wound. The finishing is absolutely amazing, with individually chamfered teeth on all the gears, polished and bevelled angles on all the bridges and plates, various types of graining (including circumferential graining), polished countersinks and chatons, blued screws and so on.

Especially winding the watch is an absolute joy. Gripping the crown, embellished with a cross-hatched pattern and the brand’s logo, feels reassuring. Then, as you start to put energy into the movement, all gears under the differential bridge come to life. Each one plays with the light thanks to the individually polished teeth. Even the smallest of the 9 parts that make up the differential has been finished to perfection. It’s been engineered to smoothly move the power reserve indicator up when the watch is wound, and down when the watch is running. You get a full glimpse of this mesmerizing action through the sapphire crystal caseback, and the little window in the side of the case.

The Kallinch Claeys was launched with a Founders Edition in a series of 8 pieces, while the total production run is capped at 30 pieces, meaning there were 22 allocations available for the more traditional guilloché dial. And I deliberately say “was” and “were”, as shortly after releasing our initial story, Thibault informed us that all 30 were spoken for. All will be delivered with a supple brown alligator leather strap and signed pin buckle.

In addition to that, 10 Hong Kong editions will be made in partnership with A Watch Company, featuring a brown dial. That makes it sort of irrelevant to talk about the price of EUR 24,950, which upon handling the watch ourselves feels like tremendous value for money. If something like this were to come from an established high-end indie watchmaker, I have no doubt it would be double if not triple the price. So for those first 30 clients, consider yourselves very lucky! You have secured one hell of a watch at one hell of a price!

For more information, please visit KallinchClaeys.com.