Fabian Pellet And His Breakout Watch, Called Essential

The interest in high-end independent watchmaking has risen to great heights over the past few years, and with it, new and exciting names pop up every now and then. Names that might come fresh from school, or in the case of Fabian Pellet, can rely on over two decades of experience. Presenting his debut piece, called Essential, it shows all the hallmarks of a very refined mechanical watch. A gorgeous case and dial, a stunning movement, and ample amounts of traditional finishing. Despite the fact the first series of the Essential is sold out already, it’s still worth having a closer look at this rather classical stunner.

As you might have been able to tell from the first images, Fabian Pellet has a passion for traditional watchmaking. Born in Lausanne, and educated in the Vallée de Joux, he specialized in complications and the restoration of antique watches. Following his graduation, he joined Breguet in 2003 and worked on minute repeaters at first, followed by a ten-year stint in the Grandes Complications & Restorations department. This bestowed upon him the aforementioned passion for tradition, something that becomes apparent in his debut piece, the Essential. Fabian has also taught watchmaking at the École Technique de la Vallée de Joux, yet after 20 years of working in the Swiss industry, he moved to Tokyo, Japan in 2022 and has since focussed on creating watches as an independent maker.

The first series of the Essential comes in a platinum case, with a fully polished finish. At 39mm in diameter and 8mm in height from sapphire crystal to sapphire crystal, it has lovely classical proportions. Proportions that will certainly please most watch enthusiasts and collectors. The lugs neatly transition into the curved caseband, and a flat-topped knurled crown at 3′ is used to set and wind the watch. The case for the prototype was made by Fabian, but for the production series (even though we’re talking very low numbers) a high-end case maker was entrusted with the task. The final result looks rather lovely and refined, even based on these first images.

With a name like Essential and a strong focus on tradition, the dial truly reflects Fabian’s vision of artisanal watchmaking. Crafted by Donzé Cadrans, owned by Ulysse Nardin and arguably one of the best (enamel) dial makers out there, it’s a wonderfully classical two-piece Grand Feu enamel dial. The small seconds subdial is not recessed, but rather a separate piece. The stark white colour finished with black printed markings and elongated Roman numerals gives it a strong personality, yet never an overpowering one. The polished hands are hardened and blued over a flame and done by Fabian himself after the initial outsourced ones proved of insufficient quality. Both the hour and minute hands have a slender arm and tips that are cut at the widest point for a delicate finishing touch!

The movement inside the Essential is developed by Fabian himself, and crafted in-house. Constructed out of German Silver, it has a rather unique architecture with distinctly shaped bridges over the barrel, geartrain and balance wheel. It uses 102 components, with the setting and winding mechanism neatly sandwiched between the dial and mainplate, to keep the focus on the running gears and escapement when viewing the back. The Calibre FAP 24 runs at a leisurely rate of 18,000vph and holds up to 58 hours of power reserve. The decoration is quite traditional and includes polished bevels/angles, Côtes de Genève, sunray brushing, black polishing and so on. It’s all done by hand, and it accounts for a third of the total time needed to finish a single watch.

Fabian Pellet will be making only three of the absolutely splendid-looking Essential, all of which are spoken for sadly. Each one is presented on a hand-sewn blue alligator leather strap with quick-release spring bars and a platinum pin buckle. The price for this sold-out exercise in traditional watchmaking craftsmanship was CHF 60,000. Don’t be too disappointed though, as Fabian Pellet has already confirmed the next series of the Essential is coming, which will be presented in different materials.

For more information, please visit FabianPellet.com.