MrWatchMaster Meets . . Max Van Brauge

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Category: Haute This Issue

Published on Tuesday, 20 February 2024 11:41

Written by MrWatchMaster

Next we meet Max Van Brauge, founder of Van Brauge Watches, a family-run business dedicated to bringing nostalgia and craftsmanship back into the timepieces of today with hand-built time pieces crafted with quality in mind.

Van Brauge Watches at their Windsor based workshop using only premium materials ranging from stainless steel to 18k gold and platinum, alongside Swiss made movements for the utmost precision.  We hear his fascinating views on the watch industry and future plans for the Van Brauge brand.

MrWatchMaster Meets . . . Darrell Spencer

MWM: How is business?

MVB: We have seen a steady increase in business within the last year with the launch of two new models to our classic line 'The FiftyThree' and now 'The New Yorker' the first watch from our architect's collection to be released. 

MWM: What are you currently working on?

MVB: Currently we are working on two projects, one called 'Candy' for ladies, which will be released in early November for Christmas. It's going to be another 1930s classic and not like anything that is available from small independent watchmakers such as our company. The second watch is 'The Parisian', the second watch in our architect's collection.

MWM: Tell us something we don't know about Van Brauge Watches?

MrWatchMaster Meets…André Clémençon

MVB: We are a small company with only five people working on design, purchasing, watchmaking and development and our website for sales. Our social media and website photography is all produced in- house in our own photography and video studio. 

MWM: Which watch do you wear?

MVB: I'm currently wearing the bronze dial New Yorker on a leather strap (below), it's a super light classic watch which has a 38mm case with a sapphire crystal front and back which fits my small wrist perfectly.

MWM: Which watch would you like to own?

MVB: I love classic watches from the 20s 30s and 40s. I would pick a watch due to its simplicity and style and not because of its brand names such as Patek, Vacheron Hamilton or Movado and so on who made some amazing watches during this period. You have to look back and remember that every watch that was designed and manufactured during these years were the first of their kind and no-one had ever produced designs like these before. The watches were pure and without and influence from other watch brands. Every watch was a classic!

MrWatchMaster Meets…Louis Jalaber & Simon Szleper

MWM: What do you like best about the Watch business?

MVB: I love the watch business because everyone has the opportunity to design and make whatever they want. As a small business owner, we make what we like, this gives our company the ability to express itself as we don't have to follow the latest trend to be successful. 

MWM: What is next on the horizon for you?

MVB: We are working on exciting gold watches coming in 2024 with some really nice movements with complications and keeping it classic all the way.

Bio: MrWatchMaster (MWM) presents a uniquely authoritative resource, covering news, opinion, reviews, and entertainment about the watch sector. We share our opinions and new 'points of view' from a range of leading watch makers, industry professionals, collectors, and other practitioners of horology. We keep you updated with the most interesting developments and provide our own take on new watches, trends, and anything else that will define the future direction of the sector. 

MrWatchMaster Meets . . . An Interview with Antonio Calce

Andrew Canter is the Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief of MrWatchMaster and a hugely passionate horologist and collector of watches and clocks. His fascination with watches started at an early age and purchased his first watch when still at school. He is a member of the Alliance of British Watch & Clock Makers, British Horological Institute (BHI), Antiquarian Horological Society (AHS), National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC), Horological Society of New York and RedBar Group.