“Ordinary watches have never appealed to me”, says BLU founder, Bernhard Lederer, who already in his apprenticeship days loved to work on extraordinary and complicated timepieces. He studied the art of watchmaking of past masters and then developed his own style. Today with BLU, Bernhard Lederer has made a name for himself with a highly original collection of stunning watch designs and audacious interpretations of displaying time.
Founded in 2000, BLU SA is an integrated watchmaking manufacture specializing in exclusive haute horlogerie with a difference. BLU’s timepieces offer more than simple displays of hours and minutes ― BLU encompasses the best in traditional fine watchmaking while developing creative technical solutions to offer new ways of conveying time.
“I have gone beyond the stage of illustrating the technique of watchmaking, of making complications for the sake of making complications. When I design a watch, I do not think in terms of technical expertise. I always try to go to the very depth of its origins, going where no one has gone before. The new idea should provoke my curiosity and give my creative instinct a challenge. Even among complications, simplicity is key” ― Bernhard Lederer.
In addition to his vision, Lederer stresses the importance of craftsmanship, which is why BLU craft the majority of their components in their comprehensively equipped production facility adjacent to their watchmaking atelier in Colombier, on Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland. After the components are superbly finished, all BLU watches are assembled, adjusted and test by one watchmaker at their atelier.
BLU makes watches that indicate the time, but not in a blatantly obvious way. Their timepieces usually display time using rotating, or orbiting disks, reminiscent of the orbits of the sun and the planets. If the watch does have a hand or hands they are discreet.
BLU’s timepieces are noted for their serenity and elegant ingenuity; a reaction against the gadgetry and superfluous mechanics of traditional complicated watches.
You can look at a BLU timepiece and relax and enjoy its design and functionality without having the time intrude. Of course, if you do want to know the time, it is there, but it doesn’t yell at you - it whispers.
“Mechanisms and aesthetics are very closely linked. In fact, I would say they are totally inseparable in my watches“, Lederer says. “Both elements are vital from the outset of a new concept or watch design, and are the key ingredients to finding new, fascinating and inventive ways of displaying the continuous flow of time.” ― Bernhard Lederer.
