Against the Grain Review: Sergio Galanti on Independent Watchmaking

by Brent Robillard

In praise of independent watchmaking

I met Sergio Galanti earlier this year at Watches and Wonders. If memory serves, we were sitting down with representatives from Angelus. I am probably right, as Galanti has made a career of championing Swiss independent watchmaking. It is the mandate of WatchDossier, where he serves as editor. Galanti trained at the London School of Journalism, is certified by the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, and also advises private collectors.

At the heart of this new book, Against the Grain: A Cultural History of Swiss Independent Watchmaking, is a premise originally articulated by cinephile François Truffaut: auteur theory, whereby the director of a film is regarded as the dominant creative force, leaving a distinctive signature upon his oeuvre. Only, in Galanti’s story, the director is an independent watchmaker who, in similar fashion, creates a coherence in a body of work that spans decades, leaving behind a signature—codes, tropes, and design cues—that is impossible to replicate within the industrial structures of larger maisons.

Against the Grain: A Cultural History of Independent Watchmaking, by Sergio Galanti @calibre321

The auteur is scarcity

Equally important to his thesis, however, is the mantra: “The auteur does not manufacture scarcity. The auteur is scarcity.” Together, these symbiotic concepts explain not only the survival but the persistence and success of independent watchmakers in Switzerland (and elsewhere in Europe) in the face of the numerous disruptive, industry-altering shocks—the Quartz Crisis, the 2008 market crash, COVID-19, the Apple Watch, and so on—that have shaped watchmaking since 1969.

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Against the grain

The title, then, has several meanings. Drawn from woodworking, the phrase refers to the difficulty—and ultimately the skill and patience required—of cutting and shaping wood against the grain. But in the horological world, “grain” is also a term used in the finishing and polishing of metal. In both senses, the metaphor is clear: independent watchmakers resisted the prevailing wisdom of their day and have been rewarded for taking the road less travelled, however challenging that may have been.

Bernard Lederer’s Central Impulse Chronometer @calibre321

Structure and insights

The structure of the book is largely chronological—bien sûr—with the even-numbered chapters tracing the history of modern watchmaking. The odd-numbered chapters serve as intercalary essays devoted to specific watchmakers and watches—thirty-five in total, accompanied by photography—that illustrate the concepts discussed in the preceding narrative.

One of the book’s more interesting observations comes during its discussion of the renaissance of mechanical watchmaking following the Quartz Crisis (1990–2000). Galanti posits that, “The broader fashion industry had embraced retro aesthetics, finding that nostalgia sold better than novelty in uncertain times.” The inherent danger, of course, in the repeated resurrection of back catalogues was that the watch industry “risked becoming a museum.”

Laurent Ferrier’s Grand Sport Tourbillion Pursuit @calibre321

The saviours of horology, then, needed to be the independents, who “represented genuine innovation within traditional constraints.” But innovation is not the only strength of independent, often family-run, enterprises. There is strength in continuity: “reassuring vision, security, intimate market knowledge, and strong retailer partnerships.” There is strength in patience—free from the short-term demands of satisfying shareholders. And there is creativity. The independent “could take creative risks that corporate structure would never approve.”

Of course, developments beyond the world of watches also aided independents. The advent of the Internet, together with the democratizing influence of online forums and digital sales networks, “opened doors that no marketing budget could buy.”

Galanti is also careful to point out that not all independents are cut from the same cloth. While his central premise for their success holds, the paths by which they achieved it are remarkably different. Some successes arose through vertical integration (Voutilainen, Laurent Ferrier), others through methodology (Greubel Forsey, Urwerk), some through coherence—even at scale (Richard Mille)—and others, like MING or Czapek, through editorial and aesthetic control. Still others, such as MB&F, succeeded through collaboration.

Czapek’s Antarctique Titanium Révélation Cosmic Blue @calibre321

The world of haute horlogerie

It should be noted that the brands Galanti explores often represent the pinnacle of haute horlogerie and carry the requisite six-figure price tags. With the possible exception of MING, these are not watches for the common collector. They are not the Instagram hype pieces. Many can scarcely be considered aspirational, simply because most enthusiasts will never encounter them in a retailer’s display case. They have waiting lists measured in years rather than months. As such, their influence often occurs outside the public eye. But that should not diminish the significance of what they have accomplished.

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Storytelling

Throughout, Galanti presents the raw data—the facts and the sales figures—that support his thesis. Yet he never allows them to bog the reader down. Perhaps the biggest surprise offered by this book is its commitment to narrative and the tenets of good storytelling.

Consider the subtle yet ominous opening to Chapter 8, The Reckoning (2020–2025): “In the first two weeks of 2020, a watchmaker in the Vallée du Joux set a finished movement into its case, checked the amplitude and placed it in a tray alongside eleven others destined for delivery at the spring fairs.”

Or the opening of “The Speculation Bubble”: “Picture a man in his early thirties, sitting in a Tokyo apartment, refreshing a website at three in the morning.”

Or this establishing shot in “The Green Imperative”: “In a small workshop in the canton of Neuchâtel, a bar of steel emerges from a solar-powered forge. The metal glows, cools, assumes its final form.”

In each case, Galanti draws us in with a carefully observed snapshot—a thumbnail sketch that demonstrates the magnetic power of good storytelling. You want to know what he says next. And the book’s final paragraph… well, you’ll see.

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Final Thoughts

In the end, I have only scratched the surface of Galanti’s story. I have not talked about the AHCI, Swatch, or Biver. I have not mentioned Dufour. Muller. Journe. Vianney Halter. Or Lederer, a personal favourite.

For these, and much more, you will have to read the book for yourself.

And you should.

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