8 Under-The-Radar Independent Watchmakers You Should Know

The name Rexhep Rexhepi might not be one that is familiar outside hardcore enthusiast circles, but when one of the great independent watchmakers of our time, Kari Voultilanen says that Rexhepi is "The most promising youngster he'd seen in a while", it's not something that can be easily ignored The first Akrivia watch signed with his name on the dial was launched in 2018, and it represents a modern and pure expression of watchmaking; it also went on to win the men's watch prize at GPHG that year These watches represent elegant solutions to the complex mathematics of watchmaking and as such should be on the list of any watchmaking enthusiast.

Imagine the level of passion and dedication needed to build a praise-worthy tourbillon with no formal training and only by reading George Daniels' Watchmaking book, fiddling around with alarm clocks, and watching Youtube videos Kudoke's eponymous founder Stefan Kudoke brings a very German style of watchmaking to the independent watchmaking scene Konstantin Chaykin is the only Russian member of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants, a professional body for independent watchmakers.

Looking at most of his watches including the Trio and Classic Janvier, it's easy to see the influence his early life have on his watchmaking. . Source