A self-taught creative genius, a rebel with a cause, Vincent Calabrese has marked Swiss watchmaking with his Neapolitan temperament. Born in the Italian city in 1944, his parents struggled to make ends meet. Leaving school at 13, he flitted from one menial job to another, finally settling at the local watchmaker’s where he was paid a pittance but learned the rudiments of his future profession. Certain he could do better, he squeezed himself into a corner of the cramped family home and started his own clock repair business. But at just turned 14, he had two years of military service in the Navy hanging over him. Not on your life! Vincent Calabrese convinced his family that the grass was greener in Switzerland and in 1961 took off for Le Locle. His feet had barely touched Swiss soil and already he found work at Tissot, then Cyma, Zenith, Richard in Morges, Hebdomas in La Chaux-de-Fonds and finally Teriam. He was a fast learner who didn’t count his hours and would happily buckle down to whatever task he was given, but even then employers failed to keep their promises. Every time one went back on their word, he moved on… until 1971 when he landed a position as manager of Le Diamant Bleu, a luxury watch boutique in the upscale ski resort of Cran-Montana. His eyes were opened to a new clientele and the prestigious watches they bought. There and then he knew this was the direction he wanted to take.
Vincent Calabrese
Celebrities
A self-taught creative genius, Vincent Calabrese imagines watches of an entirely new ilk, with a movement whose beauty speaks for itself.
He began to imagine watches of an entirely new ilk; watches with a movement whose beauty would speak for itself. Although it would be several years before he was able to give shape to his concept of “spatial” watchmaking, expanding his skills through courses at Rolex and Patek Philippe, he struck gold immediately. His prototype, distinguished at the Geneva Inventors Fair in 1977, was bought by Corum. The Golden Bridge with its baguette movement was born and Vincent Calabrese could finally begin work as an independent watchmaker. Next came a period of intense activity, as Vincent Calabrese returned to the Golden Bridge concept, this time giving the movements of his Spatial watches every possible shape, from letters of the alphabet to symbols and everything in between. This is also when he developed the prototype for his Spatial Flying Tourbillon, suspended between two crystals - originally for Blancpain who never got around to releasing it. But creativity, however inventive, isn’t everything and Vincent Calabrese struggled to keep his head above water. The Baladin threw him a lifeline; a watch showing jumping hours in an aperture that circled the dial, pointing to the minutes.
Buoyed by the Baladin’s success, Vincent Calabrese continued on this high. He released the Commedia, a jumping hours watch with a quartz movement at the heart of his Philosophiques collection. He extended the Ludiques and Techniques collections with novel displays and innovative complications, which he integrated into existing movements. Vincent Calabrese was on a roll and in 1996 was awarded the Prix Gaïa. When production reached some 800 watches a year, he set up a new structure to reflect this more industrial scale. Then life dealt a blow with the death of a loved one in 2003. Between 2006 and 2008 the most he could do was survive. When Blancpain offered to buy his business he accepted, and joined its teams as the watchmaker who would develop the famed One Minute Flying Carrousel. Job done. In 2012 Vincent Calabrese went back to his old ways as an independent watchmaker, joining forces with friend and clockmaker Jean Kazès, and embarking on new developments. Which is how, in 2021 at the age of 78, Vincent Calabrese unveiled the Calasys, a mechanism of his invention that replaces the oscillator’s balance spring with two elastic blades. Simple, solid, revolutionary?
1958
Aged 14, repaired clocks from his home in Naples.
1961
Emigrated to Le Locle to avoid two years of military service with the Italian Navy.
1971
Appointed manager of Le Diamant Bleu, a watch retailer in Cran-Montana.
1977
Started his own business. Awarded a Gold Medal at the Geneva Inventors Fair for his linear movement.
1980
Corum launched the Golden Bridge, featuring the baguette movement created by Vincent Calabrese.
1985
Cofounded, with Sven Andersen, the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI).
1988
Launched the Baladin with wandering jumping hours.
1996
Prix Gaïa in the Craftsmanship-Creation category.
2004
Set up Nouvelle Horlogerie Calabrese, an industrial structure that closed in 2006.
2008
Bought out by Blancpain and joined the brand as a watchmaker-developer. Developed the world-first One Minute Flying Carrousel for Blancpain.
2012
Returned to independent watchmaking; teamed up with clockmaker Jean Kazès.
2021
Presentation of the Calasys, an escapement with no balance spring.
2023
Awarded a Gold Medal at the Geneva Inventors Fair for his "Calasys" invention.
