Austria is the root of diverse gratifications, from Mozart’s classical music, Swarovski’s jewellery to tempting torte Sachertorte invented by an Austrian-Jewish. The former Austrian trade commissioner Robert Punkenhofer aspires to create one more Austrian pleaser for the global watch market by reviving Carl Suchy & Söhne, the once renowned Austrian horological brand which had been in dormancy for almost a century.
Founded in 1822, Carl Suchy & Söhne flourished during the 19th century. The brand was the official timepiece supplier to the imperial court in 1835 and the first watch purveyor to the Royal and Imperial Court for three generations due to its elegance and technical perfection. The father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud and Austrian-Hungarian emperor Franz Joseph I were amongst its loyal customers. By the year of 1855, the prestige of the brand went beyond borders. Their timepieces were exported to Great Britain and showcased at international fairs in Paris and London. Good time never lasts. Carl Suchy & Söhne vanished with the demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918 until Robert Punkenhofer stumbled upon this treasure buried by history when he was doing research about Vienna around 1900 for an exhibition he was curating in Milan. The legacy brand returned to the market with its ‘first’ collection, Waltz N°1 with an exclusive edition of 22 pieces which was shown at Baselworld in 2017. His vision is to re-build the brand by combining Viennese elegance with Swiss precision in a modern minimalist approach.
The ‘first’ collection
Punkenhofer worked with Serbian designer Milos Ristin and Swiss watchmaker Marc Jenni, a former member of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI) on the prototypes and showcased them at the Basel fair, named Waltz N°1. The piece is available in a couple of dial colours (black and white) and case finishes (stainless steel and ADLC in black).
Let’s waltz
Inside the 41.5 mm polished case is a thin calibre VMF 5401 designed and produced by the movement maker for Hermès timepieces, Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier (VMF) and modified by Marc Jenni to include the seconds-disc in each movement before final assemblage. The seconds-disc is a guilloche patterned facet rotating between the juxtaposition of horizontal and vertical striped guilloche dial. The iconic sub-dial symbolises the contra-body movement of the Viennese Waltz as well as Viennese sense of time, which seconds do not count. It waltzes in a circle and aligns with the guilloche dial once a minute. “The idea is to introduce a modern wristwatch with contemporary design but with a nod to Vienna’s historic past and respecting the city’s beauty and elegance,” Punkenhofer said.
Waltz N°1 Skeleton
Launched in 2018, Waltz N°1 Skeleton is nominated for the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) in the category of artistic crafts. This is the second GPHG-nomination in two consecutive years for Carl Suchy & Söhne. It features a movement which is visible through the sophisticated skeletonised guilloche dial and transparent sapphire crystal case back. Punkenhofer said that the openwork dial can only be done by hand. Powering the movement is a gold-plated decentralised micro-rotor providing the watch with 42 hours of autonomy. The waist piece is tailored in either black or white and limited to five pieces.
To bring glory back
Punkenhofer plans to produce 75 pieces and open a concept store in Vienna this year. A collection that features gold dial and case will be introduced during the Basel fair this year, as a nod to the historical pocket watches. Platinum is out of his consideration despite its popularity in jewellery and watches due to the absence of aesthetical and technical contribution. He hopes to bring Carl Suchy & Söhne back to its glorious moments in the 19th century
in future.
← Back