This is one of three wristwatches educator and watchmaker Thierry Ducret* has crafted, since he first started creating watches under his own name in 2018. Almost all aspects are entirely crafted by hand tools in the watchmaker’s workshop in Flangebouche. It is cased in 42mm of stainless-steel with the brass, manually wound calibre, coated in black nickel, exposed on the dial side. The movement is the first to feature the barrel and the time display on the same central axis. The red enamel coated hands stand out against this backdrop. It is a fine example of craft from a master who has shaped the skills of some of the best-known French-origin watchmakers today.
Thierry Ducret comes from a long line of watchmakers. He grew up tiptoeing around his grandfather’s workshop, watching him ply his trade. On his passing, Ducret became convinced his direction, going to study at the Lycée Edgar Faure in Morteau and graduating in 1981. He didn’t imagine at the time that he would be going back as an instructor of clock- and watch-making. It is a role he continues to serve, having shaped the skills of generations of watchmakers including names such as Remy Cools, Cyril Brivet-Naudot, Luc Monnet and Jean-Marie Bouquin among others.
It would have perhaps been strange for Ducret to not channel his knowledge – of crafting a watch from basic raw materials using traditional techniques – to the end of creating his own watches. In 2007, he was awarded the annual Meilleur Ouvrier de France – recognising the best artisans in the country – for a pocket watch that he had taken shape after 300 hours of work.
While he has worked most of his career in restoration, and he has lent his skills in the past to brands such as Michel Herbelin and Pequignet, the next watch to bear his name came a decade later. Ducret says, “I have always shared everything with my students – ideas, tips – so that they could bring their own projects to life. In 2018, I felt the desire to create a personal watch project.”
The No. 1 prototype was finished a year later, in 2019. He added, “As a great admirer of the Breguet Tradition, I came up with an original idea that had never been realised in watchmaking – to combine the barrel and the time display on the same central axis, and to make the entire movement visible on the dial side, rather than hidden behind. For most of the components, I tried not to draw too much inspiration from existing designs – even for the balance wheel, which has since inspired other creators.”
Almost all aspects, save for the sapphire crystals and the leather strap were created at the watchmaker’s workshop in Flangebouche, using traditional tools such as a hairspring cutting tool, 6mm Lorch lathe, Schaublin 102 lathe for cutting and milling, Hauser M1 jig boring machine, Meyrat & Luisoni milling machine, Manurhin K’MX 80 milling machine among others. The extensive reworking means that the calibre bears little in common with the Unitas 6497 èbauche that it was originally based on. Each watch takes about 10 months to finish.
His small output and the uniqueness of each watch are understandable given his method – so far, the watchmaker has created just three examples. Despite their shared mechanical basis, each one represents an individual expression of Ducret’s craft.
