Ateliers De Monaco - The history and story of this watch brand

Ateliers deMonaco is an independent high-end luxury watch company that develops and manufactures their timepieces in Monaco. It specializes in inventing and hand crafting complicated horological creations that are only made in very limited editions or as unique pieces on request. Based in the heart of Monaco, the brand is rapidly creating a reputation as part of the young, new and independent watchmakers' generation that is fueling innovation for an industry notorious for its slow pace of any change.

2009 was the year in which the founders Pim Koeslag, Robert van Pappelendam and Peter Stas got official approval to start their high end watch brand: Ateliers deMonaco. Shortly after, they launched their first watch - the Grand Tourbillon XP - of which they donated one of the first watches ever made to the Only Watch Auction to benefit the Association Monégasque Contre les Myopathies. This watch includes their own patented Xtreme Precision movement that consists of a perfect balance cage, a Silicium escapement and has as design features the sapphire bridge and the hand engraved deMonaco anchor. This ability to design and manufacture in house, makes them part of only a few independent companies that have this capability still to-date. The collection and innovations can be characterized as a combination between modern technology and classical craftsmanship, resulting in a hybrid time piece that utilizes the best of both. The brand's ambition is to be bespoke, independent and fresh, which is why it is deliberately based close to its target consumer in Monaco instead of close to some of its main competitors. The products are all in-house developed and mostly based on the Tourbillon mechanism. Production is only a few tens of units every year, and prices can go up to above € 200.000.