According to the expertise of Peter Speake-Marin, on his website The Naked Watchmaker, Vaucher has between 30-40 clients and manufacture approximately 35,000 pieces per year. Why do I bring this up? Because the movement development arm of Parmigiani Fluerier is none other than Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier S.A. They absolutely smashed it at Watches & Wonders this year. If you are a regular reader of Time+Tide, you will be well aware of our growing fascination with Parmigiani Fleurier. And the perfect example is the vast array of brands and watches with Vaucher-based movements in today’s marketplace. While some will separate Swiss watches into two categories, watches that use in-house movements and watches that use mass-supplied movements from companies like ETA, there are far more players in the equation. Prior to the quartz crisis, the Swiss watch industry revolved around specialists – utilising components from prestigious dial manufacturers like Metalem and bracelet manufacturers such as Gay Frères. Is it in-house? Is it supplied? But the question, and the resulting discrimination from the answer when some collectors scoff at mass-supplied movements, is not so simple. The larger marketplace may not worry about it, but horological gear-heads are often fascinated and obsessed with who develops a calibre. I/trending 16242 Six of the best watch brands that use Vaucher-based calibres Zach Blass

Calibre watch brand