In the field of contemporary high horology, it takes a lot for a young brand to stand out and distinguish itself. Yet for watchmaking veteran Benjamin Chee, his guiding philosophy has been elegantly simple: “I consider myself a perfectionist and cannot abide anything second-rate in my creations. Therefore, the only logical choice was to search out and partner with the very best suppliers in the industry, and to push them even further beyond their limits.”
Having previously founded Maison Celadon and Atelier Millésime, Benjamin Chee is now preparing to launch his most ambitious endeavor yet, his flagship brand Benjamin Chee Haute Horlogerie (BCHH), with a clear mission to create the finest artistic watches in the world. Precious stone and high craftsmanship dials will be combined with the very best available high horology movements, and embodied in svelte, elegant hand-finished cases.
As the first and only high horology house to emerge from Singapore, a country long known for its sophisticated appreciation of watchmaking, BCHH has set a clear objective to be the best in the world in every artisan craft that the brand exemplifies. BCHH will use exclusively Vaucher movements, and perhaps other high-end movements in the future, with complications exclusively developed for the brand in collaboration with the finest partners in the industry. All BCHH watches are handcrafted in Fleurier, Switzerland, and design and quality control are divided between Switzerland and Singapore and undertaken personally by the founder.
BCHH was handpicked by Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier to be the launch client for the latter’s two newly launched microrotor calibers, the 5401/32 and 5401/33. Both movements are a significant functional and aesthetic upgrade over the 5401 microrotor, with an improved microrotor design leading to far greater winding efficiency. Exquisite hand-finishing takes centerstage for the 5401/32, intended to be the more classically elegant caliber. For the 5401/33, the more futuristic and sporty of the two microrotors, anthracite galvanized coating and finely-crafted skeletonization offer a peek at the inner workings of the movement.
As the first watch brand in the world to use both of Vaucher’s finest time-only movements, BCHH will deploy them in the brand’s two core models. The Celestial, an elegant ultra-thin watch with curvaceous teardrop lugs, is paired with the classical 5401/32 and offered with a choice of five dial types – cloisonné enamel, Suzhou silk embroidery, Hetian imperial jade, aventurine and platinum.
The Sovereign, BCHH’s ultra-thin luxury sports watch, is powered by the futuristic 5401/33, and configured with a solid platinum dial with an exquisite grained finish, although the other dial types used with the Celestial are also available on commission, with dark green imperial jade or aventurine perhaps being the next most sought after dial choices. Cased in hand-brushed and polished platinum in its highest form, with its solid platinum dial and ultra-thin anthracite microrotor movement, the Sovereign is destined to be the ultimate luxury sports watch.
The choice to use precious stone and metal dials was born out of a desire to create truly rare and exceptional watches, balancing both subtle elegance and undeniable magnificence. By being solid dials, yet with visual depth and layered texture creating interest, the platinum, jade, and aventurine dials are ideal for a dress watch with no equal.
The high craftsmanship dials, on the other hand, are intended to display the fullest ability of the artisan’s hand. Benjamin Chee personally traversed the globe to select and cultivate these artisans, who are heirs to centuries of traditional craftsmanship. Indeed, it is believed that the grandmasters who handcraft the enamel and silk dials of BCHH are the finest living practitioners of their craft in the world. Whereas cloisonné enamel involves the painstaking laying of solid gold wire by hand to create the desired image, before firing each color in the Celestial with cloisonné enamel dial (part of Fine Art Collection “Mimesis by Seb Janiak”) oven over thirty times, Suzhou silk embroidery involves two master artisans with a combined eight decades of experience intricately embroidering by hand a dial that is microscopic in detail and requires an unfathomable level of skill and dexterity.
The cloisonné enamel and Suzhou silk embroidery dials used by Chee are considered to be best in class – for cloisonné, the brand uses a gold wire to form the dial scenes that is finer than any other enameller in the world. As for the silk embroidery dials, the swallow tails of the Celestial “Duo of Swallows” represent the apex of the Grandmaster’s skill – the feathers are so intricate that they require embroidery of one-sixteenth of a typical silk thread.
As for the jade dial options, BCHH is the only watch brand in the world to use the highest grade of jade – Hetian imperial jade, once reserved only for the Emperors of China, and worth multiple times its weight in gold. The brand has also developed a patented method to create celadon jade – that is, jade with the characteristic crazing of the most exquisite of the classical Chinese porcelains, thereby combining modern innovation with an ancient treasure with millennia of history.
Both the Celestial and Sovereign are available in 904L Stainless Steel, 18K Rose Gold or 950 Platinum. Either microrotor calibre may be used in both models, according to the client’s preference. Being a boutique haute horlogerie brand, which allows a much deeper and closer relationship with the client, a high degree of customization of each watch is possible, and every watch is made to order. It is perhaps little surprise that the entire first production of 100 watches has been completely sold out, sight unseen, to close clients of the founder’s other brands.
In keeping with the brand’s focus on fine art high horology, BCHH will also explore fine art collaborations with prominent artists from around the world. The first season of the Celestial Fine Art Collection will involve celebrity artist Seb Janiak from France, known for his artful manipulations of insect wings made to look like blooming flowers, done purely with old-school analog methods, and Massimo Gammacurta from Italy, who was commissioned by the New York Times in 2018 to create a globe lollipop for the New York Times Magazine. These artworks, Mimesis and Lollipop respectively, will be rendered on watch dials in cloisonné enamel, adding yet another layer of artistry. Only ten such watches will be made for each artwork edition – six in steel, two in rose gold and two in platinum, never to be re-issued again, ensuring a strong residual value at auction for decades and perhaps centuries to come, and furthering BCHH’s desire to intersect the worlds of fine art collecting and high horology.
Finally, the pinnacle of the BCHH model family will be the Grand Complications. The brand has secured Vaucher’s finest movement, the calibre 5440 ultra-thin microrotor tourbillon, the thinnest microrotor tourbillon in the world at 3.4mm. Apart from Parmigiani (which uses a different variant), BCHH is the first and only brand in the world to use this premier calibre. The tourbillon will be deployed in both Sovereign and Celestial models, allowing the collector a choice of ultra-thin sports or dress versions, or ideally, both. A perpetual calendar and an exclusive complication atop a chronograph are both also in the works. With production of all Grand Complications capped at the single digits for each reference, these rarefied watches are reserved only for a select few connoisseurs.
The Celestial and Sovereign both start at 10,900 Singapore dollars (about 7,900 USD) in 904L Stainless Steel, 15,900 Singapore dollars (about 11,600 USD) in 18K Rose Gold, and 19,900 Singapore dollars (about 14,500 USD) in 950 Platinum. All BCHH watches have been certified to the highest standards of CLA Chronometry.
Pricing for the Fine Art Collection will be released on application. Completely customized dials are possible on commission with the BCHH Bespoke service.
BCHH watches are available exclusively at BCHH.ch.
Interested clients may register their interest directly at concierge@bchh.ch.
SPECS
BCHH Celestial
General:
- Elegant, classical dress watch with high craftsmanship or precious stone dial
- Available with a selection of 5 dial types – Aventurine, Hetian Imperial Jade (white or green), 950 Platinum, Suzhou silk embroidery, Cloisonné enamel
- Available in 904L Stainless Steel, 18K Rose Gold and 950 Platinum
- 10 year global warranty
- Handcrafted in Fleurier, Switzerland
Movement:
- Choice of Vaucher Caliber 5401/32 (classical) or 5401/33 (contemporary)
- First watch brand in the world to use these new movements
- Ultra-thin haute horlogerie automatic movement
- Hour, minute, small seconds at 6h (for aesthetic coherence, small seconds subdial is not present on the silk embroidery and enamel dials)
- 160 components
- 29 rubies
- 30mm
- Height 2.6mm
- Diameter 30mm
- 21,600 vph
- 48 hour power reserve
- Variable inertia balance with gold inertia blocks
- Rapid rotation barrel
- Blued screws
- Circular-grained plate on dial side and bridge side, fine circular-graining below the balance, rhodium-plated
- Bridges with Côtes de Genève decor, rhodium-plated
- Bicolor engraving
- Bevels and apertures diamond-polished
- Ceramic ball bearing
- Wheels circular-grained on 2 faces
- Flat-head screws, polished
- Bridges hand-bevelled with piercer
- Pivots and flanges rolled
- CLA Chronometry certified
Dial and Hands:
- Selection of 5 dial types – Aventurine, Hetian Imperial Jade (white or green), 950 Platinum, Suzhou silk embroidery, Cloisonné enamel
- Bespoke dial completely customised to client’s wishes is also available at a nominal charge
- BCHH Seal engraved on underside of crystal (for silk embroidery and enamel dials)
- BCHH Seal applied on dial (for aventurine, jade and platinum dials)
- Octagonal faceted applied hour markers (for aventurine, jade and platinum dials)
- Skeletonized feuille hands
Case:
- Available in 904L Stainless Steel, 18K Rose Gold and 950 Platinum
- Voluptuous teardrops lugs case
- Extremely slender signed crown with BCHH Seal
- Hand-finished brushing and polishing
- Screwed caseback
- 30m water resistant
- 38mm case diameter
- 8mm thin
- 20mm strap width at lugs
- Double domed front sapphire crystal with AR coating
- Rear sapphire crystal
Strap:
- Signed tang buckle
- Bespoke hand-stitched goatskin leather strap with signed burgundy lining with quick change mechanisms
Delivery:
- Within 6 months of order
———————————-
BCHH Sovereign
General:
- Ultra-thin luxury sports watch
- 950 platinum dial
- Available in 904L Stainless Steel, 18K Rose Gold and 950 Platinum
- 10 year global warranty
- Handcrafted in Fleurier, Switzerland
Movement:
- Choice of Vaucher Caliber 5401/32 (classical) or 5401/33 (contemporary)
- First watch brand in the world to use these new movements
- Ultra-thin haute horlogerie automatic movement
- Hour, minute, small seconds at 6h (for aesthetic coherence, small seconds subdial is not present on the silk embroidery and enamel dials)
- 160 components
- 29 rubies
- 30mm
- Height 2.6mm
- Diameter 30mm
- 21,600 vph
- 48 hour power reserve
- Variable inertia balance with gold inertia blocks
- Rapid rotation barrel
- Blued screws
- Circular-grained plate on dial side and bridge side, fine circular-graining below the balance, rhodium-plated
- Bridges with Côtes de Genève decor, rhodium-plated
- Bicolour engraving
- Bevels and apertures diamond-polished
- Ceramic ball bearing
- Wheels circular-grained on 2 faces
- Flat-head screws, polished
- Bridges hand-bevelled with piercer
- Pivots and flanges rolled
- CLA Chronometry certified
Dial and Hands:
- 950 Platinum dial
- Other dial types as used in the Celestial are also available on special order – Aventurine, Hetian Imperial Jade (white or green), or Cloisonné enamel
- Bespoke dial completely customised to client’s wishes is also available at a nominal charge
- BCHH Seal applied on dial
- Octagonal faceted applied hour markers
- Skeletonized and lumed sword hands
Case:
- Available in 904L Stainless Steel, 18K Rose Gold and 950 Platinum
- Angular futuristic case
- Octagonal signed crown with BCHH Seal
- Hand-finished brushing and polishing
- Screwed down caseback
- 100m water resistant
- 40mm case diameter
- 8mm thin
- 20mm strap width at lugs
- Flat front sapphire crystal with AR coating
- Rear sapphire crystal
Strap:
- Signed tang buckle
- Bespoke handmade water-resistant stingray strap with signed burgundy lining with quick change mechanisms
Delivery:
- Within 6 months of order
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