One of the more interesting and beautiful small production high-end watch brands from the last few years is Atelier DeMonaco. The exclusive luxury watch maker is based in Monaco, but is actually owned by Frederique Constant, and headed by their Dutch technical director and watchmaker Pim Koeslag. So in reality, DeMonaco is assembled in Monaco, logistically managed from Switzerland, and operated by the Dutch.
A few hallmarks of the brand are particularly interesting and they include use of modern materials such as sapphire bridges and silicon parts, beautiful hand-engraved elements such as the automatic rotors, and attractive yet contemporary designs. DeMonaco watches feel like a satisfying combination of both traditional watch making values but modern luxury sensibility. These watches aren’t for everyone with their high-end positioning and exclusive production, but they should be on your horological radar.
In this article you get to see a few pieces in the DeMonaco Tourbillon collection which includes both the Tourbillon Carre (square) and Tourbillon Ronde (round). Each of the case styles comes with a few dial options that includes both Arabic and Roman numerals or baton hour markers, as well as case materials in both 18k rose and white gold. The cases are further produced from two materials, which includes 18k gold on the outside, with a titanium inner case. This is done as a means to make the watch stronger and lighter, as the generous proportions would make for a hefty load on the wrist if the cases were entirely in gold.
The DeMonaco Tourbillon Ronde case is 43mm wide while the Carre case is 44.3mm wide. These are most certainly bold timepieces with a loud demeanor that is enhanced by many of the decorative elements on the dial and case. Most of the dial versions have either engraved elements or Tahitian mother-of-pearl centers. We like the applied hour markers which come in various forms, each crisply cut and polished. Legibility is actually quite good. though I feel that DeMonaco did not need to give these watches skeletonized hands (new hand options will likely be added in the future).
