Speake-Marin

Last updated
Speake Marin
IndustryWatchmaking
FoundedBursins, Switzerland (2002;22 years ago (2002))
FounderPeter Speake-Marin
Headquarters Geneva, Switzerland
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Christelle Rosnoblet (Owner and CEO since 2012)
ProductsLuxury Timepieces
Website www.speake-marin.com
Peter Speake-Marin Peter-Speake-Marin.jpg
Peter Speake-Marin

Speake Marin is a watchmaking brand specializing in luxury timepieces. It was founded in 2002 by English watchmaker Peter Speake-Marin and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. [1] Since his departure in 2017, Peter Speake-Marin is no longer affiliated with the brand. The brand was acquired in 2012 by one of the only independent women in the watch industry, an entrepreneur and arts enthusiast, Mrs. Christelle Rosnoblet, now CEO & President of Speake Marin. The brand is distinguished by bold, creative passion, expressed in a sophisticated modern style. The resulting timepieces are resolutely powerful examples of “Belle Horlogerie”. Driven by a resolutely entrepreneurial attitude and a determination to break free of existing watchmaking codes, Mrs Christelle Rosnoblet, offers a new approach to reading the time. In parallel, she strives to offer impeccably crafted timepieces while preserving their strong personality and independent spirit. As an independent company, Speake Marin enjoys creative freedom and agility in its decision-making. It can thus allow itself to be daring both technically and aesthetically on behalf of enthusiasts looking for off-the-beaten-track watchmaking and to the delight of the most discerning collectors. Vividly embodying the inimitable Speake Marin style, the collection’s bold, contemporary models are recognizable at first glance.

Contents

Speake Marin timepieces are developed, assembled and controlled in a fine watchmaking workshop called “Le Cercle des Horlogers”, which is based in the Neuchâtel area, Switzerland. Mrs Christelle Rosnoblet, Speake Marin CEO and Owner, started to invest in “Le Cercle des Horlogers” in 2014, which is specialized in Haute Horlogerie movement research & development.

The objective was then to acquire the resources to control the development of all Speake Marin watches, and consequently to: – Be independent in terms of movements sourcing – Define the Speake Marin movement quality standard – Fully execute Speake Marin creativity.

As of today, no less than twelve Speake Marin movements have been designed and developed for Speake Marin at Le Cercle des Horlogers Atelier.


History

Peter Speake-Marin was born Peter Neville Speake in 1968 in Essex, England, to an English mother and Welsh father. [2] After graduating as a watchmaker from Hackney Technical College in London in 1985, [3] Speake-Marin went to Switzerland to do an in-depth course in horological complications at the WOSTEP school in Neuchâtel. [4] He then returned to London and joined Somlo Antiques, heading the antique watch restoration department. After seven years at Somlo, [5] Speake-Marin went back to Switzerland in 1996 to develop and build high-end complications for Renaud & Papi (now Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi SA). [6]

Peter founded Speake-Marin SA in 2002 in Bursins Switzerland. In 2015 a new movement strategy was initiated to fully develop and assemble in-house manufacture movements within its atelier in the Neuchâtel area, Switzerland. [7] Peter Speake-Marin left the company in 2017 [8] and was replaced by the actual CEO, Christelle Rosnoblet (already administrator since 2012) [9] and an owner of the company. [10] In 2019, the headquarters were moved from Bursins to Geneva. [1]

Key Timepieces

Since the launch of Speake-Marin, the Speake-Marin collection has grown from time-only wristwatches to include models with a single hand; date; jumping hours; perpetual calendars; tourbillons and minute repeaters; [11] while featuring fired-enamel; semi-skeletonised; hand-engraved; and multi-level dials.

The Foundation Watch

The first timepiece to bear the Speake-Marin name was a hand-made tourbillon pocket watch, called the Foundation Watch because it formed a template for future Speake-Marin watches [12] through the spade-shaped hands and pleated crown, watchmaker’s topping-tool motif, (here in the shape of the tourbillon cage) and hand-engraving. [13]

Completing this unique piece helped Peter Speake-Marin to become a member of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI) [14] and it set the 'foundation' paved for the Speake-Marin collection. [15]

The Original Piccadilly

Launched in 2002, Peter Speake-Marin’s first wristwatch was the Piccadilly. [16] Various Piccadilly series and unique pieces have been created since, the first of which was the Original Piccadilly featuring enamel dial.

The Piccadilly case features screwed lugs, pleated crown and a drum-like case shape, which was inspired by the movement holders Peter Speake-Marin worked while at Renaud & Papi, [17] and named after his seven years in antique restoration at Somlo in Piccadilly, London. [18]

Marin 1 Mk I

Launched in 2009, the Marin 1 features Speake-Marin's first in-house movement, a grade 5 titanium case, flame-blued hands, two-piece oven-fired enamel dial and stainless steel Piccadilly case. Its three concentric rings for the minutes were inspired by early pocket watch chronographs. [14]

Marin 1 Mk I was the first Speake-Marin model to feature the SM2 calibre, an in-house calibre, designed and manufactured by Speake-Marin. It took three years to develop. [19]

SM2 movement Speake-Marin SM2 calibre.jpg
SM2 movement

The SM2 Calibre has been described as a “watchmaker’s movement” [20]

The balance wheel is large (weight of balance is 0118gr inertia 25 mg.cm2) and oscillates at 21,600 vph. The plates and bridges are made in untreated German silver. All bridges, levers and the main plate are finished by hand (circling, spotting and polished). The rotor wheel angles are hand-finished then the surface is mirror-finished. All pivots are burnished. The SM2 has a power reserve of 72 hours, features 29 jewels and contains 211 components altogether.

Marin 2 Thalassa Marin 2 Thalassa.jpg
Marin 2 Thalassa

Marin 2 Thalassa

In 2010, the Marin 2 Thalassa was launched featuring a hand-wound version of the SM2, the SM2m – ‘m’ standing for manual winding. The Thalassa features a blue-steel outer dial incorporating a date window, and an open inner dial through which the hand-finished movement is visible. [21]

Spirit MkII Speake-Marin Spirit.jpg
Spirit MkII

Spirit

In 2011, the Spirit collection was launched with the Spirit Pioneer model. The Spirit Pioneer has a black-lacquered dial; central hour, minute and second hands; Roman and numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock; and four pairs of hour markers. The hands, indices and 60-minute markers have been filled with three-dimensional Super-LumiNova that glows green in the dark. The Piccadilly case is in stainless steel. There is a ‘topping tool’ mystery winding rotor for the automatic movement and a motto engraved on the case back “FIGHT, LOVE AND PERSEVERE”. [22]

Renaissance Speake-Marin Renaissance Minute Repeater-Tourbillon.jpg
Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance minute-repeater tourbillon was launched in 2012. Renaissance features an open-dial, 18k red gold Piccadilly case heat-blued ‘Foundation’ hands. The 60-second tourbillon cage is in the shape of the Speake Marin topping-tool motif. [23] Each Renaissance is a unique piece with a different hand-engraved design on the movement. [24]

Resilience Speake-Marin Resilience.jpg
Resilience

Resilience

Resilience, which has a white oven-fired vitreous enamel dial and central blued-steel hour, minute and second hands, was launched in 2012. The colour of oven-fired enamel fades extremely slowly over centuries, so keeps looking new for far longer than normal dial treatments. [25] [26]

Rum

In 2016, Speake Marin created 59 watches, with each one containing a single drop of The Harewood Rum 1780, the world’s oldest rum according to The Guinness World Records. [27] The rum capsule is positioned at 11 o’clock, which is reference to an old Royal Navy tradition of providing the crew with their quota of rum at that time. [28]

Ripples

RIPPLES FRONT 40ST FRONT 01 transp.png

In 2022, with this sport chic collection, Speake Marin opens a new creative chapter in the brand’s history. Ripples is Speake Marin’s first ever bracelet watch, and in steel. As a reference to its British roots, the new case, La City, is inspired by the architecture of London’s eponymous financial district, while the surface of the dial, for which the collection is named, presents a series of twelve horizontal three-dimensional ‘ripples’, reinforcing the architectural style. With this collection designed by Stéphane Lacroix, Speake Marin combines fine watchmaking heritage and contemporary design inspired by modern architecture, with perfect proportions as the guideline.

Collaborations

In 2006 Peter Speake-Marin worked on the Excenter Tourbillon with Harry Winston. [29] He was then a consultant with significant involvement in the development of movement and case, as well as responsible for final quality control, for MB&F’s Horological Machine No.1, delivered from 2007. [29] In the same year, he collaborated with Christophe Claret and Roger Dubuis to develop Chapter One for Maitres du Temps. [29] In 2009, with Daniel Roth, he developed Chapter Two for Maîtres du Temps. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patek Philippe</span> Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer

Patek Philippe SA is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer, located in the Canton of Geneva and the Vallée de Joux. Established in 1839, it is named after two of its founders, Antoni Patek and Adrien Philippe. Since 1932, the company has been owned by the Stern family in Switzerland and remains the last family-owned independent watch manufacturer in Geneva. Patek Philippe is one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world with an uninterrupted watchmaking history since its founding. It designs and manufactures timepieces as well as movements, including some of the most complicated mechanical watches. The company maintains over 400 retail locations globally and over a dozen distribution centers across Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. In 2001, it opened the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vacheron Constantin</span> Swiss watch company

Vacheron Constantin SA is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded in 1755. Since 1996, it has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont Group. Vacheron Constantin is one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world with an uninterrupted watchmaking history since its foundation in 1755. It employs around 1,200 people worldwide as of 2018, most of whom are based in the company's manufacturing plants in the Canton of Geneva and Vallée de Joux in Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piaget SA</span> Swiss luxury watchmaker and jeweler

Piaget SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker and jeweller. Founded in 1874 by Georges Piaget in the village of La Côte-aux-Fées, Piaget is currently a subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont group.

A. Lange & Söhne is a trademark of Lange Uhren GmbH, a German manufacturer of luxury and prestige watches. The company was originally founded by Ferdinand Adolph Lange in Glashütte, Kingdom of Saxony in 1845. The original A. Lange & Söhne was nationalized and ceased to exist in 1948, following the occupation by the Soviet Union after World War II. The current A. Lange & Söhne trademark was re-registered when Lange Uhren GmbH was founded in 1990 by Walter Lange, the great-grandson of Ferdinand Adolph Lange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Complication (horology)</span> Any feature of a timepiece beyond the display of hours, minutes and seconds

In horology, a complication is any feature of a timepiece beyond the display of hours, minutes and seconds. A timepiece indicating only hours, minutes and seconds is known as a simple movement. Common complications include date or day-of-the-week indicators, alarms, chronographs (stopwatches), and automatic winding mechanisms. Complications may be found in any clock, but they are most notable in mechanical watches where the small size makes them difficult to design and assemble. A typical date-display chronograph may have up to 250 parts, while a particularly complex watch may have a thousand or more parts. Watches with several complications are referred to as grandes complications.

Ulysse NardinSA is a Swiss luxury watchmaking company founded in 1846 in Le Locle, Switzerland.

Girard-Perregaux SA is a luxury Swiss watch manufacture with its origins dating back to 1791. In 2022, then-owner French luxury group Kering sold its stake in Sowind Group SA, the parent company of Girard-Perregaux, via management buyout. Headquartered in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, the company opened the Girard-Perregaux Museum near its headquarters in Villa Marguerite in 1999. It is best known for the historic Tourbillon with three gold bridges, which was awarded a gold medal at the 1889 International Exposition in Paris soon after the launch of the watch. Other notable models from the company include the collection 1966, Vintage 1945, and models such as Tri-Axial Tourbillon and Laureato, an icon inspired from the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breguet (brand)</span> Swiss luxury watch manufacturer

Breguet is a Swiss luxury watch, clock and jewelry manufacturer founded by Abraham-Louis Breguet in Paris in 1775. Headquartered in L'Abbaye, Switzerland, Breguet is one of the oldest surviving watchmaking brands and a pioneer of numerous watchmaking technologies such as the tourbillon, which was developed into a practical solution by Abraham Breguet in 1801. Abraham Breguet also invented and produced the world's first self-winding watch in 1780, as well as the world's first wristwatch in 1810.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audemars Piguet</span> Swiss luxury watchmaker

Audemars Piguet Holding SA is a Swiss manufacturer of luxury watches, headquartered in Le Brassus, Switzerland. The company was founded by Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet in the Vallée de Joux in 1875, acquiring the name Audemars Piguet & Cie in 1881. The company has been family-owned since its founding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franck Muller</span> Swiss watchmaker

Franck Muller is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer named after its founder. The company's estimated total sales were €290 million in watches with an average unit price of €38,000. Franck Muller's watches are worn by various celebrities, among them Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elton John, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Kanye West, Conor McGregor, Floyd Mayweather, Paris Hilton, and Chris Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Dubuis</span> Swiss luxury watch manufacturer

Roger Dubuis is a Swiss watch manufacturer of luxury watches based in Geneva, Switzerland. The company was founded by Roger Dubuis and Carlos Dias in 1995.

Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre SA, or simply Jaeger-LeCoultre, is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded by Antoine LeCoultre in 1833 and is based in Le Sentier, Switzerland. Since 2000, the company has been a fully owned subsidiary of the Swiss luxury group Richemont.

Greubel Forsey is a Swiss watchmaking company specializing in complicated, high-end timepieces. It was launched in 2004 by Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey and is based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maitres du Temps</span> Swiss watch company

Maîtres du Temps is a Swiss watch company. Founded in 2005 by Steven Holtzman, the brand is based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The brand launched in Geneva in 2008 with Chapter One, a watch developed by Christophe Claret, Roger Dubuis and Peter Speake-Marin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham-Louis Perrelet</span> Swiss horologist (1729–1826)

Abraham-Louis Perrelet was a Swiss horologist. He was born in Neuchâtel, then in the Principality of Neuchâtel.

Richard Mille is a Swiss luxury watch company founded in 2001 by Dominique Guenat and Richard Mille, based in Les Breuleux, Switzerland. The brand specialises in high-priced clockwork watches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob & Co</span> Jewelry and wristwatch retailer

Jacob & Co. is an American privately held jewelry and wristwatch retailer founded in 1986 by diamond designer Jacob Arabo. Its flagship boutique and corporate headquarters are located in Manhattan, New York City.

The Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants is a non-profit association, founded in 1985 by Svend Andersen and Vincent Calabrese under Swiss civil law. Its mission was to perpetuate the art of independent watch- and clock-making. The AHCI is based in Zürich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manufacture Royale</span> Swiss luxury watch brand

Manufacture Royale is a Swiss luxury watch brand. Founded in the eighteenth century, the brand was revived in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konstantin Chaykin</span> Russian watchmaker

Konstantin Chaykin is a Russian watchmaker and inventor. He started as an independent watchmaker in 2003, establishing a workshop in St. Petersburg, Russia. In the interests of the business, in 2012 he transferred production to Moscow, Russia, where his company currently resides. He completed his first clock in 2004. and in 2008 Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants accepted him as a candidate. Since 2010 he has been a member of the AHCI, while in 2016 he was elected by AHCI members as the President, a position held until 2019. In October 2022, the jury of the Temporis International Awards included Konstantin Chaikin in the Temporis Hall of Fame.

References

  1. 1 2 "SOGC publication (February 2019)". Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce SOGC. 2019-02-01.
  2. ↑ "Report on the 2011 International Chronometry Competition by the magazine of Haute Horlogerie" . Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  3. ↑ Bishop, Kathryn. "INTERVIEW: Peter Speake-Marin, Speake-Marin". watchpro.com.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2013-09-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ↑ "Speake-Marin: creating something people want! | Europa Star Magazine". Europastar.com.
  6. ↑ "Speake-Marin Goes Back to His Roots With Renaissance Tourbillon Minute Repeater". Watchtime.Com. 2012-04-13.
  7. ↑ "Speake-Marin watches". The Watch Pages.
  8. ↑ "SOGC publication (September 2017)". Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce SOGC. 2017-09-25.
  9. ↑ "SOGC publication (May 2012)". Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce SOGC. 2012-05-01.
  10. ↑ "Discover Christelle Rosnoblet, The Woman Behind Speake-Marin". Watchonista. 2019-04-25.
  11. ↑ "AHCI — union of free creators". Montre24.com. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
  12. ↑ "A Visit With Peter Speake-Marin - TimeZone". People.timezone.com. 10 February 2015.
  13. ↑ [Journal.hautehorlogerie.org, Peter Speake-Marin Dream Merchant http://journal.hautehorlogerie.org/en/article/peter-speake-marin-dream-merchant/]
  14. 1 2 [Skellern, Ian (July 2010) “An Anglo-Swiss Affair http://www.speake-marin.com/images/articles/speake-marin.php]
  15. ↑ [Goldsmith, Meehna (17 January 2012) watchmatchmaker.com You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby: Speake-Marin Introduces the Renaissance
  16. ↑ monochrome.nl The Speake-Marin Original Piccadilly Collection with Enamel Dial
  17. ↑ [PuristS Pro: A 12-month Review of Peter Speake-Marin's Piccadilly
  18. 1 2 [Swisstime.ch Speake-Marin-Peter Speake-Marin
  19. ↑ [PuristS Pro: Musings on Peter Speake-Marins amazing SM2 in-house caliber and more... http://ahci.watchprosite.com/?show=nblog.post&ti=627796]
  20. ↑ [Monochrome Basel news: new Speake-Marin in-house movement SM2 http://www.monochrome.nl/basel-news-new-speake-marin-in-house-movement-sm2/]
  21. ↑ [Hodinkee Hands On With Peter Speake-Marin's Marin 2 Thalassa http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/2010/9/15/hands-on-with-peter-speake-marins-marin-2-thalassa-video.html]
  22. ↑ [ A Blog to Watch http://www.ablogtowatch.com/peter-speake-marin-spirit-mark-2-watch/]
  23. ↑ [WatchTime.com: Speake Marin Goes Back to His Roots With Renaissance Tourbillon Minute Repeater http://www.watchtime.com/featured/speake-marin-renaissance-minute-repeater-tourbillon/]
  24. ↑ [WTheJournal: Peter Speake-Marin, Renaissance man http://www.wthejournal.com/en/news/view/peter-speake-marin-renaissance-man]
  25. ↑ [Monochrome: Speake-Marin introduces another novelty – Resilience http://www.monochrome.nl/speake-marin-introduces-another-novelty-resilience/]
  26. ↑ [Escapement.uk.com: Peter speaks my language http://www.escapement.uk.com/articles/independent%E2%80%99s-day---speake-marin-resilience-42mm-steel-enamel.html]
  27. ↑ "RumSoldAtAuction". Guinness World Record. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  28. ↑ "Watch Containing Rum". Forbes. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  29. 1 2 3 [Montre 24 Watch magazine
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.