Marc Jenni – independent watchmaker and creator of haute horlogerie
People · · by Christian Bissener
Marc Jenni is an exclusive haute horlogerie brand conceived and designed by the watchmaker and creator of the same name. After about fifteen years at Tiffany & Co. in New York, Jenni struck out on his own in 2010 and developed a first watch, the Prologue. Since 2012 he has been a member of the AHCI, the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants.
Prologue
The Prologue is available in 18kt rose or white gold (44 mm) with an automatic mechanical movement. Its innovation is that it has no crown. A pusher at about 4 o’clock selects an option: “Wind” to wind the watch, “Time” to set the time, “Date” to set the date. The ring turning around the case then carries it out. All Marc Jenni watches use this practical invention. The Prologue also has a power reserve indication at 9 o’clock and the date between 7 and 8. Each watch bears the Jenny family crest, a triangle, recalling a family of watchmakers that can be traced back to 1780.
The Prologue WDT, the more sporting version, is in stainless steel.
JJJ
The JJJ is a homage to the pocket watch of Johann Jakob Jenny, a watchmaker in Glarus, Switzerland, around 1780. It transposes the planet indications of the eighteenth century into a unique, contemporary watch, each planet corresponding to a day of the week.
The case (44 mm) is available in 18kt rose or white gold. The dial is made entirely of sapphire crystal, which is very difficult to produce. The Wind, Time and Date selector is at 4 o’clock, the date and day at 9 o’clock and the planet of the day near 12 o’clock.
Arch
Marc Jenni’s women’s collection, the Arch, plays with colour and with an arc that echoes the triangle of the family crest. The selector works by colour: for “Wind” the three diamonds must be selected; for “Time” the blue arc, like the hands of the watch; for “Date” the arc in the colour of the watch (white, green, brown or pink). The dial carries 13 diamonds of 0.11 carats, which serve as hour indices and as the “Wind” marker. The white gold case (44 mm) carries eight diamonds of 0.04 carats.
Nobletime
Jenni is also co-founder of Nobletime Ltd., with his partner Vicente Mafé, which helps others create their own watch brands. Edward Cole built his Tire’d watch company with Nobletime, and Leon and Jessica Cohen their Wintour brand of diamond-set creations.
