In a watch world often governed by nostalgia, Vanguart is taking a different route. The independent Swiss maker, founded in 2017, has unveiled the Vanguart Orb – a timepiece that fuses meticulous handcraft with modern mechanical experimentation in a way that feels more like sculpture than horology.
At first glance, the Orb doesn’t so much tell the time as it performs it. Its flying tourbillon movement, newly developed and entirely hand-finished, introduces a rare feature: the ability to switch between automatic and manual winding modes. A turn of the crown transforms its inner mechanics – shifting from the tactile ritual of manual winding to the self-sufficiency of an automatic watch.
That transformation is expressed visually through the Orb’s standout feature: a 2mm diamond-set orbital mass that glides around a sloped titanium track when in automatic mode, appearing to float in slow, deliberate motion. When the watch returns to manual, the mass locks still – a subtle yet deeply satisfying choreography between human and machine.
“The Orb is a harmonious shape that evokes relics of the past and visions of the future,” says Thierry Fischer, the brand’s creative director. Indeed, the case – 41mm across and just 10.5mm thick – is a study in contrasts. Hand-polished bevels sit beside sandblasted surfaces; satin textures meet mirror finishes. Every edge, curve and opening has been shaped by hand, echoing the brand’s belief that fine watchmaking must still feel human.
Beneath the openworked dial, layers of titanium and gold reveal a striking symmetry. Superluminova hands mark the hours over a movement of 395 components, powered by a 60-hour reserve. The watch’s architecture is as much about balance as it is about precision – with the flying tourbillon at six o’clock mirrored by the winding barrel at twelve.
For Axel Leuenberger, Vanguart’s CEO, the Orb was a deliberate exercise in restraint and refinement. “We sought ideal symmetry and proportion in every element,” he says. “Our aim was to merge futuristic ideas with traditional craftsmanship into something coherent, something that invites interaction.”
For Axel Leuenberger, Vanguart’s CEO, the Orb was a deliberate exercise in restraint and refinement. “We sought ideal symmetry and proportion in every element,” he says. “Our aim was to merge futuristic ideas with traditional craftsmanship into something coherent, something that invites interaction.”
It’s this invitation – this blending of touch, sight and sound – that makes the Vanguart Orb more than another high-end release. It’s a reminder that in a digital age, mechanical artistry can still surprise, even enchant.
Vanguart’s Chairman, Mehmet Koruturk, calls the Orb “an expression of our long-term vision… fusing elegance and futurism in a unique way.”
The Orb follows the brand’s earlier experimental model, the Vanguart Blackhole, launched in 2021. Together they signal a shift among small, independent houses: a willingness to challenge the conventions of luxury watchmaking while holding fast to its most time-honoured principles – patience, precision, and the quiet pleasure of turning gears into poetry.
