Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Well-Timed Release of the Ochs und Junior Pendant Watches
Impeccably timed, seven signature models can now be customised as pendant or pocket watches, their integrity uncompromised.
Timing, as they say, is everything. Hot on the heels of Audemars Piguet and Swatch’s Royal Pop pocket watch, the most hyped release of the century, teased with cryptic ads, countdowns and endless speculation, Ochs und Junior arrives with a timely proposal of a pendant/pocket watch. Not everybody has the nerve to follow a headline-grabbing pocket watch launch with a similar format, but there again, not everybody knows about the ingenious and unconventional character behind Ochs und Junior, Dr Ludwig Oechslin. Announced with the tagline “not meant to be worn on the wrist”, seven of Ochs und Junior’s signature models are now being offered in a pocket/pendant watch format, along with a host of bespoke options to create a watch that will outlast any passing trends.
Without getting into the debate of whether the Royal Pop will ultimately benefit AP’s Royal Oak line or whether it will just be remembered as a resounding commercial success for Swatch, what it did achieve was to shine a spotlight on a format that, for many, was relegated to dusty attics. Although many might think the format is defunct, don’t miss Robin’s recent round-up of transformable, convertible watches for proof that it is still alive and kicking.
Former curator of the Musée international d’horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Oechslin studied archaeology as an undergraduate and earned a PhD in Philosophy, with a scholarship to study theoretical physics and astronomy. He also managed to study watchmaking on the side and became a Swiss master watchmaker in 1983. Bringing his multidisciplinary approach to the table, Oechslin is renowned for tackling complications with ingenious solutions that use as few components as possible, displayed with minimalism and a deliberate industrial touch.
If you’ll excuse the digression, and to add to his long list of kudos, Oechslin was also a pivotal figure in the revival of Ulysse Nardin, and the name behind the hyper-complex astronomical Trilogy of Time (one of which was revisited in 2022 with the Blast Moonstruck) and the genius who re-engineered and perfected the design to make the legendary Freak and its rotating movement a reality.
According to the brand, the idea of a pendant or pocket watch had been kicking around for some time after a commission for a 42mm pendant watch in a silver case. Instead of singling out just one model, Ochs und Junior opens up the playing field with seven fully customisable models. Perfectly timed, the fact that seven of the brand’s models are now available as pendants or pocket watches is a playful addition that does not jeopardise or dilute Oechslin’s core watchmaking philosophy. Far from being a gimmick or a flash-in-the-pan accessory, the customisation is really just another level of versatility.
The seven models that can be adapted – perpetual calendar, annual calendar, two time zones, date (mese), two time zones and date, day/night and moon phase (selene) – might have deceptively simple names (further downplayed by the brand’s insistence on not using caps), but deliver incredibly sophisticated information.
If you are interested in customising one of the brand’s watches, head over to ochsundjunior.swiss/watches, select the watch and then hit the “customizer” tab at the top. Here you can choose the case size (where applicable), the case material, the colour of the dial, markers, hands, complication indicators, Super-LumiNova and the strap. However, to have the watch customised as a pocket or a pendant watch, you will need to email [email protected] to indicate this preference.
Each pendant watch is delivered with a custom-made leather pouch and a braided cord crafted by Sabina Brägger, a Swiss textile and product designer.
