ARSÈNE LIPPENS
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
DOING SWISS WATCHMAKING A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY
There is certainly no shortage of new independent watch brands. There is, however, a shortage of new brands that give you a reason to remember their names.
Arsène Lippens is becoming one of them.
The Geneva-based independent combines traditional Swiss mechanical watchmaking with bold color, contemporary design and, most intriguingly, genuine Italian textiles. It’s serious watchmaking without taking the expected route.
The story begins with founder Dries Lippens and his grandfather, Arsène. As a child, Dries remembers staring at his grandfather’s 34mm Omega Seamaster De Ville. Years later, his grandparents gave him that same watch for his First Communion. By 16, he was collecting vintage watches with money from summer jobs. During the pandemic in 2020, he began experimenting with creating watches himself. Friends wanted them. An idea became a company. Naming it after his grandfather was obvious.
Today, Arsène Lippens is developing a recognizable personality.
The Visionario collection embraces color, with early Terracotta and Sabbia dials inspired by Dubai’s Al Qudra desert. The Scheletrato takes the familiar Valjoux 7750 chronograph architecture and gives it a decidedly more aggressive skeletonized treatment.
But the Artigiano may be the watch that best explains the brand.
Its dials are made from genuine Italian textiles.
The idea started, appropriately enough, over sandwiches in Parma. Conversations about Italian clothing led to a simple question: Why not bring some of that textile craftsmanship into a Swiss watch? Actually doing it wasn't quite so simple.
Fabric moves. It frays. It creates static. It reacts to moisture and its environment. These are all things you don't particularly want happening inside a mechanical watch.
Arsène Lippens developed a process that treats the back of the textile with resin so it can be precisely laser-cut, then secures it within a brass dial layer. The material is deionized to remove static and treated to protect the fibers. Importantly, they don't try to make the fabric look artificially perfect. The slight variations remain. That's the point.
The company applies the same philosophy to its movements. The Artigiano and Classico use manual-winding movements, reinforcing their more traditional character, while the Scheletrato begins with the proven Valjoux architecture before being skeletonized and reworked.
What's next?
A new interpretation of the chronograph, further adaptations to movements, additional complications and continued experimentation with finishing, materials and color.
And that's where Arsène Lippens gets interesting.
Italian cloth. Swiss mechanics. A little color. A little irreverence.
And a grandfather's watch behind the whole thing.
That's a pretty good place to start.
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