We sit down with Julien Ehrismann from Speake Marin to discuss the open-worked mastery of the bold new Ripples Skeleton timepiece!
During this year’s Geneva Watch Days, the team from Watch Advice had the chance to sit down with the Product Manager from Speake Marin to talk about the brand, but more specifically on the latest masterpiece that’s been created in the the Ripples Skeleton.
But, before we dive into the interview, who is Speake Marine? And what do they bring to the world of horology?
Speake Marin is quite a young brand, established in 2002 by British watchmaker Peter Speake-Marin. This is an independent brand that blends traditional watchmaking craftsmanship with contemporary aesthetics. Being an independent brand is a key feature for Speake Marin, as it gives them a lot of creative freedom when it comes to their designs.
What sets Speake Marin apart in the world of luxury timepieces are quite a few elements in which the brand specialises. Firstly, we get the unique case design, which has become quite iconic and is a hallmark of Speake-Marin watches. The Piccadilly case, which has been inspired by traditional English pocket watch designs, is a core element of the Ripples collection as well.
Another aspect of Speake Marin is the horological art of their watchmaking. The brand is known for its high level of artistry and craftsmanship, from the hand-finishing techniques to the open and skeletonised dials. The beauty of mechanical watchmaking is in fine hands with Speake Marin!
“An encounter between English daring and Swiss expertise, the Maison demonstrates a rich creative vein that celebrates the successful merging of design and Haute Horlogerie. The brand’s watchmaking reputation – which, 20 years after its launch, remains as strong as ever – began with the distinctive Piccadilly case featuring a sophisticated balance between its robust lugs and its slim circular shape.“
As mentioned earlier, Speake Marin is an independent brand. This means that when compared to many of the major commercial luxury brands, they can stand out in a few ways. Firstly, independence allows for greater creative freedom, with artistic designs, unique cases and almost in a way “less” influence on their overall final product. The brand truly does create eye-watering timepieces! They have also brought back traditional craftmanship back on the table, even though they have modernised this with a contemporary twist on the techniques. One element of this traditional watch design is the Breguet hands, which can be seen on some of the brand’s timepieces.
An entrepreneur and watch enthusiast, Christelle Rosnoblet has been the CEO of Speake Marin since 2012, steering the ship to new horizons!
Another aspect of independent watchmaking is the limited production to the watches. Compared to the more commercial brands, Speake Marin produces only a certain amount of timepieces per year, which gives more exclusivity to the timepieces created. As if the designs weren’t exclusive enough!
“Speake Marin is committed to create “Belle Horlogerie” – Beautiful timepieces – in the respect of Swiss fine watchmaking heritage.
All its collections are proposed in Limited editions only.
All its collections are nestled In-house/or Exceptional Movements.
All Speake Marin creations are Exclusive to Speake Marin.“
The brand’s Ripples collection has a relatively short history, as it was only released in 2022. However, this doesn’t mean that the collection isn’t able to hold up to the brand’s other noteworthy models. In fact, within the last two years, the Ripples collection has gained traction due to its unique cushion-shaped case design, its comfortability with dual micro-adjustment bracelet and the exceptional finishing found throughout the timepiece.
Related Reading: GENEVA WATCH DAYS: Speake Marin Introduces All New Ripples Skeleton (Live Pics)
With the release of the Ripples Skeleton this year, the collection has certainly now cemented its place as an icon of Speake Marin. The watch brings forth everything we expect from an independent watchmaker, plus more! It’s also refreshing to see that Speake Marin has listened to the feedback of the fanbase and clientele to adjust where necessary to make the watches more comfortable to wear.
We sat down with Julien Ehrismann to go through this latest masterpiece of horology from Speake Marin and discuss all things related to its inception and design!
“So my name is Julien…I work as the product manager, overseeing everything from design to engineering. I am not a watchmaker; I used to travel a lot to meet collectors, to meet retailers, to get their feedback as well as their passion for watches. You don’t get into this industry out of nowhere! It’s always good to meet people to discuss, and then you get a certain interpretation of watches, which is also the interpretation of Christelle Rosnoblet, who has a strong input on the design. It’s been five years and it’s been fun, we are moving forward, we are going into the right direction”
It’s certainly not easy creating a skeleton watch. Many brands do shy away from this due to complexity and also being able to execute it properly. Speake Marin is no stranger to creating skeleton watches, however, with some of the other collections from the brand already featuring skeleton dial timepieces. While each of the existing collections features at least one skeletonised model, the brand also has dedicated skeleton collections such as Openworked and the brand’s more exclusive Haute Horologerie collection. It’s a great way to showcase the workmanship of a watch. Because it’s a skeleton, you can’t hide a lot. It’s almost like going naked for a watch!
“Yes, this is true; you can see all the features of the watch, so that is important. It’s a good offering; the skeleton is a good way to be transparent; okay, this way, you can see all the components. You can see that the balance wheel is made from Le Cercle des Horlogers, and we are not ashamed of that! It’s good; you have a direct second (as he points to the seconds sub-dial at 1 o’clock), and you can see it is placed right next to the escapement; the micro-rotor can be seen as well (9 o’clock on the dial), which is specific to this calibre. It’s not like an adjusted calibre for Speake Marin. It’s a calibre that is brand new and created specifically for Speake Marin and the Ripples Skeleton. If we take the Reverso on your wrist (referencing the Reverso on Chamath’s wrist) it can be a nightmare to skeletonise. Would it become reliable? If it doesn’t work properly, what’s the use of the micro-rotor? That was a big trial for us when creating the Ripples Skeleton.”
One thing that was certainly noticeable from the Ripples Skeleton is that this is one of those timepieces that just by looking at it from photos you don’t get to see the watch to its full glory. In other words, photos don’t do the watch justice. This is because one of the standout features of the Ripples Skeleton, besides being a skeletonised version of the Ripple watch, is that it has an incredible shine! Just the way the light hits some of the facets and the way they shine felt like Speake Marin spent a substantial amount of work into the baseplate and the movement.
“Actually when we started, we were co-developing the movement next to the design. This is actually the best way to do a skeleton; you develop it based on the design you would expect. For the Ripples Skeleton its a contemporary design of the skeleton dial. We still have to retain the core shape of the Ripples timepiece. The bridges on the dial that hold the movement are all horizontal, much like the Ripple’s waves, which are also horizontal. We kept the ripples as well on the small seconds. So, the identity is still there. It was extremely complicated to do this in small seconds. The indices are 0.10mm, so good luck! Haha”
Keeping the small seconds is vital to most timepieces. However, in the case of the skeleton watch this can be especially tricky as readability is a huge factor. Do you have a central seconds hand like a normal three-hander or do you have a dedicated subdial, and in doing so do you then skeletonise it as well to suit the rest of the dial. This is sometimes why we see brands opt not to show the constant seconds on skeletonised dials, as it can be tricky to implement. With the Ripples Skeleton, Speake Marin has been able to integrate a dedicated seconds subdial without losing the essence of the watch, and in a way add to the overall aesthetic of the timepiece with the exceptional finishing on the subdial.
“It’s true; it’s usually lost within the other features because the skeleton dial drowns it out. But on the Ripples Skeleton, the seconds dial is one of the main focus points. It actually makes sense to do it this way. A skeleton watch is a headache. You question every curve, and you wonder, why did we start this? In regards to the movement, we could’ve gone thinner than 3.25mm. Still, after a certain point, you have to respect the size and technicality of the 3.25mm movement size. We also included the small seconds, which are part of the movement as the bridges hold the gear train. If we build the seconds on the mainplate, however, getting a thinner movement on this calibre could be possible. However, this may not be something we will do, as you can always go thinner, thinner, and thinner all the time, but it’s unnecessary.”
Creating ultra-thin watches comes with its own set of challenges and complexities. Especially since you want to skeletonise the dial and show all the watch’s components, while it can be a technical marvel to create ultra-thin watches, you also need to create watches that are wearable and also versatile. Unless it’s a limited-edition model of only a handful of timepieces, it needs to have a degree of comfortable wearability and versatility that will still cater to a large audience. The lower you go in a watch’s thickness, the more you also lose. So it’s all about finding the balance of creating a thin timepiece while still keeping the essence of what makes the watch great and highly desired intact.
“Yes, if a watch is not comfortable and is not easy to use, it can be a headache and usually will end up in the safe. It’s sad because we believe watches have to be worn. Because wearing your watch is enjoying your watch. You have to find the right line of being too thin. If you go thinner as well, the crown will not be screwed down, so you have to compromise a lot to go thinner. For example, we checked with three different crown makers, who said that the thickness is the minimum we can go (3.25mm). Any thinner and you should remove the screw-down crown. You should not question what you would do with the watch because you also have the integrated bracelet and water depth rating.”
People will consider things like water resistance important, especially for a watch to have around 10ATM (100 metres). However, 50m with a screw-down crown is still very wearable for swimming in a pool. For a dip in the pool, this will do the job fine!
“We were questioning the crown’s design as it is lower on the case. It is easy to handle, and the design proportions are slightly minimal. When you pull the crown, it comes out of the guards by around 0.10mm. It’s nothing! You don’t even feel it. It also has a secure, winding feel. You get full power with 50 complete rotations.”
For the very first time, Speake Marin is using 904L steel as the case material for a Ripple’s timepiece. Previously, the brand used 316L steel, which is the standard steel used throughout traditional watchmaking. Using 904L steel offers a much higher percentage of nickel, chromium, and copper, increasing the material’s resistance to corrosion and acids. The higher chromium content in 904L steel means that when it’s polished, it will shine a lot brighter! Perfect for the polish-finished bevelled edges on the bezel of the case, which, when paired next to the brushed finish surfaces, allows the watch to stand out beautifully.
“It’s only steel being used through the Ripples Skeleton, but we have increased the quality of steel used for this version, which is 904 steel. This is good because 904 steel is brighter. However, it is slightly harder to work with. So that’s the difficulty, but it’s also more resistant, which is useful once you start wearing it. It’s hard to say the hours worked to achieve this level of finish. It certainly does take a lot of time, but it is also extremely difficult because you have a certain thickness of the bevel, usually around 0.45mm, so that the case has its defined angle shapes.“
“If you push it too hard when bevelling, you end up removing a lot of material that you obviously can’t get back. Some bridges are made of German silver because they are more resistant, so to be honest, it was extremely complicated to reach all these details. But we did it. We have a good team working on this model. I met them every week until we had the finished product. We first had the theory, which is the concept design. Then comes the practicality, which is creating the product, which is very tricky as it is the most challenging part.“
Speake Marin has used an ultra-high frequency movement named SMA07, which beats at a rate of 5Hz (36,000 VpH). As we know, the Ripples Skeleton has reduced its overall thickness from 9.20mm to 6.30mm. This significant reduction of almost 30% is down to the new generation SMA07 calibre movement, which is only 3.25mm thick. Creating an automatic movement that beats at 5Hz in such a thin size is an achievement in itself. The movement, as stated earlier, is made alongside Le Cercle des Horlogers, who were able to design the movement in a way such that all the core elements (micro-rotor, balance wheel, small seconds, etc.) are retained for view, and the thickness of the movement can be kept to as minimal as possible.
Balancing the power reserve with a high-frequency movement can also be quite tricky. Normally, as the high-frequency drains energy faster, the movement’s power reserve can be hindered. However, Speake Marin was able to find the balance by offering 52 hours of operating time.
“For a movement to have 5Hz is quite interesting. When you wear the watch and it takes a shock, for example, it will only affect the balance wheel one way. With a higher frequency, you will be less affected when the watch comes across small shocks. In other words, a 1Hz movement is more affected compared to a movement with 5Hz. 5Hz is also quite interesting to keep track of time. The seconds will also move much smoother. For the Ripples Skeleton, it is also direct seconds. What does this mean? The seconds sub-dial is placed right after the escapement, so it’s always under tension. If it’s in the centre like a traditional timepiece, you have the gear space that will affect that. With the Ripples Skeleton, you have direct energy transfer. Many big brands do that; I’m a big fan of brands that do that, for example, Grubel Foresey; I love how they do it; they build their movement like that. They have the small seconds near the escapement. I love many brands that do this, which is also the issue!”
“With regard to the power reserve, we are sometimes limited in space. In this case, we have a minimum of 52 hours of power reserve. Based on calculations, it’s 60 hours. We tend to always have more than what’s stated. It was a big question. Initially, we wanted more. Afterwards, you have to compromise. 52-60 hours is comfortable for operating. 5hz consumes a lot of energy!”
One certain aspect of the movement design that stood out was the mainspring barrel. When you wind the watch, you can actually see the mainspring barrel turn. This is the whole point of skeletonised movements: to see the timepiece’s inner workings in action. However, with the Ripples Skeleton, Speake Marin has done a wonderful job in how they display the mainspring barrel. Other brands, without naming names, simply just whack the barrel on the movement or have a dedicated section for the barrel. While this can have its own aesthetic purposes, it seems like the attention is drawn away from the skeletonised movement, and your eye is immediately drawn to the barrel upon first look. What Speak Marin has done well here is that they have implemented the mainspring barrel as one with the architecture of the skeletonised dial.
“It’s not completely open. While the top of the barrel is open, the main bridge and different arms hold it. You don’t see it fully, as it blends with the rest of the skeletonised framework. What is interesting in terms of the design of the watch, as you said, is the construction of the dial is really around the centre. It’s designed in a way that when you go clockwise around the watch, there is always a different element. From the small seconds at 1 o’clock, the power reserve barrel between 4 and 5 o’clock to the micro-rotor at 9 o’clock and finally, the balance wheel at 12 o’clock!“
“I think this design is good. Because sometimes, when the skeletonised watch is “too skeleton”, you can see wrist hairs and whatnot, and some people can be bothered by this. With this Ripples Skeleton, you can show everything, with having some free space as well.”
What Speake Marin has done well in regard to their watch designs, including the Ripples collection, is listen to the feedback of the watch community and Speake Marin enthusiasts. The brand has gone and talked with different collectors to get their opinions on the watches. Take the Ripples collection for example, the small adjustment of the bracelet is a huge win in terms of wearability. Rarely do you see a design where you get micro-adjustments on both sides of the bracelet, which certainly allows for finer adjustments and better fit every day. It almost negates the feeling of a watch not fitting properly because you can still remove the desired number of links and then have the micro-adjustment do the rest.
With the double micro-adjustment available on the Ripples Skeleton, the watch fits with ease on the wrist, providing comfortable wear on the wrist.
“We try when we start with watches actually to get designs that’s useful and easy to wear. If you talk to the collectors, they say that I love micro-adjustment, so why don’t you do half-links etc? They think it’s a simple solution but it’s not always the case. The Ripples Skeleton is comfortable to wear. Your wrist can expand due to different temperatures, which means sometimes there can be a minor difference in your wrist size, and everybody is different. The Ripples Skeleton has a 2mm adjustment, which isn’t big; however, it’s big enough to make a difference.”
“It’s 2mm on both sides of the bracelet too, which makes 4mm of total micro-adjustment. We try to adjust that as much as possible so you can get a better fit. That was the feedback from the community when we introduced the first Ripples. We were given feedback that people loved the watch, were wearing it, but it was very tight on the wrist. They were asking for a half-link, and while this is good, this adjustment won’t fit all the wrists. By offering 2mm micro-adjustment on both sides, we can cater to a broader audience.”
“One retailer in Vienna told me you don’t look at the watch with your eyes, you look at it with your hands. This is correct because you put it on your wrist and see how it feels. Some were also saying that the inner links of the bracelet were a bit sharp, because of the satin finish, which will give a very angled part of the link, so we listened to the feedback and smoothed it out! This way the watch can sit on the hand properly. All of this is once again done to satisfy the comfortability.”
Continuing with the design aspect of the Ripples Skeleton, another immediately noticeable feature of the watch is the brand’s signature hand-flame-blued hour/minute hands, with the hour hand having a heart-shaped tip. This hand design is quite consistent throughout Speake Marin’s watch collections. The Ripple collection features solely this hand design, with the hands being rhodium plated to match the hour indices. The fact that Speake Marin decided to use blued hands is the perfect choice here.
One aspect of skeletonised watches that brands sometimes forget is that it’s still a timepiece at the end of the day. You still need to be able to read the time in one form or another. When you have the hand’s colour matching with the skeleton architecture of the movement, it simply blends in too much and reading the time at first glance becomes harder than it should be. If Speake Marin were to use rhodium-plated hands, they, too, would have fallen into this trap.
“In regards to the hands, as you can see, they are a beautiful blue, but originally, we were going to do them rhodium-plated, like completely grey in colour. Actually, it’s an internal fight because of its conceptual nature. You know, the point of the skeleton is to dive into the movement, not to have the hands overshadow this. Or you go for the blue steeled hands, which is quite a traditional design for Speake Marin. It’s a balance between aesthetics and function! It’s still a watch, at the end of the day, so you need to be able to tell the time clearly, too! Christelle Rosnoblet actually said we could do two prototypes, one with grey hands and one with blue hands. We tried both and decided which one was better, so there was no discussion afterwards, hahaha. It’s good to test the different ideas!“
With the Ripples Skeleton is cementing the collection’s place in Speake Marin history, and being a show-stopper at Genena Watch Days 2024, we can now, in a way, look to the future to see what else the brand can bring to the table. Speake Marin has tested the waters in creating a successful skeleton watch with an extra thin movement, whilst also being loved by enthusiasts and collectors. It’s possible to see the brand adding in other complications such as moon-phase, however, with the other Ripples models featuring a date window at 6 o’clock, this may be the next evolution of the Ripples Skeleton. Another possibility may be a material change, however, the Ripples collection is consistent in staying with steel, so we would more than likely see the non-skeleton Ripple models change first. A more probable change could certainly be a colour change to the skeleton framework of the movement!
“The moon phase is a complication that is quite traditional, so would it fit in a contemporary interpretation of watchmaking like the Ripples Skeleton? Honestly, it’s hard to say. A material change is certainly possible!”
“As I mentioned before, the movement is 3.25mm thin. However, we can possibly push it to 2.5mm, which is a marvellous playground as you can do so many things around it. Our goal is to always have the watch under 10 mm in thickness, even with complications, so that comfort is retained, especially when you have high-end complications.”
The watch and movements are manufactured and assembled in the brand’s “Cercle des Horlogers” workshop. The engineers and watchmakers here will design and execute any future versions of Ripples Skeleton!
“In this industry, shrinking the timepiece’s thickness is an incredible challenge, as there is more work required, which also means more costs involved.”
“In saying that, I guess if we don’t aim to do things like this, what’s the point of being an independent brand? We are lucky that Christelle Rosnoblet is right here, and she is open to trying things. She’s not restrictive, which is a good thing, because you have so many different things that have been done in the watch industry for centuries. So the question is, what is adaptive for you, what can be done for you and what identifies your brand? It’s always something you think about. Working in the watch industry is a passion. If you don’t like it, you cannot stand it! You have to be crazy to love watches. When you do it for love, it’s rewarding!”
The Speake Marin Ripples Skeleton is one of the timepieces for the best release of Geneva Watch Days 2024. As mentioned previously, initially, when the Watch Advice team saw the timepiece, they were excited by how well-designed and executed the skeleton dial was. However, this is a watch you need to see in person. The finishing of the movement and the overall watch just cannot be captured through images or press photos. So, when we saw the watch in person, we were delighted by how beautifully executed the timepiece was. It’s not just a timepiece with aesthetics. It’s a watch where form and functionality combine to deliver a total package.
“Haha, thank you, but you have big competition with the other releases on show! The idea for the Ripples Skeleton was to really push the reflection on the watch. Because a watch that doesn’t play with light is a bit boring. The more you wear the watch, the better you appreciate it! You have many details, such as the bridges. The sides have been sandblasted, which means that they will absorb the light. Then you get satin finishes on the watch, which will reflect the light. This mix is what makes it dance with light!”
As our conversation with Julien Ehrismann drew to a close, it became so much clearer just how much passion and great attention to detail go into creating a watch like the Ripples Skeleton. It was certainly our pleasure learning and gaining a deeper understanding of the intricate details, such as the artistic design, and the more complex challenges of creating not only a skeletonised timepiece but also an extra-thin movement! It’s safe to say we left with a deeper appreciation for Speake Marin and what they bring to the table in the world of independent watchmaking!
