Just ahead of Geneva Watch Days, we see the debut of a new haute horlogerie brand, brought to us in part by Wei Koh, founder of Revolution and the Rake, and a longtime fixture in the watch media landscape. The new brand, Legare, was founded by Koh and Guillaume Tetu, a watch industry veteran who counts Hautlence as well as TAG Heuer and Ralph Lauren on his resume. Koh and Tetu are incredibly well connected professionally, and the first watch out of the gate for Legare reflects that particularly well – this is the product of a lot of collaboration between many partners, and has plenty of pure watch nerd DNA in its inspiration as well.
The brand’s first watch is the Chapter 1 AGP Inverted, and takes inspiration from a rare pocket watch made by Albert-Gustave Piguet, who would ultimately become well known in the watch industry for his work on the Lemania 2310 caliber. But the watch that Legare credits with shaping the Chapter 1 is a pocket watch he created while a student at the Vallee de Joux School of Watchmaking in 1932, when he was just 17 years old. That watch featured two large split bi-metallic balance wheels, whose rates were averaged by a differential. According to Legare, only six total examples of this pocket watch were completed.
Legare’s conceit in making the Chapter 1 is essentially an answer to the hypothetical question of what if Piguet’s idea behind this movement had continued to evolve? This is an entirely original movement architecture (and differs from a resonance watch in that it relies on two independent oscillators), so it’s an interesting watchmaking question to consider what a contemporary watch would look like if this had become the standard.
The movement, then, as you’d expect, is the centerpiece, and as the name of the watch implies, is indeed inverted such that the twin balance wheels are visible on the dial side. The balance wheels beat at 21,600 vph, and their rates are averaged via a differential. According to Legare, they were able to create this movement in a compact size thanks to the use of side-angled lever escapements for each balance that are more commonly used with tourbillon movements.
And while the movement is a showstopper for sure, I think the relatively compact nature of the case is perhaps the secret weapon here, and one of the Chapter 1’s attributes that really points to the taste of its enthusiast creators. Rendered in Grade 5 titanium, the case measures just 37.5mm in diameter and 9.95mm tall. It has some very obvious Art Deco influences, with a stepped bezel design and architectural, sharply downturned lugs. The case lines also reveal concave bevels that showcase the attention to detail of the finishing itself.
Importantly, the Chapter 1 AGP Inverted is not only made in Switzerland, but made with collaborators who find themselves mostly within 100 kilometers Legare’s headquarters in Neuchâtel. Legare’s partners include PURTEC, who manufacture the movement, UM2 and Polissage des Franches-Montagnes, who machine and finish the case and buckle, and Fabrika, the dial makers. Legare also confirms that product development, sourcing, final assembly, and quality control are taken on by GLS2F in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
The Chapter 1 AGP is available in two variants. The “Elegant” execution features the caliber in untreated German Silver, and the “Darth” version in black rhodium. The retail price is listed at CHF 81,944, with each variant limited to 25 pieces. Legare
