Wie das Modell 01 von Monceau ein schlummerndes Schweizer Erbe wiederbelebt – und was es über die Strategie moderner Mikro-Marken verrät
The Lost Signature Monceau Needs a Second Act
Once Simon Ryan had found the sleeping trademark Monceau, buried in an archive in the Jura, he found out not only an orphaned logo, but also a lost passage of Swiss optimism after World War II that once drove a couple of hundred of ateliers. The original Monceau made well-finished Valjoux powered chronographs to the 1950s, then came crumbling with the Quartz Crisis in the 1970s. Ryan is in a process of rediscovering its own past: a bigger trend is that in the last 24 months at least nine defunct Swiss brands have emerged, so far raising an aggregate CHF 12 million in pre-orders and private financing (2025 Micro-Brand Index). Swiss Federal Customs statistics fill in some details: despite an overall fall in watch exports of −2.8 % to CHF 26.0 billion in 2024, the ultra-low wholesale price segment below CHF 1 200 rose 4.5 %, as millennials and now gen X aimed at more honestly made hand-wound jewelry. Last fall I was scrolling on my Berlin commute through one of an early render and thought, At long last, mid-century aesthetics, but slimmed down. That flashback is the reason collectors continue the chase of real provenance in an oversaturated market.
Designing in the Wrist, not on the Display Case The Argument to have a 39 mm Footprint
The first non-negotiable that Ryan had was comfort. The model 01 thus has a width of 39 mm, a lug to lug of nearly 45 mm and is only 10,2 mm with its sapphire dome (only 8,4 mm without). According to a Morgan Stanley 2024 survey, 62 % of the watches with integrated-bracelet launches since 2023 are between 38 and 40 mm, a staggering opposite of the 42 mm mania that was the going flavor in early 2010s (2024 MS Watch Census). Faceted flanks alternating brushing and flash-polish are made to refer the blueprints of Geriald Genta in the 1970s, but transitions are kept razor-clean. Even more unexpected is the depth rating of 200 metres that is quite rare to find with a hand-wound watch in the market or rather desktop divers can indeed go under water. I tried a prototype in March in the drizzle of Berlin, and was impressed by how the case’s 2 mm thick sapphires in the back eliminated the rotisserie roll by which taller cases are afflicted on my 17 cm wrist. And such a tiny ergonomic triumph was like an exotique escapement.
Geography by the Dial: How to make impressions made when travelling turn into a upper surface feel:
and the dial is a relief-map in brass. Ryan photographed the rippled radial pattern and etched it after seeing the red dunes of Riyadh, the basalt beaches of Iceland and the sastrugi of Antarctic. Those sites are channelled by four launch colours with different proportions of the initial 500-units drop:
| Variation | Colour Technique | Geographic Prompt | Solid Blocks of Lume | Devices Given by Batch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Icelandic | Matte charcoal | Volcanic sand | Rhodium-framed | 30 % |
| Antarctic White | Frosted silver-white | Polar ice crust | Rhodium-framed | 25 % |
| Atacama Grey | Fume gradient grey | Desert twilight | Gunmetal-framed | 25 % |
| Riyadh Red | Fum e terracotta | Dune sunrise | Rose-gold-framed | 20 % |
All of the hour markers are machined out of individual blocks of Super-LumiNova, so there are no steel surrounds, when the watch is in the dark it reflects like the floor plan of an architect. As LuxSight showed in the 2025 Trend Review, the number of Instagram posts tagged #solidlume increased by 37 % between 2023 and the middle of 2025, indicating the demand of collectors in daring nighttime aesthetics. Everyday functionality is maintained but symmetry is preserved by a framed date aperture at 6 o clock which has been bevelled to match the angles of the case. In turning my wrist, subdued down-light of a cafe popped in the ripples like wind-scratching in sand: a deliberately paused allusion to the varying topography of nature.
Hand-Winding in an era of convenience Anaesthetic Inside the Sellita SW210-1
The sapphire rear lets light through to Sellita SW210-1 Elaborg dated, a 3.5 mm-thick manual cloche. Although the automatic movements reign in quantity, since 2023, (2025 Sellita Partner Report), the demand of super-slim hand-wound calibres measuring less than 4 mm, increased by 11 % year-over-year. It is philosophical as well as dimensional: Ryan claims that everyday turning has created a sense of ritual desperately needed in modern life. It has a calibre that runs at 28800 vph, the power reserve of 42 hours and is adorned by Geneva striping and laser engraved Monceau M. Sellita improved the click-spring and setting lever in 2024, due to micro-brand comments in regard to long life. This was fully wound and the 28 crisp crown clicks confirmed that when I counted late at night at my desk; the resistance was more hydraulic and soundly reassuring under the 200-metre gasket pile under the watch. It gave me reasons why the touch-based communication is important even in the era of screens.
Financing the Future- Early Pricing Psychology, Rolling Risks, and the Bracelet Trick
Monceau is pitching early slots at the relatively low price of 599 ( 720 ) or ( 745 ) instead of wooing major retailers in preparation of the arrival of the handset as usual on the standard price of 849 ( 1030 ). The standings on crowdfunding are still impressive: out of the 120 watch campaigns that have ended in 2024, 78 % were successful or over-successful, averaging 260 % over-funding (Crowdfunding Horology Round-Up 2024). Within 48 hours, the Model 01 hit more than 150 % of the internal target set at £100 k. The positioning noted by the analysts is the sweet-spot determination- offering at a discount of 30-40 % of major corporate brands Swiss, but assembles the authentic assembly at Fonds La Chaux-de of STP. Such cushion might protect Monceau against the phenomenon of a tariff whiplash: U.S. importers made pre-payments of CHF 2.55 billion in Swiss watches before a possible increase in duty to 31 per cent, in one month in April 2025, sending export statistics in the red.
The watch comes with an in-situ stainless-steel bracelet with H-links finale the same as the bevels of the cases and whose concealed-clasp micro-adjuster takes 1.5 mm increments, which is crucial during rainy, hot season. conventional FKM rubber and stitched nubuck straps can be used in place of the conventional 20 mm lugs exposed by removable end-links, and both are provided as launch extras. The independent wearer surveys reflect that interchangeable systems increase post-purchase satisfaction index by 18 % (2024 Swiss After-Sales Barometer). I switched personally to the nubuck literally moments before a gallery opening; the silhouette of the case remained unified and it shows that the lugs were not an afterthought.
Beyond Revival What the Model 01 Predicts about an Aggregated, Narrative-Hungry Market
Combining the post-2023 production expertise with the mid-century restraint, the Monceau Model 01 can serve as an indicator that small, narrative-heavy players can succeed in macro-volatility. Most important, its success highlights the three macro movements:
- Heritage Selectivity – No longer are all the heritage stories purchased by consumers, they respond to the targeted provenances, with upgraded material.
- Size Re-Calibration – Smaller diameters are not a trend, but rather a new ergonomic starting point given that younger generations of collectors seek to wear them all-day comfort.
- Community Funding Flywheel Crowd pre-orders are transforming into iterative R &D circles, and providing micro-brands with feedback on a timeline legacy houses cannot compete with.
On a rainy Berlin street, after our last prototype meet-up, I clipped the lid, heard the soft click on my wrist, and realised: the original 1950s Monceau never even saw a future like this, much less dreamed of it–but that now its heartbeat animates the future.